reproducing this tree?

[jasonchan]

just wondering how you guys would approach this tree effect? how is this really done? is it all done with the pen tool because it does look quite annoying if it is.

[obesebee]

I would probably take a photo of the tree I wanted, change the levels in photoshop to get the silhouettes and then live trace (or streamline) and tidy up the points.

or

do it all with the pen tool

or

pencil tool and tablet

or

draw it in ink, scan and then live trace

[SpugNothuson]

I'd probably start in PhotoShop with a picture that I wanted to look like this, drop the image down to a basic bitmap so that I have a black tree on a white background. Then slap it in Illustrator and use the trace tool.

The annoying bit would be my pedantic nature of then examining the curves and lines and tweeking them for the next couple of hours or so.

[hewligan]

I'd probably do it the photoshop -> livetrace way, too, but looking at that image I don't think that one was done that way.

With a tablet and Illustrator, you could actually do that pretty quickly.

Draw the trunk and the larger branches first. That shouldn't take you long.

Make a brush in the shape of a long, uneven triangle, and draw in the twigs. There's a lot of them, but you don't need to be very accurate, and could just do it with the pencil tool.

Half an hour, tops.

[PrintDriver]

I'd ink it and scan it.

It might be tough to find a tree picture you like that you can silhouette unless you take it yourself.

[Logo-Mechanix]

^^ditto. Ink it and scan it, being a little rough will actually make it look more like a tree in my book.

[captain spanky]

i can never draw bloody trees
it's going to be my downfall
i aspire to make a tree like iso50's
http://www.merchline.com/storeimages/ISO50_winter.jpg

sigh... one day, one day...

[Logo-Mechanix]

I think alot of times when people draw things like trees they try to be too perfect. A tree is something that really is imperfect looks wise and alot of people have trouble drawing imperfect things.

[seamas]

I think alot of times when people draw things like trees they try to be too perfect. A tree is something that really is imperfect looks wise and alot of people have trouble drawing imperfect things.

Yes.
Often people will draw a tree standing straight up, with the main trunk vertically plumb, when more often than not, tree lean a bit, often times dramatically.

[Logo-Mechanix]

One way I found to make some good tree branches was to put a blob of ink on a piece of paper and blow it out with compressed air while it was still wet. It may sound crazy but it was kind of cool and it did look like branches.

[seamas]

There is a pretty good drawing book I have called the "Anatomy of Trees" or something to that effect.

Also good are field guides.

This way one can become familiar with what type of tree they are drawing, be it Larch, Pin Oak, Willow etc..
(this way one doesn't put sasafras leaves on a beech-like trunk.)

[PrintDriver]

Sassafras leaves would look cool on a beech tree trunk.

All depends on how botanically accurate you need to be.

The other mistake people make is to have all the branches going out sideways from the trunk. Trees grow in 3D (unless they are espaliered). I still remember sitting down one day at a window on the third floor of the school library and figuring out how to draw foreshortened head-on tree branches. It takes a lot of hard 'looking' to figure it out but once done, it's easy.

[jasonchan]

Too poor to afford a tablet right now so I guess I have to do the "ink and scan" that many of you have suggested.


* So basically I should draw this out first and then scan it into photoshop, and then outline it with the pen tool again ? ?

[Logo-Mechanix]

I would draw it in ink and live trace the thing in Illustrator, you don't need and really don't want crisp clean lines, it's a tree.

[morea]

reproducing this tree - just wondering how you guys would approach this tree effect?

ok, first you're going to need one of these:

http://icons.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/p/polishprincess/5.jpg


*ducks to avoid hurled produce* ;)

[jasonchan]

what is that ... seaweed?

[frankster]

what is that ... seaweed?

sycamore helicopters mate!