Alright, so getting into some ideas on how to do this redesign, I spent some time figuring out how all the branches weave in and out; it is rather complex. There are 6 trunks coming out of the base, with only 4 visible from the front...i think 1 of the 2 on the back is a candidate for a jin or outright removal, depending on how much space is opened up from cleaning up the main trunks.
Since this is so complex, I tried to label and trace out the paths...wasn;t sure how else to capture this, and am open to feedback on it. I thought about labeling the branches with numbers, but it becomes chaotic. I ordered the 4 visible trunks based on thickness, tho debatable whether 1 and 2 will swap...
View attachment 469267
Starting with # 1, this one is wacky. It bifurcates (trifurcates?) very close to the base, and then rapidly narrows...I think the first fork to the left is a candidate for removal, since it juts out to the front, and seems too low to add value / it blocks trunk 4. The middle and left fork of trunk 1 are both decently thick, and these could be kept and grown taller/thicker. Not sure if I should remove the lower forks given my desire for a more think and dominant trunk and then build branching and ramification up high.
Trunk 2 is a bit simpler. the first fork to the left takes up the middle of the composition, and can go. The rest I have to wait and see how they grow out..possibly reduce from 3/4 to 2 where it splits a lot to let one shoot dominate and thicken
Trunk 3 is weird...it comes right at the viewer, but has some very interesting movement. It is too thick to bend down low, but the right fork bends OK. I was thinking to remove the left fork (airlayer if possible and start a new tree
) and then bend to the right to reveal trunk 2
These are my ideas thus far, would love other thoughts and suggestions on how to go about it or where my thought process is dicey. Idk what to even do with the apices of each trunk other than trim any obviously dead/weak branches. Should I pinch side branches so the energy is focused in the parts I want to become the apex? Wire to make a more traditional tree shape? Trying to fight the urge to be greedy and keep lots of branches since that seems counterintuitive to the goal of differentiating the trees