Silhouettes are common in landscape drawing and painting. Subjects in the foreground will appear as silhouettes due to backlighting in the distance.
DISTANT PINES
Graphite on smooth bristol
6” × 8” (15cm × 20cm)
In this drawing the layers of atmosphere are very obvious. The blending in the sky gives the illusion of cloud layers and distance. The trees in the distance appear very small when compared to the ones in the front. They also appear lighter in tone, which is essential to creating the look of distance. When using tone to create depth, always work back to front as you develop the drawing. This is necessary since everything overlaps the sky.
Pine trees have a distinct shape and are usually easier to draw because the overall shape is more evident and repetitive. The larger components become like puzzle pieces.
Start with the vertical line to represent the trunk. Create the repetitive shapes of the branches with squiggly lines. Continue building the tones with squiggly lines until you create the pine tree look.
Leafy trees generally have more limbs and small branches. They are less uniform in their shapes.
Start with a vertical line to represent the trunk. Place light lines for the branches. Use small, tight circular pencil strokes to start the look of leafy clumps. Continue building the illusion of leaves with the circular strokes, varying the tones. Use little dots, like stippling, for the smaller leaves on the outer edges.