Build Tree Progress Day #1 [oak]

Hey bois,

So I love building and I think I am pretty decent at lots of stuff, but I am not the greatest at some things - notably trees. So, I decided that I'll build almost exclusively different types of trees for a week, or until I feel like I'm extremely confident with them.

This is the first day of the week (or less maybe?) and I've been just doing some oak trees. I think I made some really good progress :) I would really appreciate any constructive feedback on my builds

Spoiler: Tree #1 - The Stinker

This one is definitely not the greatest tree ever, and overall it is pretty lacking imo. I do like the texture I created with the different types of leaves though
[//replace near 50 oak_leaves, 80%oak_leaves,20%birch_leaves,5%acacia_leaves,1%spruce_leaves]

Spoiler: Tree #2 - Seeing some progress

This is one that I actually really like. It's not particularly grand or great but I could definitely see it fitting in alongside some nice builds. It's sort of limping downwards which I feel like can be a big hit or miss

Spoiler: Tree #3 - Changing Styles

I definitely changed up some things on this one :D The trunk of the tree looks much nicer, and the branches were also actually done really well. However, the thing that let this one was the crown of the tree, it looks really empty and unnatural, not a fan of that.

Spoiler: Tree #4 - Looking Good

I figured out what I was trying to do after the last build, and there's honestly not much I think I would improve on this one, I'm extremely happy how it turned out and I honestly would've left the oak trees (besides the mini ones I'll be doing) for the meantime if I didn't run into the problem of leaves randomly decaying because I used the wrong blocks oops.

Spoiler: Tree #5 - Looking Gooder

I think I captured the essence of what I was trying to do fantastically on this one. Obviously I could always add some nice details to it, but overall I am very satisfied with how this turned out and I'll be sure to practice different sizes and incarnations of this to master the style :)

Hope whoever reads this has a great day :D
also @btdmaster since he asked me to tag him in my next build

 

I personally like tree #2, with its low branches and leaves, I think it could fit in a swamp or such. The last one reminds I think of the tree on tree island in Wynn

 

Yeah that's why I liked it aswell, I could do something to make the trunk thicker so it doesn't look like it could just be blown away
I actually don't think I have ever been to tree island though lmaoo

 

number 2 looks like a good willow tree, would be more of a willow tree if it was made of spruce and dark oak wood and spruce leaves.
However my favourite will have to go with number 5 which is an obvious i guess. I feel like there's too much leaves going up and not much going down but that might just be me.
Other than that, i love the thickness of the tree and the roots on the ground.
Overall great job, i love those trees!


also tag me for ur next build as well lol

 

2 was your best tree to be honest, then as the days progressed they just became lollipops.

 

Honestly, I think they all look good. They've all got their different unique style, so though they wouldn't fit together very well, they would look great depending on the style of the tree's environment.

 

Hey, what do you suggests I should do with those trees? If I make another one that I try to give less of a lollipop shape to, would you mind giving feedback

EDIT:
I made a new tree, and whilst it still looks lollipop-y I think it is an improvement over the last one. I'll keep trying :D

Spoiler: Tree

 

I think the main reason they look like lollipops is because your branches are small, thick, pretty close together, and practically go straight up, which kind of limits the size and shape of your leaves, and you ended up making cubes with frayed edges. An issue that I see is that your branches look about the same size as the trunk, and where they all diverge looks like you flipped the stump upside down. Generally speaking the branches should not be as thick as the trunk (although if the trunk is only 1 block thick then there isn't much you can do about that).

Thicc branches

Branches and trunk look about the same


You should also make the leaves more airy, because leaves aren't naturally condensed in a mass like that.


Not the best examples for trees but hopefully these can give you a better idea on what I mean with the crown airiness and branch shapes

A good way to improve along with the practice you're doing would be to examine some images of real trees and pay attention to the shapes and lengths of branches, as well as the structure of the leaves, and then try to replicate them in Minecraft. Flying around "professional" creative servers and just browsing builds online can also help you see how other people build trees and can help a good deal as well.

