In this wood burning tutorial, I am going to lay out step by step on how to burn a pine tree illustration.
This is an easy tutorial for any level. To create this wood burning, I am using a Walnut Hollow Versa Tool Burner.
This wood burning pen is excellent for beginners and is what I learned with. It’s also very affordable so I like to do tutorials with this pen to show you can make art with any type of burner.
If you prefer video tutorials, check out my step-by-step video below:
I love wood burning trees because they are imperfect, and you really can’t mess it up! When have you ever seen a perfect tree? Over the years I’ve created many different versions of trees, and every time I burn one it’s come out differently. That goes for any wood burning work I do.
Related:
Make sure to follow safe working practices while wood burning. Read my wood burning safety post to learn more.
Tools needed:
Walnut Hollow Versa Tool (any wood burner works)
Pen Tip & Heat Level
I am using the universal tip that the Versa Tool Burner comes with. This tip lives up to its name because you can do a lot with it. If you aren’t using this burner, use a similar tip that has a straight edge.
For this pine tree wood burning tutorial, I have my pen on high heat. This will vary based on your wood burner. Use a heat level where you can burn nice dark lines.
Wood Slice
I am using a coaster-sized piece of sanded aspen wood in this tutorial but any size piece of wood is fine. Other favorites I like to burn on are basswood and birch.
Pine Tree Wood Burning Tutorial
Burn A Line Down The Middle
Using heavy pressure let the pen guide you and burn a line down the center of the wood. This will be our main guideline for the start of the tree. Don’t worry if it’s not a perfect line!
It doesn’t have to be super thick, but if you want a slightly thicker line, shade along the guideline to darken it. We’ll add more to this later.
Draw Curved Lines From Center Line
Using the middle as our guideline, draw curved lines out from the center line. Add small lines at the top and longer ones as you go down.
I like to make some of these lines curved down and curved up for variation along with varying the lengths of the lines. This will make it look more realistic! Repeat this on both sides of the guideline.
Don’t worry about it being symmetrical, I don’t like to make it symmetrical as it will look more real.
Fill In Branches
Time to fill in the branches more. Draw curved lines down from lines you just burned. Once again vary the lengths and angles for variation. Do this for all the branches we have created so far.
Fill In Gaps
If your tree has some gaps, go ahead and fill those in now. Do this by repeating the process. Add varying curved lines and then fill in the lines with more curved lines for the branch effect.
I like to add some shorter lines towards the bottom of the tree for a tapered effect. Do what you want as it’s your tree, but know there is no right or wrong way to do this! That is the beauty of it. 🙂
Add Light Whispy Lines
Now it’s time to add some depth. In a fast sweeping motion, add light whispy lines over the entire tree. Since I’m not pressing down hard, I can achieve lighter lines without adjusting the heat level of the wood burner.
Do this step until you are pleased with it. Next, we are going to fill in our tree with more darker branches.
Fill In With More Dark Branches
Now fill in your tree using the technique we did before to add more dark branches, (heavy pressure, dark lines, curving out). This will fill our tree out more.
If you don’t think your tree needs more branches, that’s okay!
Add Detail Where Needed
Now is the time to take a look at your tree and see if it needs any more details.
Want a thicker trunk for your tree? Now is the time to darken the trunk.
Pine Tree Wood Burning
Our wood burning is now complete!
There are many variations to wood burning trees. Trees come in all shapes and sizes! Use this pyrography tutorial to create your own style of trees. You will have fun, trust me!
Pine Tree Pyrography Tutorial
Thanks for checking out this pyrography tutorial and let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!
Want to see more of my work? Shop my original wood burning art for sale here. Thanks for the support!
-Amanda
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