Landscape Art: Shrinking Trees/Perspecitive

Shrinking Trees

Here's one important thing to know when drawing a landscape: Things look SMALLER when they are FURTHER away.

Let's draw a landscape with trees on a hillside. You'll see how the tree shrinks.

If you'd like to print out these instructions, go to your File menu and select Print.

What You'll Need:
Crayons, color markers, or a color printer
Computer paint program, such as Kid Pix®
(or pattern from this page)
Printer with black or color ink

What To Do:

At your computer, open a painting program such as Kid Pix®, ClarisWorks/Paint, or Windows Paint.

Draw a large tree on one side of the screen. The bottom of the tree should reach the bottom of the drawing area. Draw a smaller tree on the other side of screen. The bottom of this tree should reach about half way down the drawing area.
Add lines that show rolling hills. Now you have a landscape! The smaller tree looks like it is further away. Add other details if you'd like. Draw your pictures in outlines and print one copy. Color your landscape with crayons or markers.

To finish your painting at your computer, fill the outlines with color. Print your art in color if you have a color printer. If not, your art will be in shades of gray - this is called "grayscale".

Another option:
Print the landscape that we've drawn. Click here for the pattern. Add your own touch with crayons or markers. Fill our landscape with flowers, animals, clouds, or whatever you'd like.

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