How to Draw Deforestation: Simple Step-by-Step Guide

This tutorial is perfect for students and young artists looking to illustrate environmental concepts through art. You will need a pencil, an eraser, and a piece of paper to bring this landscape to life. Follow these simple steps to master perspective and texture while creating a meaningful visual story.

10 Steps

🎯 Final Result

A finished, colored illustration of a deforested landscape featuring tree stumps and an ax.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Sketching the Felling Notch

Pencil sketch of a tree trunk with a V-shaped notch cut into the side for a deforestation drawing.

Start by drawing the main tree trunk using long, curved lines. Add a 'V' shaped notch on one side to show where the tree is being cut. Teacher's Tip: Keep your pencil lines light so you can easily erase the section inside the notch to make it look like a clean cut.

Step 2: Adding the Leafy Crown

Drawing the leafy canopy of a tree using irregular curved lines atop the trunk.

Draw the top of the tree using a series of connected, bumpy, curved lines to represent the canopy. Teacher's Tip: Don't worry about making the leaves perfect; nature is irregular, so varying the size of your curves makes the tree look more realistic.

Step 3: Texture and Horizon

Adding bark texture to the tree trunk and drawing a horizon line across the background.

Add wavy lines to the trunk to suggest bark texture, then draw a long, horizontal line behind the tree to create the ground. Teacher's Tip: The horizon line helps ground your drawing, separating the earth from the sky.

Step 4: Drawing the Stump and Ax

Sketching a tree stump with an ax embedded in the top and grass blades at the base.

Draw a tree stump nearby with sharp grass blades around the base. Add an ax stuck into the top of the stump using a curved trapezoid for the blade and a long handle. Teacher's Tip: Use small spirals on the stump top to mimic the rings of a tree.

Step 5: Adding Background Stumps

Adding multiple smaller tree stumps in the background to illustrate the scene.

Draw several more stump outlines in the distance. Teacher's Tip: Make these stumps slightly smaller than the first one to create a sense of depth in your landscape.

Step 6: Filling the Landscape

Adding more tree stumps to the middle ground of the forest scene.

Continue adding stumps across the middle ground of your drawing. Teacher's Tip: Vary the placement of the stumps so they don't look like they are in a perfectly straight line.

Step 7: Creating Distance

Drawing tiny tree stumps near the horizon line to show perspective and distance.

Draw very small stumps near the horizon line. Teacher's Tip: The smaller the objects are near the horizon, the further away they appear to the viewer.

Step 8: Adding Horizon Details

Sketching distant bushes and trees along the horizon line using short, jagged lines.

Use short, jagged lines on the horizon to suggest distant bushes or remaining trees. Teacher's Tip: This adds contrast between the cleared area and the untouched forest in the distance.

Step 9: Finalizing the Background

Drawing mountain outlines in the background using overlapping V-shaped lines.

Sketch mountain silhouettes using overlapping 'V' shapes behind the horizon. Teacher's Tip: Keep these lines faint so they don't overpower the foreground stumps.

Step 10: Adding Color

A fully colored drawing of a deforested landscape with brown stumps and distant blue mountains.

Bring your drawing to life with color. Use earthy browns for the stumps and dirt, and cool blues or greens for the distant mountains. Teacher's Tip: Using darker colors in the foreground and lighter colors in the background will make your drawing look more professional and atmospheric.