These are trees. They might look like a bunched-up carpet of Broccoli... but you KNOW they're trees. And these, although they're completely different. Even these, despite their inverted colours - but now we know colour isn't a key identifying factor.

Obviously, context plays a part, but we definitely know these are trees. And this... This, too... even though its growth pattern is entirely different. And this... despite its equally unusual appearance.

Whatever the tree's shape, colour, or species, its unique peculiarities, or its location, there's something we instinctively recognise, that tells us a tree is a TREE.

You know this field contains trees - of several species. Some are Hawthorn, there's at least one Willow, and probably a Blackthorn or two. One is a Sycamore... and some are pure invention. But they're still trees. So, we know this is a tree. But why do we know that?

What we need is a clear idea of the visual clues - those that tell us these are trees. Find those clues, build them into your drawing, and you'll send the same "this is a tree" message.

Now, I'm not talking about the everyday-person's recognition of them. The in-built recognition system that we inherit as a child sees a tree - any tree - as a rounded mass on a stick. However, you as an artist, won't see trees as others do... as a leafy lollipop. But the Lollipop IS an efficient and instant "that's a tree" recognition system. So, that childish mental picture will stay with most adults too.

Obviously, that won't do for us - what we need is to cut through that lollipop system, to analyse what we really see - and then repeat that.

This is a tree. To be precise, it's a River Red Gum Tree. I've never seen one - but I immediately know it's a tree. So, let's take this one apart - then we'll know what to draw.

We have within the tree, its internal structure. The tree's skeleton on which everything is mounted. Supported by that - are individual rounded masses of foliage. And, unlike the lollipop they are not all in the front of the trunk, hiding the branches. No. Some clumps of foliage appear behind them. Others to either side and within the branches, and some will appear in front of them. And, as I mentioned, not only in front of them. That's the "Lollipop Recognition System" in action. It's a great system for instant recognition, but a trap for artists, because it tells us nothing about trees. It bears no relationship to Nature at all. So, rather than accepting what you think you know, you, as an artist, needs to think about what you're seeing. Analyse it. Study it. Extract every feature and useful clue you can find. Now you have the building blocks you need to construct your believable tree.

As well as rounded shapes and forms, trees also have textures that suggest the type of tree. The make-up might be big leaf, tiny leaf, short leaf, or long leaf, like this Willow. And those leaves might be from a Palm tree, an Oak tree, a Sycamore, perhaps a Pine tree, or any other type of tree. Even a MONKEY PUZZLE Tree!

There are major clues to be found in the overall shape, form, and texture of any tree. This is a Sycamore - I can tell that from the shape of its leaves. And the clues - the attention-grabbing leaves - are those around its edges. External edges - where the internal leaves might be a confusing jumble. Leaves against the tiles, or silhouetted against the sky, are very easily understood. You can use these to signal the species of tree, or be more general by suggesting the size of the leaves. And any sharply defined internal edges perform the same role. They too can clearly tell us the type of tree we're looking at.

You know - when using a photo reference... OH! But not here. All these trees are pure invention. However, when using a photo reference, it's so very easy to just look at the front of a tree. And forget trees have depth. They go all the way around.

You can see through a tree to see the darker far side - "darker" because what you're seeing is inside the tree, not the outside face. The more open a tree is, the more this is evident. And the more holes and gaps that expose the internal structure.

Now, we're not talking "detail" - that depends on distance, which I'll cover in a later video. We're talking "regular features" that appear in trees, no matter how near or far away they are. So, to keep it simple, let's work with midground trees. They display a leafy texture, rather than individual leaves. And we'll create a tree that's at least loosely based on an Oak.

Let's begin by creating a trunk - of a style that suits our chosen species. Or, if you're inventing you own tree, just create one to suit what's in your mind. For the main branches, you can sketch guidelines like this beforehand. Or you can just wing it and invent features as they occur to you. But, until you feel comfortable creating tree foliage, I'd recommend you use guidelines. And that's because branches divide and become progressively thinner - from branches to twigs. Although you might never need to draw the twigs, you must at least be aware of them and suitably reduce the width of any visible branches. And the best way to explore that is to lightly draw in the branches and twigs a few times, or sketch leafless trees during the winter. Then, once the lesson is learned, you can invent or imagine them as you draw.

This we know is an oak tree. But, of course, your chosen species of tree will clearly dictate its shape - a container in which the foliage exists. So, for example, a Pine tree is going to have a completely different shape than a Sycamore. And that will completely change again if your tree is a Willow. And, typically, we'd expect our oak to be relatively wide in comparison to its height.

