How to draw a family tree: templates and programs

The content of the article

• What is a family tree
• How to draw a tree from a pattern
• How to make a family tree
• How to make a family tree
• How to build a family tree
• How to make a family tree on a computer
• How to draw a family tree

Going through children’s photos or listening to the stories of parents, you can unwittingly become interested in your family tree. Even in ancient times it was composed in the form of a family tree: this is a convenient option for presenting information. Generation of a pedigree is even asked at school for a lesson on the world around you or kindergarten, so you need to know how to create a family tree with your own hands.

What is a family tree

The very concept of a “family tree” is a list of people who are related by kinship. The listing takes place in a hierarchy based on the years of people’s lives and who they belong to each other. On a tree trunk indicate a married couple standing at the head of the clan. Then they have their children, grandchildren and cousins. Generations are on the same level. This option is classic when building goes from ancestors to descendants..

In addition to the main option, how to draw a family tree, there are several more:

1. Personally from myself. Parents, grandparents, and other relatives act as branches. This is convenient because the whole family is indicated along the lines of only one person. It will be difficult to supplement such a tree.
2. Family tree. In this case, paternal or maternal relatives may be indicated separately, because the names of the spouses before marriage were different.

How to draw a tree from a pattern

There are many sites on the Internet in Russian and English, where you can find special family tree templates. After downloading and printing them, you just need to fill in the empty spaces with photos of relatives according to the specified location. It will look more neat if you use Photoshop. To do this, open the template in this program and insert photos there. Recommended layout format is png. This is an extension for pictures, which in Photoshop is very convenient to work with..

How to make a family tree

How to draw a family tree? To do this, it is better to divide the work into several stages. The first step is to find out about all genetic relatives. This is the most crucial stage, because how much the finished database will be depends on the amount of information. If you suddenly miss someone, then the meaning of the tree will be partially lost. If the collection of information was successful, then it remains to choose the option of constructing a scheme – personally from yourself, from the founder of the clan, or several names at once.

How to make a family tree

Before compiling your family tree, it is worth making a preliminary diagram of all relatives, distributing them according to the degree of relationship. The main thing is to decide on how many generations you plan to go back. For owners of a large family, it is better to limit oneself to the next of kin and not enter cousins ​​of grandparents, otherwise you can expand the family tree and make side branches in it. They will serve to record more distant relatives – cousins, sisters, grandparents.

There are many concepts of kinship: in addition to blood, they reflect a marriage or spiritual connection. In the first case, people have a common ancestor, in the second they are married, the third include such forms of kinship as nepotism and twinning. The main one is blood – it distinguishes several degrees of kinship. One of them is a generation whose chain is already a line.

Such a chain includes as many degrees as there were births in a family, i.e. son or daughter – first degree, grandson or granddaughter – second, etc. Each of them should follow each other in order. It turns out that the construction goes on for generations – from the oldest to the youngest or vice versa, in the case of the implementation of the scheme personally from myself. All siblings, grandparents should be indicated on the main branch, and already on the side branches – cousins ​​or second cousins. So the distance between relatives will reflect the distance of their relationship.

How to build a family tree

If the sample scheme with a list of relatives is ready, you need to decide how best to draw a family tree. There are several options here:

1. Classical, when the main carrier of the surname is indicated at the bottom of the trunk. In most cases, this is a married couple, for example, grandparents or great-grandmother and great-grandfather (you can go even further). Next, all their children, grandchildren and other relatives are listed in order. On the main branch, it is better to place your line, i.e. the one by which you come to your parents and specifically yourself. In the side branches, cousins ​​and second cousins ​​will be located.
2. Personal tree. In this variant, you yourself are the basis, i.e. compiler of the family tree. Next are the parents, grandparents on both lines, etc. This will be the main branch. On the side, it is worth reflecting the sisters or brothers of the parents, their children, grandchildren, etc..
3. Family tree. This option is more voluminous of all. Here you can reflect several names at once. An interesting thing for the compiler is tracking the line of father and mother. Before marriage, they had different surnames, but in relation to their children, they have the same degree of kinship. For this reason, it is interesting to make a tree so that one half of the branches reflect the relatives of the father, and the other to the mother.

Find out how to find relatives by last name.

How to make a family tree on a computer

There are special programs for compiling a family tree. Some of them are online services where you can order or arrange for free an unfilled sample with places for photos. It remains only to add pictures, download and print if necessary. Another option is to download a graphical editor to a computer and work in it. Among such programs, SimTree, RootsMagic, GenoPro, Family Tree Builder, GRAMPS stand out. The Russian counterpart is the “Tree of Life”.

Each program has a set of specific functions that help you draw and then print a tree. Most of them already have examples of templates to fill out. They are a table with cells or a picture. Some applications even offer to attach not only photos, but also audio or video recordings. For each family member, it is proposed to fill out a questionnaire, which indicates basic data about him, up to a description of his appearance or interesting facts.

How to draw a family tree

You need to start with how many and which generations you plan to draw. This is necessary in order to know in advance the number of branches in a tree. After this step, use the instructions on how to draw a family tree:

1. Draw a thick barrel using a soft, simple pencil so that you can erase excess.
2. Depending on the type of tree, make an inscription at the base of the trunk, where indicate the full name of one or more people. It can be parents, grandparents, or your child or yourself.
3. Next, draw branches for other relatives just above. Position them correctly so that each next generation is slightly higher than the previous.
4. Draw as many branches as you still know relatives. Take into account the size of your sheet in order to fit all the family ties that you want to indicate.
5. After the placement of all the relatives is over, erase the excess lines, and circle the necessary ones fatter. At the end of the design, use colored pencils to make the picture brighter.

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