How to draw a rose

Roses are one of the most popular flowers out there, often considered to symbolise love. Composed of many layered petals, they are notoriously hard to draw since you have to work in layers too before you can move on to shading.

You will need:

• A hard pencil (like HB)
• A medium pencil (2B or slightly softer)
• A soft pencil (5B or softer)
• A sheet of paper
• A pencil sharpener

Step 1
Use a hard pencil to draw a drop or egg-shaped outline – this is the inside of the rose, the bud.

Step 2
Draw the “opening” part.

Step 3
Add petals inside.

Step 4
Think of a heart shape when drawing these petals; they will also work as the edge of the other petals.

Step 5
Connect the “heart” to the rest of the bud to create a petal shape.

Step 6
Draw another heart, this time connecting it to the lower part of the bud.

Step 7
Draw another heart, making it more open and less smooth this time.

Step 8
Now it’s time to add more petals. Think carefully before adding each of them – too many will only cause you to get lost in the picture.

Step 9
Now it’s time to plant the bud into a “bowl” of petals. Start by adding small petals and continue working, adding more and more of them.

Step 10
As you add petals, make sure to make them point more and more downwards, as if they were almost laying down.

Step 11
Once you are satisfied, put a bit more pressure on the pencil in the areas that you want to accentuate with shading to mark them

Step 12
Now grab a softer pencil and darken the inner parts of the rose. Start with light strokes first…

…then add more pressure to create deeper shadows.

 

Step 13
Use the same pencil to place dark accents at the tips of the petals, but don’t go over their entire outline!

Step 14
Now use the hard pencil again and use it to add light structure to the parts that are “lit”. The more shaded the fragment is, the crisper your lines should be.

Step 15
Finally, use the softest pencil to add final strokes to the dark parts, especially in the darkest folds.

All done – you know how to draw a rose now!

Would you like to learn to draw other things too? Sign up for our beginners’ drawing course at https://www.drawplanet.cz/kurz/kurz-kresby/ and learn to work with pencils, charcoal, pastels, ink, and other exciting media!