Tree colours

[Remington]

Hello.

I've been trying lately to find a good colour combination to create the grey-ish effect many trees trunks have colour wise. Till now the best I got to is when I start with a basecoat of Raw Umber and then continue with a drybrush with Vallejo MC Khaki and then Pale Sand. Somehow this is still a bit unsatisfying, as it reminds me too much of stone colours. How do you paint your tree trunks? Any tips?

Thank you for reading.

[Argonor]

When I look at most trees they are actually more greenish-grey than brownish-grey. I've not tried to paint decidious tree trunks, though, I leave my bought model trees with unpainted (brown plastic) trunks....

[Remington]

Thank you for your reply. I will try adding some kind of green. I had a look at more pictures today, but I am seriously useless in trying to create colours according to photographs or the like... 

[Skrapwelder]

I just started painting the trunks of my woodlands scenics trees and I'm using a dark olive base and the drybrushing with grey.

[Argonor]

I once painted a treeman (turn marker for my Oakhill Rangers BB-team). Base coat Dark Angels Green, then I drybrushed with Elf Grey (that colour doesn't exist any more),

[Remington]

Hey, thanks. I hadn't considered starting off with green or olive green... I guess I couldn't see the forest for all the trees. See what I did there? 

[Glitzer]

I'm not glad with the colours of model trees either. Being a forester I wanted to have my trees as realistic as possible.

Tree bark starts red or brown and ripens to grey. In fact it's the same process as aging wood. If you look closely you'll find the inward layers are still brown on some trees like larch and pines. The greenish tint comes from lichen and moss that colonize the bark.

I started out brown and then drybrushed the bark silver grey. For plain barks I just used a grey colour. Towards the twigs I changed gradually to browns and reds depending on the tree species.

[Remington]

Thank you for this reply. Very helpful. I guess a forester sees details a layman doesn't. I need to buy that vallejo colour.

[Argonor]

I don't know where the notion of trees having brown trunks came from in the beginning - but all children draw/paint trees that way. Is that because the adults (having been taught that themselves) teach them to do so?

[Cory]

When I look out the window at the nearest maples the trunks are grey, but the ones further away appear brown mainly because the are shaded by their own branches.

[Remington]

I think you hit the spot there, Argonor. When I look at trees I seriously have trouble to identify the colours involved. Weird.

[Glitzer]

I don't know where the notion of trees having brown trunks came from in the beginning - but all children draw/paint trees that way. Is that because the adults (having been taught that themselves) teach them to do so?

I think the reason for that is garden trees. Cherry trees are dark brown to black and never really get grey, others like maples ore sycamores have beige or olive brown trunks where the old bark chips usually peel of before they get grey. The bark of spruce tree also ages only when exposed to sunlight, wheras in dense forests it stays reddish brown.

[Argonor]

I think this thread is another good example of how people in this hobby can help each other by pointing things out that is not always obvious to everyone.

Glitzers observations, stemming from his line of work, is something I would probably not come by, as I rarely have the chance to wander deep into forested areas (and when I do, I do not make many observations because I have to keep an eye out for my two little girls ("No, Anna, you CAN'T have a bronze age grave in the garden to play in!")).

Great stuff!

[Remington]

I also must thank you, Glitzer! Now I get the feeling that I can master the next tree.