This tree is wonderful, Tom! I've been practicing drawing tree lately, largely from reference and field guides, which give examples of different trees, their silhouettes, growth patterns, leaves, flowers, and fruit. I noticed many areas where this drawing is succeeding. For example, the line weight is doing a great job of conveying what parts of the tree are in front of the others, especially the branches, trunk, and leaf edges in the masses of foliage nearest the viewer. Here are a couple thoughts on how to grow even stronger drawing trees! I love the serpentine forms wrapping around the trunk, as well as the roots, but they strike me as too similar in size and shape, almost parallel to one another. Try varying the thickness of these masses and their direction for greater viewer interest. Study the roots of old Dawn Redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) for examples of this phenomenon. Another idea to try is to include some openings or gaps between the roots or hollows in the tree trunk, which Dawn Redwoods showcase well too. A similar problem may be happening with the foliage masses. The overall round shape for them is great, as many trees do have that general form, but we can make the foliage much more interesting and realistic if we cut into those forms to create complex edges to the silhouette of the tree. For example, trees usually grow in a genetically determined pattern unique to each species, but the unique circumstances of their growth, like storms, wind, frost, location, sun, insect predation, disease, shade, and more force the tree to adapt to the specific conditions of its location, leading each individual tree to grow differently. I think one of the aspiring artists below offered a similar insight with the idea of turning the tree into a character, which I agree with. Play around with the edges of the leaf masses. See what happens when a branch juts outward with a cluster of leaves, breaking the overall silhouette and try making gaps in the foliage around the edges and within the larger over masses of the foliage: shapes within shapes within shapes! Experiment with the patterns and get lost in them. If you do work from reference, please don't feel you need to capture exactly the pattern of branches and leaves. Just shoot for expressing the general feel of the tree, and let your imagination take over! I attached reference photos I took of a Norway Maple (Acer platanoides) and Red Maple (Acer rubrum) below you can use to see how the leaf masses work. Another source you might like to check out is J.D. Harding's On Drawing Trees and Nature. This manual is from the Victorian period, so the language is definitely old-fashioned, but I've found it helpful as a guide while studying trees. I hope these thoughts are helpful for you on your art journey!

I considered this one for my own studies and yeah it is pretty great. That last part of the video where you talk about the lightness of the spear before the hadn't and then darkened again behind the hand is interesting because lighting wise, I would assume that behind the rider, the shaft would be lighter and in front darker, but logic can't get in the way of making a clear read of the image and it might not work if the "real" lighting were used instead.

So, looking at the tree, the first thing that pops out is balance of masses. It's really heavy to the left side. Something to balance that on the right might make the overall balance of forms feel better. The second would be the gesture of the tree. Living trees respond to gravity the same way our limbs do. The way the branches grow is to counteract gravity so the leaves can be closer to the sun. The third thing is the mass of the trunk is quite uniform up into the branches and then stops. That's okay, but you've kind hidden the trunk away. Try freeing up some space where you've got leaf-masses and show us that the top of the trunk is broken off or something. Lastly, what's the story for the illustration? It might make all the above make more sense if you think of the tree as a character, with a past. Maybe it got struck by lightning or broke in a storm but defiantly kept growing. Hope that helps. Otherwise, I love the line weight. and the twisting forms that make up the trunk. And the leafy masses are convincing. They look full and heavy.

I'm super myopic and take my glasses off when squinting gets annoying. For TAKING reference that has the same effect of reducing details, using a smartphone camera, set the focus lock on something close by. First take a few shots of the subject or scene normally. Then, I put my hand in front of the lens and set the lock. Then I take a few shots of the subject with the lock on, trying to keep the same POV. You end up with a set of references that include both the full detail and the simplified shapes and values. You do loose edges if the subject is really far away.

my drawing before the video

I don't know if it's any better, I would totally love a critique. my doubt after doing it second time is : I spend 50 percent of time in eyes, why even in second time I could not tilt it more, how can I make it more clean like its in video. Thanks a lot again. sayonara until next time but todays I am gonna do at least 3 projects.

@Dorian Iten In a lighting setup with two point sources on roughly opposite sides of the subject, I suspect you make a light guide for both sources as well as for each local value, yes? So for a blue ball with two green stripes (blue and green have different values), you'd make a guide for both local values and both light sources? so four guides?

Hello, where can I get the pdf guide?

How would this work for the different modelling factors like reflected light or ambient occlusion (one brightens a shadow, the other darkening shadow or light masses.)

How would you choose the dark halftones then? Just by contrast comparison? ie. Something nice?