I love teaching the art of drawing through natural subjects. In this new Sketchbook Explorer series, I'm starting with one of my favorite subjects, trees!

This class is a complement to my Drawing Foundations and Natural Explorer classes. I share a step-by-step process in both digital painting (Procreate) and with traditional watercolor & pencil. Trees can seem complicated to draw, but I've developed a simple process with a beautiful outcome.

I walk you through it step-by-step, and each demo is under 30 minutes.

Why Trees?

I love trees and I love drawing trees— it's so therapeutic. They're also a common element in nature, so if you like to do travel sketching, nature sketches, or keep an Explorer's Log, it's nice to be able to draw them well.

(If you want to know more about why trees are actually magical, check out the book The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben :) )

What You'll Learn

This demo provides a step-by-step process for drawing trees that you can adapt for different kinds of trees! I will explain how to:

Observe the shape and gesture of a tree
Make a loose pencil sketch
Block in organic shapes and negative space
Use values + color strategically to create depth and dimension
Add details and texture
Finishing touches and harmonizing the colors

Class Guide: I also made a downloadable class handbook that summarizes these steps for quick reference, and also includes the photo I took and used for the class.

Class Resources:

Class Handbook & Reference Photo
Materials Used (including specific colors)
- Digital Demo
  - MaxPack Watercolor Brush Set MaxU Watercolor Detail Opaque
  - Fabulous Pencils by GuerillaCraft Norman's Soft Pencil
  - Procreate App
  - Apple Pencil Pro
  - Apple iPad Pro 13” (I get the wifi and 256GB since I only use the iPad for Procreate and nothing else)
- Traditional Demo
  - Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Paint Set
  - Watercolor Paint Brush Set Biaelk
  - Derwent Drawing Pencils Set
  - Traveler’s Notebook Cover
  - Traveler’s Notebook MD Paper Cream Refill- I personally like how the thin paper gets wrinkly. It holds up well, but if you want a thicker paper designed for watercolor that won’t warp, get the refill below.
  - Traveler’s Notebook Watercolor Paper Refill

Book Recommendations:

Books on Drawing:
- Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaides
- Beginning Drawing Atelier by Juliette Aristides
- Classical Drawing Atelier by Juliette Aristides
- The Art Spirit by Robert Henri
Books on Creativity Benefits:
- Your Brain on Art by Susan Magsamen
- The Creative Act by Rick Rubin
Books on Nature Benefits:
- The Nature Fix by Florence Williams
Books on Mindfulness Benefits
- The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh

Enjoy! -M

Nata Lee

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