Okay, so today I decided to dive into making some fantasy map trees. You know, the kind you see on those cool hand-drawn maps of magical lands? I’ve always loved those, so I figured, why not try to make my own?
Getting Started
First, I just grabbed some plain paper and a few pencils. Nothing fancy, just regular old drawing pencils. I did make sure I had a good eraser on hand, because, let’s be real, there were gonna be mistakes.
Experimenting with Shapes
I started by just doodling different tree shapes. Some were like big, fluffy lollipops, others were more pointy and triangular, like pine trees. I played around with different trunk styles too – some thick and gnarled, others thin and straight. It was all about just getting a feel for what looked “fantasy-ish”, you know?
- Tried round, fluffy tree tops.
- Drew some pointy, evergreen-style trees.
- Experimented with twisted, ancient-looking trunks.
- Added some roots poking out of the ground.
Adding Details
Once I had a few basic shapes I liked, I started adding some details. I used light, feathery strokes to give the leaves some texture. For the bark, I used darker, more jagged lines to make it look rough and old. Think “Lord of the Rings” vibes, but, like, way more amateur.
- Used short, light strokes for leaves.
- Made the bark look textured with darker, uneven lines.
- Tried adding some hanging vines on a couple of trees.
Making Mistakes (and Learning from Them)
Of course, not everything went smoothly. Some of my trees ended up looking like weird blobs, and others just looked…off. But hey, that’s part of the process, right? I just kept erasing and redrawing until I got something I was reasonably happy with.
The Final Result
In the end, I had a page full of pretty decent-looking fantasy map trees! They weren’t perfect, but they definitely had that whimsical, magical feel I was going for. I’m thinking of scanning them and maybe using them in a digital map project later. We’ll see!
It was a cool, relaxing way to spend a few hours. Good practice, and I’m geting better with this style thing.
