How to Draw a Rose | Drawing Tutorial and Coloring Techniques

In this video tutorial, I’ll show you how to draw a rose from scratch, and how to color it in.

I’ll cover:

1. How to draw the black outlines of the rose
2. How to color a rose with markers
3. How to color a rose with pencils
4. Specific coloring techniques to add texture
5. How to use a white pen to add highlights to your coloring

Before we begin, here’s a look at my free awareness ribbon coloring page that I have colored using this technique. You can download this page for free here if you’d like to try it for yourself as you watch this video tutorial. Otherwise, you can follow along and draw your own roses from scratch.

Here’s a look at the full video tutorial on how to draw and color a rose.

You can use any types of markers or pencils for this, but here’s a look at what I’ve used in the video.

(NOTE: these are affiliate links, so I’ll get a small commission if you purchase through these links, at no cost to you)

1. Sakura Pigma Micron pen – I use these pens for most of my coloring book line art. They come in various thicknesses.
2. Copic Ciao Markers – I have used the red and pink (R29 and RV04) from this basic 12 set of Copic Ciao markers. If you’re looking for better blending effects, you can choose colors that are closer together in a bigger set. I also used the Copic Colorless Blender to lighten the pink around the edges (optional).
3. Faber Castell Polychromos pencils – As an alternative to markers, you can use pencils. The Polychromos are really nice to work with and blend together well. I used Deep Scarlet Red and Pink Madder Lake in this example.
4. Uniball Signo white gel pen – This is the white pen I use for all my coloring projects. It works over other mediums and produces a nice thin line. It works best with a light touch, as you’ll see in my video.

I’ve also created a free color combination chart that you can use to test your blending and experiment with different color combinations. Click the picture below to download the PDF version.

I hope you’ve found this video useful. If so, please share it using the links below!