How to draw tree bark
l have been asked for a tree bark tutorial. So here it is! The good news is that drawing tree bark using colored pencils is very forgiving. As long as you have lots and lots of tiny marks, dots and lines and lots of layers it usually works out all right!
The biggest tip is to take a really good look at your reference photo before you start. Study it well so that you are familiar with the shapes and colors of the particular bark you are drawing. They are all very different. Some barks have lots of horizontal lines, others have curving vertical ones, some barks peel a lot, some are very smooth, some very textured. Get a feel for the bark before you begin.
lf you are familiar with the textures the placement of the marks does not matter too much unless you are going for photo perfect match. In real life no one can tell when looking at your bark if you have put a dot or line a cm or two from where it is on the photo.
The shapes of the marks, the colors you use and the contrast are the most important parts.
The biggest tip is to take a really good look at your reference photo before you start. Study it well so that you are familiar with the shapes and colors of the particular bark you are drawing. They are all very different. Some barks have lots of horizontal lines, others have curving vertical ones, some barks peel a lot, some are very smooth, some very textured. Get a feel for the bark before you begin.
lf you are familiar with the textures the placement of the marks does not matter too much unless you are going for photo perfect match. In real life no one can tell when looking at your bark if you have put a dot or line a cm or two from where it is on the photo.
The shapes of the marks, the colors you use and the contrast are the most important parts.
Step 1
Step one is a very basic sketch of the piece of bark. I am outlining the shape using Caran D’ache Pablo’s in Vandyke Brown. I roughly mark in the darkest areas with this too using a very light pressure. I am creating a guide for the later layers. This particular bark has a lot of light patches on it. I use Holbeins in Jaune Brilliant and Salmon Pink to mark our these patches and use Holbein Shell Pink to color the lightest area along the top of the bark.
When this is done l cover the whole of the palest top part of the branch with a layer of Holbein Sea Fog and the whole of the darkest under part of the branch with a layer of Faber Castell Polychromos in Caput Mortum.
l try to bring in as many interesting colors as l can in the early stages so that it does not end up a boring, flat brown. This particular bark had a lot of purple in the brown and a lot of salmon pink in the markings on the bark.
When this is done l cover the whole of the palest top part of the branch with a layer of Holbein Sea Fog and the whole of the darkest under part of the branch with a layer of Faber Castell Polychromos in Caput Mortum.
l try to bring in as many interesting colors as l can in the early stages so that it does not end up a boring, flat brown. This particular bark had a lot of purple in the brown and a lot of salmon pink in the markings on the bark.
Step 2
In step 2 l just want to add a few more colors and some of the obvious marks. I use Polychromos in Burnt Sienna to draw in many of the lines and splits in the wood. I add Holbein Misty Green to some random patches. I use a layer of Pablo’s Mauve over the brown and also lightly over the lightest upper part of the branch. Then l use Polychromos in Terra-cotta and Sanguine to deepen and define a little more the pink patches.
Step 3
ln step 3 l start to darken the darkest areas and define the darkest lines and marks using Polychromos Walnut Brown and Dark Sepia and Pablo’s Vandyke Brown. I then take some Holbein Shell Pink and work little random marks over the dark areas to add texture.
At this point l blend using OMS. Tree bark is about the only time l ever use anything to blend. I use it here because l want to smudge the colors together a bit and l am not worried if the colors dirty each other here - it is tree bark - it is brown. I just want a nice soft blend.
At this point l blend using OMS. Tree bark is about the only time l ever use anything to blend. I use it here because l want to smudge the colors together a bit and l am not worried if the colors dirty each other here - it is tree bark - it is brown. I just want a nice soft blend.
Step 4
Now l have created a nice base in step 4 l define and sharpen everything. So the pink patches are now defined and textures added using Holbein Coral and Polychromos Indian Red. I use Polychromos Dark Sepia to really darken the shadows and the darkest parts of cracks and crevices. I take Pablo’s Vandyke Brown over much of the pink patches creating shadow and depth. Finally l take a light color Holbein Shell Pink and make more tiny random marks to add more texture.
Step 5
In the final step l am concentrating on making the branch look three dimensional. Here l am shading rather than creating marks. I use Polychromos Burnt Sienna to warm some areas while adding Pablo’s Grey Black in tiny circles to add shadow and texture to the top light part of the branch. I use Polychromos Walnut Brown to add more shadow to the underside of the branch. Finally l use Polychromos Black very sparingly to get the very darkest shadows and Caran D’ache Luminance in Buff Titanium to add a few highlights.