Landscape, nature study and outdoor sketching
Domain 8 - Landscape, nature study and outdoor sketching. The exam tests observation outdoors: tree structure, foliage masses, atmospheric depth, sky and ground, and a composed landscape rather than a random view. Quick notation and tonal judgement matter more than botanical detail.
Core rules
- Compose the view: choose a horizon placement that supports the subject - often a third from the top or bottom, not the centre. Establish foreground, middle ground and background, a focal point and a leading line such as a path, hedge or water edge.
- Tree structure: draw the trunk taper, main branches and canopy mass before leaves. A tree is not a lollipop: branches divide, the crown is irregular, and the trunk meets the ground with roots and a cast shadow.
- Atmospheric perspective: with distance, value contrast decreases, colours shift cooler and lighter, edges soften and detail reduces. Distant hills should not be as dark or as sharp as a foreground tree.
- Light and weather: fix the sun direction and keep cast shadows consistent. Outdoor light changes quickly, so note the main tonal masses first and detail later.
- Water and sky: reflections are darker and less detailed than the object; ripples break the reflection. Skies are rarely flat blue - use graded washes and soft cloud edges.
Worked example
A banyan tree with distant hills. Place the horizon one-third up. Draw the trunk and three main branch masses, then the canopy as overlapping clumps. Put the darkest tone under the canopy and in the trunk's shadow side; cast shadow falls right from a left light. Paint the hills with a pale cool wash and soft edges, with no individual trees. Reasoning: the near tree has the strongest contrast and detail, while the hills recede through weaker contrast and cooler colour.
Traps
Painting every leaf; a symbolic lollipop tree; horizon in the centre by default; distant hills as dark as the foreground; using one flat green for all foliage; ignoring cast shadows; over-detailing the background; letting the sky compete with the focal point.