Caroline
Trees are a very common sight in our everyday lives, and there is a huge amount of variety when it comes to different kinds of trees.
Trees can be big or small, and some have lots of leaves and other things growing on them while others are barer.
This can make depicting trees in artwork quite a challenge, and this is true no matter what the style may be. Learning how to draw a cartoon tree can definitely be a challenge because of this!
While it can be a challenge, it can also be fun to do when you know what to do, and that’s what this tutorial is here to help with.
Our step-by-step guide on how to draw a cartoon tree in just 6 easy steps will show you how to recreate this awesome tree.
How to Draw A Cartoon Tree – Let’s Get Started!
Step 1
When learning how to draw a cartoon tree, there are several elements that can make it harder even though it is done in a cartoon style.
That is because elements like the trunk, branches and especially the individual leaves can be tricky to get looking accurate, but that’s why we shall take it slowly throughout this guide.
To start with, we will begin with the trunk of the tree. We will be using a rather bumpy line for the trunk, as this will help to give it some texture.
The base of the trunk will extend horizontally, as these will be the tops of the roots. When the trunk is drawn, we will then be adding two large branches forking up from each side.
Then you will be ready for step 2 of this guide!
Step 2 – Now, draw more roots and add details to the trunk
For this second part of your cartoon tree drawing, we will add some more roots along with some more details.
First, use some more bumpy lines to draw the bottom of the roots that you drew horizontally at the base of the tree.
Then, we will add two more gangly roots extending from the center of the base of the tree.
Finally for this step, add some slightly curvy lines up from the roots into the interior of the tree. Once these roots are drawn, you’ll be ready to proceed.
Step 3 – Draw some more branches
In this third step of our guide on how to draw a cartoon tree, we will turn our focus from the bottom of the tree to the top as we add some branches.
The branches will be relatively thick, and we will be adding three of these bumpy branches to the center between the first two branches you drew.
Each of these larger branches will then have several smaller branches forking off of them. With these drawn, we can start adding the leaves as we move to step 4 of the guide.
Step 4 – Next, draw the first leaves of this tree
When drawing a tree that has a lot of leaves, it can be quite a frustrating endeavor that requires a lot of patience.
The reason for this is that there can be thousands of leaves covering a tree, and drawing them individually would take a lot of time and patience.
In this step of our cartoon tree drawing, we will be showing you how you can draw a healthy canopy of leaves above the tree without having to draw them individually.
To do this, we will be drawing an outline for the canopy above the tops of the branches.
Give this canopy an outline made up of lots of pointy shapes extending out, and then draw some more of the small leaf shapes near the outline for some depth.
If this sounds confusing, the reference image will show you how this outline should look! We will then finish off the tree canopy in the next step of the guide.
Step 5 – Add the final details to your cartoon tree drawing
In this step of our guide on how to draw a cartoon tree, we will finish off the canopy of leaves along with any final details.
To do this, finish drawing the outline of the leaves by extending that jagged, pointy set of lines you used for the bottom of the canopy.
This will come up to finish the outline for the canopy, and then you can add some individual leaf details to the interior of this section.
As you can see, this gives off the look of having lots of leaves without having to draw them all! Before you move on, you could also add some more details of your own.
It could be fun to draw a background, and if you did that then what kind of setting would you choose?
Step 6 – Finish off your cartoon tree drawing with color
Now you’re ready to finish off this cartoon tree drawing with some colors! In our reference image, we showed you just one of the ways you could color it.
We went with a healthy arrangement of green shades for the leaves and then used a rich brown for the bark of the tree.
You could go for similar colors, but there are other options as well! You could incorporate colors like yellow, orange and brown for a Fall theme to the image, for example.
What colors and art mediums will you choose for this picture?
Do this to take your cartoon tree drawing to the next level
Climb into these fun ideas for your cartoon tree sketch to make it even better!
If you see a tree in real life, it will often be covered by fruit or flowers. You could add some details such as these to your drawing of a cartoon tree.
These details could be simple, but they will help make the tree even more interesting and also give you the chance to add more color.
Can you think of some fruits or flowers that would look pretty on this cartoon tree?
Trees will look very different depending on the season. This one we have drawn looks like it is in the middle of Spring or Summer, but you could also make it look like it is in the middle of another season.
For example, you could create a stunning Fall scene by making the leaves orange, yellow and red. Or, you could make the branches completely bare or covered in snow for a Winter setting.
How else could you portray seasonal changes in this artwork?
Another fun way to make this cartoon tree drawing even more interesting would be to add some characters to it. These could be animals standing below it for one idea.
Or, you could show some human characters climbing the tree. They could be drawn in a cartoon style or you could make them more realistic depending on your preferences for drawing.
What kinds of adventures could you create around this tree with some added characters?
Finally, you could finish it off by adding a background for your cartoon tree sketch. This would allow you to make your very own beautiful landscape.
The landscape you use for your background could take on many forms. The background could be filled with more trees, or you could maybe add some tall mountains.
The background you add would also help to define the season you want to portray in the artwork. What are some ideas that you have for a wonderful background for your artwork?
Your Cartoon Tree Drawing is Complete!
That brings you to the end of this guide on how to draw a cartoon tree! As we mentioned in the introduction, drawing a tree can be challenging for many different reasons.
We hope that this guide showed you just how fun and easy it can be, though!
Now that you have finished up this drawing, remember that you can keep the fun going!
You can do this by showing off your creativity with extra details, changes to the drawing or some amazing colors and art mediums.
The next way to keep the fun going is by visiting our website for more awesome drawing guides!
We have hundreds of incredible drawing guides there, and we will be bringing out new ones you won’t want to miss!
We would love to see what a great job you did on this cartoon tree drawing, so please share your creation on our Facebook and Pinterest pages!
