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PlayOwl
A red rose with a swirled center and curled petals on a green stem with thorns and two leaves.
The finished drawing.

How to draw

How to Draw a Rose

  • Confident (level 4 of 5)
  • 20 min
  • 13 steps
  • Ages 8–13 (a guide, not a rule)
Start Drawing Draw on Screen Print

Draw on paper: Paper, Pencil. Optional: Eraser, Red, pink and green crayons, colored pencils or markers.

Draw it on the screen

A rose looks tricky, but it grows from the middle out. Start with a swirl for the tightly rolled center, then wrap petals around it. Each petal you add tucks behind the ones in front, so you learn to stop lines where a petal covers them. Shading deep inside the cup makes the flower look open and round.

Rather color it? Print the rose coloring page.

Step by step

  • New lines: purple, thick and glowing
  • Lines you already drew: gray
  • Guides: dashed blue, draw them lightly
  • Erase: dotted pink with an eraser
  1. Step 1 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 1 of 13 Draw a light circle for the flower near the top of your paper. Draw a light curved line down from it for the stem.
  2. Step 2 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 2 of 13 Draw a swirl near the top of the circle, a little flattened. This is the tightly rolled middle of the rose.
  3. Step 3 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 3 of 13 Draw the two big outer petals. Each starts beside the swirl, flares out to a tip at the side, then curves down around the circle. They meet at a point at the bottom.
  4. Step 4 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 4 of 13 Draw the front petal: a wavy edge across the front, from one outer petal to the other. Roll its left end over in a little curl.
  5. Step 5 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 5 of 13 Draw a petal that wraps around the swirl: start at its top left, go down the left side and curve under it to the right.
  6. Step 6 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 6 of 13 Draw a bigger petal that wraps the other way: down the right side and under the first one. Stop where it tucks in at the left.
  7. Step 7 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 7 of 13 Draw the rolled-back edge of each outer petal: a short curve from each side tip in toward the wrapped petals.
  8. Step 8 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 8 of 13 Draw three thin pointed leaves called sepals under the flower: one on each side and one in the middle.
  9. Step 9 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 9 of 13 Draw the stem with two lines that follow the guide, close together all the way down.
  10. Step 10 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 10 of 13 Draw a leaf on each side of the stem. Draw the middle vein first, then a curved edge on each side of it, so the two halves match.
  11. Step 11 diagram, showing what to erase
    Step 11 of 13 Erase the guides: the circle and the stem line.
  12. Step 12 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 12 of 13 Add small thorns along the stem, pointing different ways, and short side veins on each leaf.
  13. Step 13 diagram, with the new lines highlighted
    Step 13 of 13 Shade with short lines in the deep gaps between the wrapped petals and along the bottom of the flower. Light comes from above, so these parts are in shadow.
A red rose with a swirled center and curled petals on a green stem with thorns and two leaves.

You did it!

Your drawing does not have to look like this one. Every artist draws a little differently.

Color it on screen Print a practice sheet

Tips for this drawing

Helpful hints

  • Turn your paper as you draw the swirl so your hand can move around it in one smooth line.
  • The petals are wavy, not perfect. A little wobble looks more like a real flower.
  • Make the two stem lines stay the same distance apart. Thorns stick out from the edges.

Common mistakes

  • The rose looks like a ball of circles. Draw one swirl in the middle, then petals that wrap around it and meet at a point at the bottom.
  • The petals are drawn as stripes from top to bottom. Rose petals wrap around the middle. Curve each one around the swirl and under it, like a hug.
  • The leaves look lopsided. Draw the middle vein first and make the two edges bulge out the same amount on each side.

Make it simpler

Draw the swirl, one petal wrapped around it, the two big outer petals that meet at the bottom, a straight stem and one leaf. Skip the rolled edges and shading.

Overlap

Each petal wraps around the outside of the one before it, and the front petal covers the bottom of the flower. A line that tucks behind another petal stops at its edge.

Symmetry

Each leaf is the same on both sides of its middle vein. Draw the vein first, then match the two edges around it.

Light and shadow

Light comes from above, so the inside of the cup and the bottom of the flower are in shadow. Short lines there make the petals look curved and deep.

Practice first: Simple Flower.

  • A pink flower with five round petals, a yellow middle, a long green stem and two green leaves.

    Simple Flower

    Starter (level 1 of 5) 6 min Ages 3–6
  • A tree with a wide brown trunk and roots, three main branches that split into thinner branches, and six round green leaf clumps.

    Tree with Branches

    Confident (level 4 of 5) 20 min Ages 7–12
  • A pink paper flower with five cupped petals, a fringed yellow center and a green rolled stem with two leaves.

    Five-Petal Paper Flower

    Challenge (level 5 of 5) 45 min Ages 9–14 Paper craft Sheet 1: petals, back circle and center, printed on paper Scissors Glue Adult help suggested