Making trees

I was asked to provide a guide to how I make my little arcacia style trees, so here we go …

It’s not too difficult to do, and the results are quite satisfactory, visually. I am sure there are lots of enhancements one could add to the process, but the following does the job for me.

1 You’ll need: picture hanging wire, a base (I’m using 60mm diameter laser cut MDF), foliage material, glues, wire cutters, and pliers.

2 Cut a length of picture wire, ensuring there is enough for the ‘roots’, branches, and trunk, for the size of tree you intend to make.

3 Fashion the branches by unwinding the wire at one end.

4 You’ll need a firm hold of the trunk when unwinding the wire at the other end and fashioning the ‘roots’, which need to be reasonably straight and level.

5 This is the sort of balance of branches to ‘roots’ you need to achieve, bearing in mind the size of your base. 

6 Glue the roots to the base (I used Araldite, a two-part epoxy resin), making them as flat as possible, and set aside to dry.

7 I brush the wire over with PVA, but one could apply all manner of textured mediums. Cover the base with your preferred basing medium (I’m using Vallejo Sandy Paste), and allow to dry.

8 Paint the trunk and branches. When dry fashion the branches like so.

9 I’m using Woodland Scenics olive green clump foliage to form the shape of the tree.

10 Apply PVA glue to the wire branches and actually thread the first clumps on to the wire. Set aside to dry. 

11 Glue more clumps to the first and begin to form the shape of the tree. Take care not to add too many clumps at a time though, because they will just fall off.

12 In three or four sessions you should have filled the void with foliage material, and the tree begins to take shape.

13 The finished tree with others in various stages of growth. Once the foliage has set properly I gently compress the whole springy mass with my fingers, giving the flatter profile I was after. Angling the trunk finishes the tree off with that windswept appearance.

14 In true Blue Peter tradition, here are two I prepared earlier, with complete bases and windswept appearance.