How to Draw a Cypress Tree

Cypress trees are a coniferous species that grow in northern temperate climates. For simplicity's sake--and if you're a beginner--try to draw a rather flat representation of a common cypress tree (the same type of tree that appears in Van Gogh's "Starry Night"). This drawing can be fleshed out with details as necessary.

Instructions

1. Draw two vertical lines that bend slightly inward toward the center, then curve them back out. These lines should be 1/4-inch apart and 1/2-inch tall. This is the trunk of the cypress.

2. Draw a vertical line as long as the trunk at the top left of the trunk, curving outward, then back in (in the opposite direction of the line for the trunk). The top of the line should be slightly to the right of the bottom of the line, so that the line leans slightly right.

3. Draw a vertical line as long as the trunk at the top right of the trunk, curving outward then back in (in the opposite direction of the line of the trunk below). the top of the line should be located slightly to the left of the bottom of the line, so that the line leans slightly to the left.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 moving upward from the base of the tree, building on the lines you drew in Step 2 and 3. Continue to draw curved lines on top of the curved lines, up the sides of the tree. The sides of the tree will narrow gradually until they meet at the top.

5. Draw a long curving line up the left side of the tree to smooth the exterior of the tree. Do the same on the right side of the tree.

6. Draw several wavy vertical lines inside the tree to represent texture inside the tree.

References

• Common Cypress Tree