Also this is just a personal preference but I don't like using slabs/stairs/fences on trees as detail especially if they don't match the bark color because they can make it look too chunky and are often unnecessary

 

@Aethyx Do you by any chance have any trees that are just trunk + branches? I think that might make it a lot easier to visualize the "correct" placement of branches. Either way the feedback is really appreciated and I'll continue to do some trees

also like if you wanna give feedback on those too that would be great and I'll definitely consider using less of slabs + fences

EDIT: Oh and can you elaborate a bit more on the placement of leaves? I always condense them too much, but if I try to make it more airy they usually end up looking really awkward and even more unnatural

 

I can make some examples later, but it largely depends on the type of tree you want to make. As for leaves a general rule I follow is to only put them on the tips of branches, but as for the shape of the leaves the tree type also plays a role in that. For example, acacia trees normally have flatter crowns, while something like an oak tree is much more rounded.

Some trees have low branches, some have high branches, others diverge into 2 thick trunks at the base and then have branches from there. Most trees have branches on branches. Think about the type of tree you want to make (like a certain species, shape, material, etc), and then figure out branch and leaf shapes and air:leaf ratios from there. A lot of figuring out what looks good or not is experimentation, and the more you experiment, the more you will get a feel for what works and what doesn't.

As for the slabs/stairs/fences, they can work in moderation, but too many can make the trunk and base too thick and look too complicated, especially on large trees. If you really want to use them make sure they are very close to the color of your trunk (like oak logs with spruce slabs). Again though it's still a personal preference ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

OK, lets have a look at THIS oak tree I quickly threw together in about 5 minutes.





I know it looks pretty overwhelming but lets break it down stip down the leaves coloring, and colour code the different parts!

Red: Trunk
Yellow: Main branches
Green: Sub Branches.



How to build a tree?
1. First lay down the RED. the MAIN trunk of the tree. this can be as simple as a 1 block pole!
2. Lay down the Main branches. These branches should be going ^^^UP^^^
3. from the main branches, go horizontal, make sub branches. These branches branch out towards the side, and the higher you go the shorter in length they should be.

General tips

Notice that aside from the main branch that goes UP, and to the SIDE, giving the tree height. I also have branches going OUT.

>>REMEMBER: the more OUT your "Green" Branches go. the LESS it will look like a lolipop. because you are forcing yourself to get away from the trunk by using Long branches.

Also notice that I have 2 Main layers of branches.

In real life, trees grow from the tip, so the branches on the bottom should Always be longer than the brances in the middle and at the top.

 

@Qulaey Hey, thanks for the little tutorial. I tried my best to follow the advice, but my leaf placement feels really lacking. I don't wanna waste your time but it would be great if you could explain more about leaf placement

 

Leaf placement is the easiest!

do //br sphere 2 leaves [perfect spheres] or //br boulder 2 2 leaves [blobs]

and then click the tips of the branches and that's it!

 

Aaah is it really that simple, I have been doing it manually all this time.

You should make more tutorials on building, you seem really experienced at building and good at explaining stuff

 

@Aethyx Yo man have you got any more tips on placing leaves? I've watched like countless tutorials, tried using voxelsniper, worldedit, etc but they never turn out the way I want them to and just end up looking clunky

pic:

 

no way you made this in 5 minutes this is wayy too wavey

 

If you're using worldedit I think the best way to go about it is just using a sphere or blob brush like Qulaey said on the tips of your branches, and then then thickening up the leaves where you think is necessary. You should always use a brush with a small leaf:air ratio (maybe around 15% leaf) because its super easy to go overboard with it. Aside from that you really just have to keep practicing and trying new things to get the results that you want. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

you're getting there! dont be afraid to make the branches spread out a little bit more. Im just being really picky here. If this was in an actual build I'd have no problem with it.

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Another thing, I forgot to say is. Do the general shape of the leaves FIRST (so use your sphere and bolb brushes and all that) and then you can make it look airy, by doing //replace leaves,air,air This will replace 66% of all the leaves into air, randomly, so you don't have to manually control it by clicking with a brush.

If you are on right now, or PM me on discord I can give you a live demonstration.

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Wavey? Thats just the spheres from the sphere brush.