Roses are some of the most beautiful flowers in the world. From their delicate petals to their vibrant colors, they truly are a sight for sore eyes. However, they can be a bit challenging to replicate in a drawing.
As such, we’ve put together this step-by-step tutorial to help any beginner artist master the art of drawing roses. So, have a look and start sketching your very first rose.
How to Draw a Rose from A to Z
From the Top
Now, if you’re looking to draw a fully-bloomed rose as you would view it from above, you need to follow the following steps.
Step 1
Get a light pencil and start sketching out the basic outline of the rose, determining its dimensions and location on your paper. Then, draw a small tilted oval shape where you want the center of your rose to be.
Step 2
Draw a small curve on the inside of the oval parallel to its lower right border. Then, add another curve on the outside of the shape parallel to its upper left border. This is to emulate the spiral core of the rose.
Step 3
Begin adding petals to the core. They should look like overlapping curves, going all around the flower. Don’t worry about adding details now. We’ll add them once we’re done with the entire outline.
Step 4
Keep adding petals radiating from the center. The inner layers should have about three or so petals, and they should be tightly knit. Meanwhile, the outer layers can have four or more petals that are more open.
Try not to make any two petals lie directly on top of each other. This is the key to creating a natural-looking rose.
Keep working until you reach the size you want your rose to be, and remember to keep both sides of the rose balanced. This means that one side shouldn’t be much thicker than the other.
Step 5
Start adding details to your petals. As you know, roses don’t have smooth, flat petals. They gave indentations and wrinkles. Some petals are pointy, and some are curved. You should reflect all these features in your petals.
So, get a darker pencil or marker and start giving character to each petal. Add a few nicks and tears. Add a pointy center here and there. You can also curl a petal or two or make it bend in a certain direction. Simply give character to your rose, and make it come to life.
Step 6
Get your eraser and go over the whole sketch, removing the parts of the initial outline that didn’t make it in the final drawing, and that’s it. You’ve now drawn your first realistic rose.
Note: You can go the extra mile and start adding shadows to your rose. This is usually done to add depth to your drawing by shading certain areas and highlighting others. However, if you don’t know where to place your shadows, then skip this step. You’ll still have yourself a pretty convincing rose, ready to be colored in and displayed.
See also: How to Draw a Leaf
From the Side
Okay, so now that you know how to draw a rose from an overhead view, you need to learn how to draw a rose from a side angle. Though it can seem a bit more complex, it’s still pretty easy once you grasp the idea. So let’s see how it’s done.
Step 1
Draw an upside-down egg that’s tilted to one side. Then, draw a narrow oval at the egg’s base, which will serve as the rose’s inner center.
Step 2
Transform the oval into multiple curves to give the illusion of petals, then draw a small petal emerging from its center.
Step 3
Start drawing horizontal curves that wrap around the flower core. Begin at the back of the core, then extend the curve till it ends at the side or somewhere in the front. Once you decide that the petal will end there, drop two curved lines extending from the back and front, showing how the whole petal is wrapped around the center.
See also: How To Draw a Tree
Step 4
Repeat step 3 on the other side of your rose, and make sure to overlap the petals on the two sides. Then add a small upside-down “m” or “v” all along the horizontal to give the illusion of a bent flower petal.
Step 5
Draw a heart-like shape around the flower, starting at the back. Then, add the same “m”‘ or “v” shape to illustrate some bent petals. Make sure to drop down lines from the peripheries of your flower as we did before, creating the base of the rose as you go along.
Step 6
Keep adding petals starting from the back and sides, wrapping all around the flower with bends here and there.
As you move outwards, start making your petals wider and bigger. Also, add a few bends in the opposite direction, making the petals seem as if they’re bending inwards, not outwards. You do this by drawing an upside-down “v” or upright “m,” which is the opposite of what you did before.
Step 7
Add the final external petals, drawing them from the back, sides, and front. Make the front petal nice and big, and make it bent towards the outside to give the illusion of an open flower. As always, make sure all the petals appear as if they’re coming from the base, and finish up by drawing the rose’s stem and erasing any unnecessary lines.
Read also: 25 Cool Things to Draw When You’re Bored
Conclusion
As you can see, drawing a rose isn’t particularly hard, provided you know what you’re doing. Yes, it can take you a few tries before you know where exactly to place the lines. However, once you get used to the drawing process, it’ll become as easy as breathing. So, make sure to practice a lot and share with us your sure-to-be-impressive results.