Draw a pixel art tree, step by step

By · October 16, 2026

To draw a pixel art tree, use a bush for the crown and draw the trunk under it: an outline with a wide base and a spreading top, a flat brown, a soft shadow right under the crown, a spiral bark texture for the light, and some grass at the roots. The crown is ready below, so you draw the trunk.

This sprite is wide. It's easier to draw on a computer, or with your phone turned sideways.

Step 1

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Show the finished step
From my course video: the same piece, drawn on camera, sped up 69 times.

A tree is a bush on a trunk

The crown of this tree is the bush from the previous lesson. No need to draw a new one: paste the bush, put it on a layer under the trunk, and you're done with the hardest part. That's why the crown is ready in the trainer.

The trunk uses a main brown, five browns for the light and the bark texture, one dark shade for shading, and two greens for the grass.

Step 2: Outline

The bush crown with a black outline of a trunk below it

A trunk has three parts. A wide foundation at the bottom, about 22 pixels. A narrower body above it. And a top that spreads out again, a bit like a crown of its own, where the branches start. Move one pixel out of line on the way up so it doesn't look too straight.

Step 3: Color

The trunk filled with a flat dark brown

Fill it with the main brown and recolor the outline. In Aseprite, Replace Color (Shift+R) does the whole outline in one go.

Step 4: Shading

The trunk with a few darker pixels just under the crown

The light comes from above, and the crown blocks it. So the part of the trunk right under the crown is a little darker. It's barely visible, just a few pixels. But small details like this are what separate pro work from amateur work.

Step 5: Bark and light

The trunk with light brown spiral bark texture

Here the highlight is also the bark texture. It runs like a spiral, from the top right down to the left, in little steps. Start at the top with a couple of bits, then work your way down. Inside the first layer, add a lighter brown on the top side of each band, since the top is closer to the light. A few in-between pixels here and there smooth the steps out.

Steps 6 and 7: Grass

The finished pixel art tree with grass around its roots

Finish with grass around the roots in dark green. Spread it a few pixels to each side, cut some gaps into its bottom edge so it looks textured, and let a pixel or two stick out like a root under the grass. Then a few lighter green pixels on top.

By the way, the trunk is good enough to use on its own, without the crown, if your game needs a bare tree.