Whether you're sketching a rain forest, apple orchard, palm tree or landscape, Photoshop can assist you with a robust set of drawing tools to make your trees come alive. Photoshop is a graphics software package available in the Adobe Creative Suite. Although Photoshop can perform an endless number of edits and enhancements to photos, you can also use the program to draw. In fact, Photoshop can help drawings such as trees take life on the screen with just a few clicks.
Instructions
1. Open Photoshop and click File, then New. Name the file MyTree and select your preferred width and height for the tree. Change the Mode to RGB Color and choose White from the Contents. Then click OK.
2. Click View, then choose Fit on Screen. This doesn't actually enlarge your tree image; it just gives you more room to make the tree on the screen.
3. Click the New Layer box-which looks like a bent sticky note-on the Layers palette on the right side of the screen. A new Layer 2 appears; right-click it and select Layer Properties. Rename the layer TreeTrunk and click OK.
4. Click the Paintbrush tool on the Tools palette on the left side of the screen. Notice a new toolbar at the top of the screen. Pull down the Brush menu and select one of the square head brushes, such as #23, #36 or #44. Double-click the top-left square in the color picker, which is the two overlapping squares, and choose a brown for the trunk of the tree.
5. Draw the outline of the tree trunk in the MyTree box. Notice the edges are somewhat fuzzy, to look like the non-smooth layers of bark. Click the Fill tool, which looks like a tipping paint can, then click inside the tree outline, which then fills with paint.
6. Add a new layer to the Layers palette and name it TreeTop. Click the Paintbrush and pull down the Brush menu, selecting one of the circle brushes with a fuzzy outer layer, such as #17, #21 or #27. This time, check the Wet Edges box. Draw the outline of the top of the tree. The outline comes out partially see-through, like seeing bits of sky through tree branches and leaves.
7. Uncheck the Wet Edges box, choose a slightly darker or lighter green paint color, then fill in the outline with paintbrush strokes. If desired, switch to a dark brown paint color and very thin brush head to make tree branches.
8. (Optional) Add a new layer and name it Sky. Click the Shape tool on the Tools palette. This tool may look like a straight line, hollow rectangle, hollow circle or solid star; they all share the same space on the toolbar. Clicking any of them will result in a new toolbar at the top of the screen. Click the solid star-shaped icon at the top of the screen, which brings up a new Shape drop-down menu. Pull down the menu and click on the cloud shape. Choose a white or gray paint color from the Color Picker, then hover your mouse near the top of the tree and click and drag; cloud shapes appear and fill in with color. Repeat to add as many clouds as you'd like around the top of the tree.
9. Double-click the TreeTrunk layer in the Tools palette. When the Layer Style window appears, click the Drop Shadow, Bevel and Emboss and Texture boxes. This gives the tree a 3-D-type background, making it appear lifting off the page and a crackly texture for the tree trunk. Click the OK button.
10. Double-click the TreeTop layer and choose the Drop Shadow option, then click the OK button.
11. Click the right-pointing triangle in a circle at the top of the Layers palette, then choose Flatten Image. Click File menu, then choose Save As. Give the file a name and destination, then save it to your computer.
Tags: make, trees, photoshop, Layers palette, paint color, then choose, Tools palette, Brush menu, click Click, Click Paintbrush, down Brush, down Brush menu, Draw outline
