# Paint wood end grain in Aquarell: grow rings around an irregular centre

Language: en
Canonical: [Paint wood end grain in Aquarell: grow rings around an irregular centre](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-wood-endgrain/>)
中文：[中文 HTML](<https://allluckly.cn/guides/aquarell-wood-endgrain/>)
English: [English HTML](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-wood-endgrain/>)
Published: 2026-10-27T00:00:00+08:00
Modified: 2026-10-27T13:09:52+08:00
Author: Bison

Paint a log section with end grain, side grain and cracks, distinguishing surfaces through directional texture.

English translation of the [Chinese original](<https://allluckly.cn/guides/aquarell-wood-endgrain/>), translated on 2026-10-27. Original publication dates, attribution, code and version notes are retained.

Growth rings are not perfect concentric circles, and end grain belongs to a solid log. Paint a short tilted section with a coherent cut-face ellipse, sidewall and bark, then add irregular rings around an offset pith. Distinguish end and side grain before detailed texture.

## Build a short cylinder from face and side

Use an approximately 1700×1300 px landscape canvas with the cut face forward left and log receding right. Connect its ellipse to a smaller rear end, keeping the cylinder short. Establish face and side masses on separate layers before grain; fix disconnected planes through their sidewall connections.

## Separate cut wood from bark

Use pale warm tan for the cut face and cooler darker bark, sharing upper-left light. Establish the exposed cut surface before rings. Correct a biscuit-like result through side thickness and bark, or a stone-like result through a quieter broad wood colour instead of random mottling.

## Offset the pith within the face

Place an offset pith and four to seven unevenly spaced rings, compressed with the cut-face ellipse. Begin with inner and outer limits before filling between them. Avoid equal-width target rings, keeping the offset plausible rather than pushing every ring against one bark edge.

## Vary ring strength instead of carving black grooves

Paint rings slightly darker than the wood, varying width and allowing interruptions. They are colour and density changes rather than equally deep grooves. Keep only selected rings clear. Remove uniform reflective lines from a record-like result and unrelated angular turns from a maze-like one.

## Place cracks with a clear origin

Add one or two tapering cracks from the outer edge inward, with unequal lengths and few reaching the pith. Keep dark area small and use a narrow pale lip if needed. Establish origin, path and termination rather than drawing uniform lightning symbols or random black crosses.

## Run side grain along the log length

Let bark grain follow the log length, unlike the rings on the end. Use a few unequal dark strips and lifted patches, compressing and simplifying them around the lower side. Check direction before adding more marks when surfaces merge, contrasting the clearer cut boundary with irregular bark.

## Keep shadow and debris subordinate

Concentrate contact beneath the grounded edge and extend a softer shadow rear right. Limit debris to a few related chips. Review cylinder small, grain directions normally and crack tips close up. Correct floating through contact alignment or heavy darkness by restoring the cut-face light.

## Compare end and side grain

Make two small studies in one brown: curved rings around a centre and lengthwise grain. Map them to end and side surfaces with perspective compression, checking that marks do not cross surface boundaries. The goal is to relate texture direction to its supporting plane rather than add universal grain noise.

## Vary the bark rim thickness

Vary the exposed bark thickness around the same cylinder, using only a few clear cues and merging the remainder into the sidewall. Reduce overoutlined scallops that make a gear-like shape. Selective rhythm communicates roughness more effectively than equal complexity around the full rim.

## Compare plain and textured versions

Keep plain-structure and finished-ring PNGs with independently editable faces. Next, offset the pith slightly the other way and rebuild spacing within the same ellipse. Do not simply shift all rings; re-evaluate bark limits and crack paths, comparing growth relationships rather than line count.

## Related tutorials and sources

[Cylinders and ellipses](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-paint-cup/>), [Repeated structure and volume](<https://allluckly.cn/en/guides/aquarell-pinecone-spirals/>).

Checked on October 27, 2026 against the [official Aquarell App Store listing](<https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/id1591340577>) and [Apple’s public version lookup](<https://itunes.apple.com/lookup?id=1591340577&country=cn>): current version 1.0.6, requiring iOS / iPadOS 15.0 or later. This exercise uses public brush, colour, layer and saving capabilities. Geometry, materials and motion cues are drawn manually; dimensions, palettes and simplified forms are suggestions. Check controls in your installed version. Keep the native project for editing and use PNG for previews. No step-by-step physical-device testing is claimed.