Q&A for How to Draw a Forest

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  • Question
    How can I improve my perspective in drawing?
    Kelly Medford
    Professional Artist
    Kelly Medford is an American painter based in Rome, Italy. She studied classical painting, drawing and printmaking both in the U.S. and in Italy. She works primarily en plein air on the streets of Rome, and also travels for private international collectors on commission. She founded Sketching Rome Tours in 2012 where she teaches sketchbook journaling to visitors of Rome. Kelly is a graduate of the Florence Academy of Art.
    Professional Artist
    Expert Answer
    One way is by doing blind contour drawings, where you just look at the object that you're drawing without looking at your paper—this forces your eyes to go very slowly around the object and have your hand follow your eye on paper. You can also take photographs of buildings that are in perspective and trace over them with tracing paper, which helps you understand how angles go back in space and are not flat.
  • Question
    What is razor gum? Is it just an eraser?
    Community Answer
    It is a special kind of eraser that can be molded to erase fine details and not large swaths of drawing.
  • Question
    How do I draw a simple winning drawing?
    Shahzaib Khan
    Community Answer
    Follow the method above and add your own tweaks and ideas. Use your imagination!
  • Question
    How do I draw a rainforest scene?
    Community Answer
    You could draw the scene above, but then use your imagination to add things like raindrops, wild animals and more plants on the floor.
  • Question
    Is it compulsory to draw bushes?
    Community Answer
    It depends. In an alpine setting or a savanna, stubby bushes and grass are everything. But if you don't want to, you don't have to. Not all forests have large amounts of bushes, and if you don't want bushes, don't add them. However, I find bushes to be very useful at covering hard to draw roots and they do look nice.
  • Question
    What crayons should I use for an inhabited forest?
    Community Answer
    Just use your everyday crayons. If you want, you can use oil pastels as well.
  • Question
    It is good to draw without colors?
    Community Answer
    Totally! Sometimes it's best just to have a cool sketch, it helps so you can see more details.
  • Question
    Is it important to make the forest a natural color, or can I do it my own way?
    Community Answer
    You can make your forest in whatever colors you want; get creative with it!
  • Question
    What if I can't do all the little details?
    Community Answer
    Try your best. If you need some help with bark, I suggest making some lines up and down, then shade darker under the leaves and lighter when it comes to the ground, creating a shadow. Keep practicing and your drawing will improve.
  • Question
    I need to draw a border of trees surrounding a village. How would I do that?
    Community Answer
    Where do you want your village to be? One cool trick is to draw some trees in front of the village. It also depends on what medium you're working with. If you're working with acrylics, draw the most distant trees first, then work your way towards the viewer.
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