How To Draw A Rose

How To Draw A Rose

For this simple drawing tutorial, which can be used as a basis for either a simple line cartoon or a full detailed pencil drawing, I am going to show you how simple it is to draw a rose. For this we only really need a piece of paper and a pencil, any type at all, and lots of enthusiasm!
Simple Method For Drawing a Rose
As with most of my drawings I like to keep things as simple as possible, at least initially - any drawing or cartoon should be started with simple easily repeatable shapes and forms, any detail being added later. No matter if I am creating a small cartoon character or a 20" x 30" portrait, I always start with simple shapes drawn lightly in pencil.

Firstly we should find a subject to draw, in this case I found some stock photos of roses. Feel free to use these images to practice your drawings.




As we can see in the above three photos, we have two angles: firstly from the side, and secondly looking down on the petals from above. In this article we will attempt to draw both as simply as possible, but first we need to understand the construction of a rose.

As can be seen in the second photo above, the rough shape of a rose is a 5 sided pentagon. This is because there are normally 5 large overlapping petals at the outside. The petals continue to overlap closer and tighter towards the middle of the flower.
How To Draw a Rose viewed from above
So our first step should be to draw a rough pentagon shape, don't worry about using straight lines or making it even. If you need help drawing the shape then simply draw a circle first, then use that as a guide as shown below, marking 5 points roughly equal distances apart along the outside of the circle.



Now draw the 5 large petals extending into the middle of the flower, and continue adding additional smaller layers of petals closer and closer to the center, again each layer having 5 overlapping petals. This becomes less important closer in as the petals overlap more and more. Finally draw in curved edges to the petals to create a natural look, and add shading as required.


How To Draw a Rose viewed from the side
To create a drawing of the rose from the side, again start with a simple shape, in this case an egg shape. Then we can add some overlapping outer petals, curling out at the top edge, plus the flower stalk and leaves.



Remember, every drawing starts with a few simple shapes - circles, lines etc - don't try to add any detail until you've sketched a rough outline from these basic building blocks. With a little practice you will find you can draw just about anything!