Making Realistic Tree Bark

A look at how I make realistic tree bark. A fun as well as useful diy skill to have in ones tool belt. Actual bark comes with the possibility of creepy crawlers getting in your home, plus this method allows for you to make bark pieces of any size. With this you don't have to wait, hoping that one day you come across a giant piece of bark to use; Whether it's in home decor, a school project or any other situation that calls for tree bark.

-flat work surface

-plastic cover sheet of some sort

-masking tape (or whatever you have on hand to tape down the plastic so it doesnt move while you work.

-cardboard boxes

-white tissue paper

-box cutter/scissors

-acrylic paint (black and white are required but your choice of brown if any)

-1 part glue 2 parts water mixed in glue bottle (can do in a bowl or cup of need be, I just don't this way for less mess)

-A 1-2 inch bristle paint brush

- a pair of gloves

-piercing and scoring tool

(Not required, you can definitely use the scissors instead, but it is helpful if you happen to have one on hand)

Tape can effect overall outcome of the project. It doesn't allow for paint or glue to adhere to it properly. So if you're using recycled boxes you will want to make sure that all of the tape is removed before you get started

Cover your work area so is to maintain any mess that this may create. I like to keep trash can nearby just because I find it handy

***before cutting VERY IMPORTANT***

**MAKE SURE THE CORRUGATION INSIDE OF THE CARDBOARD IS RUNNING VERTICALLY (matching the direction of the tree bark)

Cut out the pieces of board that you want in the shapes you would like. Whether it be in branches or just pieces of bark in whatever shape you see fit.

Now I did small individual pieces for this example but you can create a trunk of bark if that's what you need. For that; Instead of making small individual pieces of bark, you can shape one large piece of cardboard and just follow the same instructions going forward

At this point you're just creating a texture. Pushing pressure from the face of the cardboard into the corrugation. Careful not to cut all the way through or stab yourself for that matter. Generally it can be a lot easier if you run a box cutter through random lines of it and then use a dull ended something or other, whether it be a pencil or a pen just to drag out the cardboard, making it rougher and giving it that bark like look.

Once you've done this once, take the peice and roll it up into your hand, basically crushing it in your fist a few times. to see how it looks then lay it flat it should give you an idea of how much more piercing and scoring it needs. If it's still too flat drag through more lines and pull out more pieces keep rolling it up to give it that curved bark like look so it's not just a flat piece of board. I find the more times you repeat this process the better it looks.just try not to overdo it.

A lot of people will even say it looks enough like bark at this point and yes you can easily take the steps to this point and still get a bark like look. I do the additional steps for a more athletic look

Now is where you're going to get a use for those gloves and that plastic covered work area.

(As you may have noticed, I did a seemingly random section black with spray paint. I just like how it gave it a under tone so it wasn't just the color of the cardboard, but you don't have to do this.)

Now you can lay your pieces flat start to apply the water glue mixture and spread it out with your bristle paintbrush so that it's even spread out.

Next to you lay your tissue paper down over the boards and use the bristle brush again to kind of push it into the glue mixture, so that it will soak in and mold to the boards textures underneath.

Add the water glue mixture on top of the tissue and continue to brush vertical strokes,letting it form to the broad. try to be gentle so it's not rip it. Once it's even and doesn't have any dry spots, you'll be able to see the color of the cardboard through the tissue paper.

At this point we're going to let it dry.

Once the tissue paper is white again it's dry and it is now safe to paint on.

I find doing all your darker shades first is best, going in with darker browns and black to press into the edges and crevices created by the bark texture, creating shadows and detail. You can choose whatever Brown you like, i used a couple different shades of green and orange to make a couple different Browns. ( I would highly recommend using a pallet or in my case as I used brown crafting paper to mix the paint separately before applying the colors to the bark.) when painting on their Brown try not to press into the same places where you did the black that way it will keep that darker textured shadow look that naturally occurs with bark.

Once you've covered the whole piece the way you want it, make sure you clean off your brush before you can apply the lighter colors and white highlights

Here if you'd like to add lighter tones apply them in a thin layer, do small circular motions to blend them into the darker areas. Once it looks right to you, brushing vertically from top to bottom helps to reestablish that natural bark look.

Lastly, very lightly brush white over the edges, careful not to press into the texture unless you mean to.

(Adding on your lighter tones of brown / tan as well as very lightly brushed on white highlights give this technique life.)

Hope that this was a helpful tutorial!