How to Draw a Realistic Rose: Easy Tutorial for Beginners - Fine Art Tutorials (2024)

This rose drawing I created is accessible for beginners, start by mapping out the broad shapes and establishing the composition on the paper, then work outwards from the innermost petals.

To shade a range of values in the drawing, I recommend getting some basic drawing tools, like a soft pencil (4B or 6B), then a pencil for light sketching the outlines (I use HB), a kneaded eraser and some drawing paper (I use Bristol Board). If you want to create a colourful rose, think about using some colouring pencils, in reds, pinks and oranges!

Block in the basic shapes

Start by sketching the basic shapes of the rose, to mark the perimeters of the petals. This step also functions to establish the composition on your paper, so you can centre the rose drawing in the middle and make it large enough.

I drew a pentagon shape, which marks where the petals will go. Then I draw an upside down trapezium for the bottom of the flower head and the stem beneath.

You can erase these guides once the drawing is complete, so sketch lightly at first with an HB pencil. As you can see, my guide lines are fairly organic as I wasn’t focussing on being precise with my linework at this stage.

Draw the innermost petals

I started by drawing the innermost petals and working outwards. The shapes of the innermost petals are more simple than the petals on the outside of the flower head. Plus, the outer petals curve around the inner petals, so it makes sense to start here.

Draw a circle to mark the middle of the petals, where all the other petals curve around and place it near the top of the pentagon in the centre.

Then start to draw some small petals curving around the circle. Notice how the petals overlap one another as they curve around.

Continue drawing petals at the top of the flower

The petal shapes become a little more complex as the rose drawing progresses. I kept working on slowly and carefully drawing the petals curling around the middle. The petals are all organic in shape and you can see the underside of some of them. Then some of the petals will curl over at the top. It’s up to you how you want to make each individual petal look. For example, if you want to make the drawing easier, you could make each of the petals more simple in appearance, without making them curl too much. However, I find that by varying the petal shape, width and the extent to which it curls at the top, I could create a more realistic looking flower.

Finish drawing the petals

Continue working around the centre to finish the petal shapes of the rose. In this particular rose drawing, the petals in the middle haven’t fully opened, so they appear more upright and you can see the underside of each of them. The petals on the outer edge of the flower head are larger and curl outwards. Make the petals on the outer edge of the flower head more jagged and organic in appearance if you want to make a more realistic looking drawing.

Draw the final details and start shading

The final details I drew on this rose were the underside of the petals, where I had marked the upside down trapezium shape and the small leaves beneath the flower head.

When shading, I first established where the light source was hitting the flower, in this case it was coming from the angle of the top left of the drawing. Look carefully at the petals and decide which sections are blocking the light and which part of the petals will reflect the light.

I used the tonal shading technique, creating smooth transitions between light and dark values. However, you could add a splash of colour with some red or pink colouring pencils!

If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out our easy drawing ideas! And if you want to progress your drawing skills, consider taking our Drawing Fundamentals course. It’s a progressive course of 54 lessons that will teach you how to draw portraits from scratch.