Drawing: Trees by William F. Powell

Drawing: Trees by Walter Foster ISBN-13: 9781633227798 Paperback: 40 pages Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing Released: May 7, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
With tips on drawing root patterns, branches, fallen trees, and bark and simple techniques for rendering cast shadows and ground foliage, Drawing: Trees with William F. Powell teaches beginning artists how to draw a wide variety of trees in graphite pencil, from basic shapes to final details. Learn about basic tree shapes and leaf types, as well as the fundamentals of shading, composition, and perspective. This book demonstrates how to start with basic shapes and use pencil and shading techniques to create varied textures, values, and details for a realistic, completed drawing.


My Review:
Drawing: Trees is a short art book providing tips on how to draw trees with graphite pencils. The author spent a few pages discussing tools, materials, and basic graphite techniques, then he briefly covered shading, values, perspective, composition, and the basic shapes that make up trees. These may provide some new tips for beginners but aren't detailed enough to teach drawing to a complete beginner.

The finished trees were often more like sketches than highly detailed graphite drawings. The basic technique was to rough in the basic shapes, refine those shapes, then add shading and some texture. He gave examples of the basic shapes and finished look for several different kinds of trees. There were step-by-step drawings (with 2 to 6 steps) showing how to draw tree trunks, branches, the base of the tree, foliage around the base, and a fallen tree. There were 3 landscape projects that focused on: a large oak, a pine, and a sycamore.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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