Why I Tried Cartoon Roses
Alright, so today I decided to try drawing a cartoon rose. Honestly? Because it looked simple enough, and I needed something cute for my niece’s birthday card. My drawing skills? Let’s just say I usually stick to stick figures. Figured a step-by-step tutorial wouldn’t hurt.
Gathering My Stuff (The Mess)
Grabbed my junk paper – the one I use for printing mistakes. Felt better than wasting good paper. Dug out an old HB pencil I found rolling around in a drawer. Sharpened it with a kitchen knife since my pencil sharpener vanished (typical). Used a random eraser I chewed on ages ago (don’t judge!). Ready to roll. Or sketch.
Following The Steps… Mostly
Opened the tutorial picture on my cracked phone. Step one said: draw a little U shape in the middle. Easy. Did that. Fine.
Then things got twisty:
- Step Two: “Draw a spiral around the U.” My spiral looked like a confused snail trail. Too loose. Too pointy. Erased. Tried again. Still wonky. Said “screw it” and drew a kinda spiral-y circle. Close enough.
- Step Three: “Add wavy lines for petals.” My wavy lines? Looked like bacon strips stuck to the spiral. Too stiff, no flow. Froze. Tried making them floppier, curvier. Added way more than the tutorial showed. Got messy. Said “okay, moving on” before I scribbled it all out.
- Step Four: “Thicken the stem, add a leaf.” The tutorial stem was elegant. Mine? Looked like a bent twig. Leaf was supposed to be simple. Mine looked like a fat teardrop. Not elegant, but… recognizable? I hoped.
The “Finishing” Touches
Stared at my creation. It resembled a rose… if you squinted hard. Kinda like those generic flower icons on cheap apps.
Tried outlining it darker with my pencil, pressing way too hard. Made it grubby. Had to erase some smudges which just made bits dirty.
The tutorial ended with a cute bloom. Mine felt lopsided. Not perfect, but done. Actually kinda proud I didn’t give up halfway.
What Actually Worked
- Start Small: That little U shape? Super helpful anchor. Kept me grounded.
- Forget Perfect Spirals: Trying to nail the spiral perfectly wasted time. Making a loose coil worked fine for a cartoon.
- Messy Petals > None: Trying to make them “perfect” got frustrating. Just looping them loosely around the center looked way better in the end, even if uneven.
- Thick Stem is Forgiving: Made my crooked stem less obvious.
My Face Looking Back
Overall? Not bad for a first shot! It’s definitely not winning prizes, but I can tell what it is. Key things I learned? Cartoon art hides mistakes better than trying for realism. Trying is the success sometimes. My niece’ll probably like it just cause I made it, wonky bacon petals and all. Might try adding colour next time to distract from the shaky lines. Actually kinda fun once I stopped stressing about the tutorial picture.
Yeah, I can finally draw something that doesn’t just look like a stick with circles. Actually kinda proud now.