Now this is becoming unnecessarily complex. So, let's simplify it. We need to break the foliage down into manageable shapes. These will be the individual three-dimensional clumps of leaves. Each one containing a highlighted side and a side in the shade. As the light is usually shining from above, you'll find the clumps will be lighter on the top, and darker at the bottom, where the clump curves back underneath itself towards the trunk.

If you're working with a reference, look for those values. You'll find edges where the dark portion of a clump clearly displays the lighter leaves along the edge of an adjacent one. Here's another And another. Those edges create recession and depth that we instantly understand. So, we'll make good use of them in our drawing.

Right - now we've got these shapes established, it's time to begin drawing. And that involves scribble. OK - let's be more sophisticated about this... it involves creating the tree's texture. But it's still scribble!

So, keeping the lighting direction in mind, we're going to use scribble to create the light and dark areas of the foliage - using little shapes that suggest the tree's texture. Let's make a start by creating small random and irregular organic marks that suggest the texture of the leaves of the tree. "Suggest" because we're just creating an illusion, not drawing actual leaves. Remember, this is a midground tree, so you won't see individual leaves, just a mottled mass.

And a word of advice - this is easier if you begin in an area of shade. That's so you can "get a feel for the texture" before you tackle the more clearly visible areas.

Don't worry if your scribbles stray outside of your guidelines. In fact, welcome it. Because trees are not perfectly balanced or symmetrically shaped. They're very organic and irregular. And we're not COPYING my reference. We're just using it for inspiration.

Now, I don't want to cause confusion, but this is negative drawing. That is, you're not drawing leaves; you're drawing the spaces between the leaves. In other words, the patches of leaves are the white shapes you're leaving.

I prefer to begin in an area of shade and then extend the drawing outward from that. That's partly because the shady section supplies my darkest values, so now I now the entire range available. However, there are times, such as this, where you might benefit from moving elsewhere. Here, I'm working on the sunlit side of the tree, and I need experience of the shady side before I can continue. I need to know the values required, so I can balance the contrast between the two sides.

While you're drawing, bear one thing in mind: if you draw too lightly, you'll struggle to create depth. Use the full range of values, from the darkest darks to the very lightest.

There will be gaps in the tree. Open spaces where we can see silhouettes of branches against the sky, and sections of trunk.

And remember the outside edges, too. As I explained, you need to create irregular sharp shapes around the canopy's outer edges - silhouettes of leaves with the bright sky behind them.

2B is a good grade to use for this. It can draw very light values to very dark, and the lines it draws are sharp-edged. Sharp edges are important. If you draw softly or - heaven forbid! - blend! You'll create areas of light and shade that run into each other; not individual groups of leaves. Soft edges merge. They flow elements into each other. Sharp edges divide.

While you're drawing, bear one thing in mind: if you draw too lightly, you'll struggle to create depth. Use the full range of values, from the darkest darks to the very lightest.

Don't forget - the entire tree is a rounded mass. So, it will be lighter on the sunny side and darker on the other. You always need to consider the location of the light source - and that's usually the sun above. Preferably, imagine your sunlight is strong, because that creates deep shade and dark cast shadows, and both of those combine to create a solid sense of three-dimensional form.

Remember we're creating a SENSE of reality. It's all just an illusion. So, rather than draw every single leaf, we just need to create the boundaries of masses with similar values - that is, their degree of darkness or lightness. Then, when we meet a darker area, we can focus on sharply drawing the edge to divide it from the next one.

Don't become absorbed in detail. This tree is perhaps 200 metres or yards away, and you will not naturally see detail. So, concentrate on using value, texture, shape, and form to create the illusion of what we'd expect to see in real life. We're fooling the viewer's mind into believing the scene by building in those Visual Clues we extracted earlier.

Well, that's the canopy completed. Now I'll work on the trunk. Common visual Clues in that area are vertical crests and valleys in the bark. So, I'm using broken vertical dark marks. Then toning down the white. And finally adding the three-dimensional shaping to curve one side of the tree into the shade. Not forgetting, of course, that the canopy itself will be casting its shadow on the trunk, so light values might be entirely missing.

And our drawing of a tree is complete. It contains all the expected clues, so, regardless of your personal style, it should send the same messages as a real tree. Job done!

Just relax. Let it flow. And work quickly so your brain is forced to work intuitively. Don't fixate on detail or overthink. Just use suggestion. Don't include detail where it wouldn't naturally be visible. Always apply consistent lighting. And, above all else, understand what you're drawing.

Make life easy. Tackle every tree in logical layers - full shade, partial shade and highlighted foliage. Break it down into manageable shapes. Don't forget the tree itself will have a dark and light side. And that you can see through the tree. Bear those things in mind, and you can't go far wrong.

And a bit of patience helps too - if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well!