Learn To Draw

Learn To Draw A Rose

Roses are one of the most beautiful flowers. However, they are also one of the most difficult to draw because of its complex design. Nevertheless, being able to draw them is considered to be quite an achievement. So, here are the basics if you want to learn to draw a rose.

Materials

You would need: soft pastels, Conte crayon or charcoal; drawing paper; knead eraser; dry towel and damp washcloth for cleaning hands; and cotton swab to be used for blending.

Colors

You should understand that if you want your drawing to be in color, you should practice drawing it on black and white first. It is important that you master it in black and white. This is because the values or how light and dark areas are, are way vital than which colors you want to use. Y

It is possible for you to draw it in yellow or red with green leaves. You can also make it fancy such as pink and orange, or go whimsical and make a blue rose and purple leaves. It all depends on your taste. Nevertheless, it is important that your lines are strong and you have got the correct shading for your picture to look good whatever color you use.

Starting Point: The Swirl

Sketch a swirl. Place this swirl approximately where you want the center of your rose to be. Your swirl should look like an unclosed circle that has an excess on the end. Try to make it curvy and elliptical in shape. Draw this lightly first using your chosen drawing material.

Petals

Add some petals around its center. Try to keep the lines short where they would be going down to meet the succeeding row of petals. Petals generally involve C shaped and inverted-C shaped lines. C shaped for the left side of the rose and inverted for the right side of the rose.

Try drawing the petal lines lightly first. After you have drawn the lines, that is the time you would shade. You are going to shade by smudging off the lines. Be careful when smudging, so that you won’t tear or create a hole on your paper. After smudging, strengthen back the lines. Try to make them strong and dark.

Clean Up

Clean up your drawing by carefully blowing loose dust on it. Be careful that you do not to touch the dark areas. If you do, it would get smudged again. If ever an accident like this happens, squish your kneaded eraser a couple of times. After which, use it to carefully remove the unwanted smudges.

To avoid further damage, it would be better if you press and lift rather than rub like how you would do using a normal eraser. Nevertheless, if the smudge is not right beside a line, you could just rub gently. Each time your knead eraser gets dirty; simply fold it so that the dirty part would be placed inside. Simply stretch and fold for a number of times. For sure you can get a clean surface in no time.

Things To Remember

As a guide you can use a book or a picture of a painting that has roses in it. Familiarize yourself with the rose structure. Observe the petal shapes. Usually, there’s a dip midline of a petal. Sometimes a part of it also turns over out. Add these kind of details to your drawing and you’ll have a rose in no time!

Learn To Draw A Dragon

Sphere: Related Content

In myths dragons symbolize a myriad of real and imagined terrors, which perhaps originated from the real beasts that roamed ancient forests. But for modern storytellers, it is usually the majestic hero in the story. The best thing in drawing dragons is that you could keep in mind that all those pictures you’ve seen are all derived from mere imagination only. Thus, there is no right way of drawing a dragon. You get to have all the creative freedom that you want in drawing one.

What Kind?

Before you can start drawing, you should first decide on what kind of dragon is it that you want. What is the environment that shaped your dragon? Is it a green forest or a mountainous desert? If it’s one of those mediaeval fire-breathers you might want to consider referencing historical sources. If it’s a fantasy creature, then it all depends on the course of your imagination.

Think of its key features. Do you want it as a slender, lizard-like dragon with filmy wings, or do you want it to be a mighty beast that has the arching back and chest of a war horse? Try to think and sketch out rough ideas like these before you proceed.

Be Convincing: Find A Reference

The best way to have a convincing dragon drawing is by having an anatomy which flows together and has some sense in it. Thus, try to make use of real animal anatomy for your reference. Does your character have wings? If so, are they decorative or functional?

Also, think about the skin. Is it the leathery type with fine reptilian scales or is it crocodile rough? How about the color? Do you you want it to be in camoflage browns and greens or would you want it in bright rainbow colors? Once you’ve decided on these things, try to make a sketch or a list of all the characteristics. Then, go and search the Internet for photos. Make sure that you learn from your references and not copy.

Be Realistic: Have A Light Source

The light source of your drawing is also important. Although it is from your imagination, pick out one light source that you want your character to be subjected to. If you have various image sources, also be aware of their lighting. The light source of the crocodile picture you are looking at and that of the snake picture may be different. Thus, be careful and make sure that the shading of your picture would sync with the light source you’ve chosen.

Pin point if the source is overhead sunlight, the moon, a window or a cave opening. Take note that light waves travel on straight lines. This could help you know where your shadows are. Keep in mind too that light bounces. Thus, there may be some lighted areas within the shadowed areas. If you are having a problem with this factor, go and get some plastic dinosaurs. Use a flashlight as the sun and you’ll see the shadows you are looking for.

Fire And Smoke

Another important factor would be the fire and fire-breath, if your dragon has this kind of feature. Do not experiment with flamethrowers just to get this right! It is quite easy to achieve this kind of effect. All you need to do is make use of tones. Give contrast to the smoke and flame by using shades of black, grey and white.