Fantasy Backgrounds:
Drawing Trees
People often ask me about how I draw trees, so here's a quick crash course in my methods. I suggest not using
just these techniques but looking at some trees yourself and sketching parts of them that interest you.
If you can't find real trees to look at (or at least not the kind you want to draw) try finding photos of them.
I have a tree guide with photos of all kinds of Trees and Plants that I got on sale for $5 and it's been very helpful!
 To start with let's look at a poorly draw tree (okay a REALLY poorly drawn tree).
This tree shows some of the common problem areas people have with trees that I will cover. They are:
A poor "top" to the tree. How to draw leaves without drawing each and every leaf?
How to draw the roots
How to connect the roots and top to the tree?
How to draw holes in trees?
How to make the tree look like it's growing OUT of the ground, not sitting on top of it?
 Overlap & Holes in Trees
As you may have noticed on the
poorly draw tree it looks very FLAT. The most important point I can stress
about drawing trees is OVERLAP. Let's look "holes" in trees. In the poor
tree it looks like someone just slapped a triangle on the base. In the hole
examples at the right they have been drawn using rounder shapes and
overlapping lines. Also note how I show they can be used for windows. In
many of my treehouse pictures I add very "natural" looking windows by placing them
in "holes" in the tree.
Tree Roots
Probably the most common question I get asked about trees is how to draw
the roots. As with other parts of the tree people starting out
tend to draw them as straight lines which caused them to look flat.
When I draw roots there are a number of ways I go about it.
The easiest way is to draw them as a series of circular shapes as follows:
 
Notice again that overlap is used - not just where roots overlap each other, but on
the individual roots to give them a bumpy feeling. Notice that you can then overlap
the roots with grass clumps, plants etc. and with some shading they start to look
pretty 3D. I've included an example of some more tangled roots (above far right). These
use less circles when drawn, but I still draw them using lots of curves - not straight
lines... and LOTS of overlapping!
 So how to join the roots to the trunk?
I think the problem is thinking of the roots as a separate part of the tree. They
really are just a continuation of the roots. When drawing the trunk and branches I
use them same techniques as for roots (though I may make them more or less bumpy).
Depending on the type of tree the branches may be a bit straighter, but they are pretty
much like roots growing the other way around. So I use overlap and try to draw the tree trunk
as part of the roots.
As you can see from the last set of tree roots you can create very different looking trees
simply by changing how you use circles, curves and overlaps. Some examples here use very round
shading/marking like stripes... while others use lots of divided shapes.
 Tree Tops
Another common mistake when trying
to draw trees is seeing them as a "lollypop" - a stick with a ball of leaves on top.
Drawing trees with just one circle looks pretty poor. Instead (depending on the type of
tree of course!) try building the tree with a series of circles (if you're not sure
where to place these look at some real trees/photos for ideas - you'll acquire a feel
for it). And AGAIN we're overlapping! In these examples the clumps of leaves are
drawn in much the same way that I draw clumps of grass. Notice how I have not completely
outlined each circle, making each clump of leaves look separate - rather I've drawn in
just parts of the circles to show the shape of the leaves.
Using everything...
If you've been reading these tutorials in order (at least somewhat) you now have a good
collection of "elements" for creating backgrounds. I've shown some simple "Ground Elements" such
as grass, plants and mushrooms. I've shown some ideas for creating simple buildings. And I've just
covered a bit on drawing trees. Now you can put all these elements together to create a background
such as the one below. Note the use of different textures in the trees and the castle roof. Also note
the use of overlapping elements to create a simple look of depth.
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