How to Draw Trees With Colored Pencils

When learning to draw landscapes, trees make a great starting point. Despite the same basic features, no two trees are alike. You can create a set of beautiful pictures by drawing a healthy tree in a sunny area. Colored pencils give you the control you need to blend colors without worrying about the mess or time constraints of working with paint. Create two or three different drawings to really get the hang of sketching trees in colored pencil. Once you know the basics, make variations using bold colors or unnatural combinations.

Choose a smooth paper to prevent the background from showing through the way it will on a textured paper. If you want to create an instant background without coloring the entire page, choose a light-colored paper to work on instead of a pure white. A pale blue works well for creating the sky. Don't choose a dark color or the pencils won't show up as well.

Draw the outline of the tree and any areas of the background you want to include. Make your marks lightly so the outline doesn't show through in the final drawing. Color in each area lightly with a base color. Use lighter and darker shades for highlights and shadows. On the tree itself, color in shaded areas with dark greens, and add yellows to the lighter areas. These light yellows will show through at the end to give the tree a glowing look, according to Practical Painting.com.

Choose a color, typically a green, that matches the tree's leaves, and use short, choppy strokes to create lines covering the areas you shaded in. Random, controlled lines give the tree texture and help the colored areas blend together. Use a lighter green-yellow for the light areas you colored yellow in Step 2.

Repeat that technique for any grassy areas in the background. Keep your drawing proportional by making the strokes for the grass shorter than those for the leaves of the tree.

Fill in the light and dark areas using small, controlled strokes and both light and dark colors. Step back several feet and squint your eyes. Notice which areas blend well and show highlights and shadows, and which areas do not. Add more detail to the areas that are lacking. The tree itself needs lots of detail while the background needs little and should appear to fade away.

Sketch in soft, long strokes to create the bark of the tree. Make sure to darken one side of the tree trunk and lighten the side in the sun. For the background of the picture, simply blend the colors slightly and leave it. The background can show mountains or hills in the distance—too far away to show any real detail. Finish blending in the different areas of the tree as desired to create your finished picture.