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How to Draw a Romanesco
Draw a romanesco in 12 easy steps, about 9 minutes. Free, with a printable worksheet.
Each picture adds one red line. Draw that line, then scroll to the next picture. Rub out any dashed helper lines at the end. First up: middle leaf.
Step 1: Middle leaf
Near the bottom, draw a wide leaf with a pointy top, like a fat teardrop standing up.
Step 2: Side leaves
Start behind the middle leaf. Draw a big leaf curving out and up to a point on each side.
Tip The 3 leaves make a cup for the romanesco to sit in.
Step 3: Bottom cones
Behind the leaves, draw 3 bumpy cones: a soft point, then 2 bumps down each side to the leaf.
Tip Each cone looks like a swirl of soft ice cream.
Step 4: Middle cones
Draw 2 more bumpy cones peeking up behind them, one in each gap.
Step 5: Top cone
Draw 1 last bumpy cone at the very top, between the 2 below, to finish the pointed dome.
Tip A romanesco is a cone made of cones, all the way up.
Step 6: Spiral lines
On each bottom cone, draw 1 slanting curve. Start in the top left dip and stop at the right edge.
Tip The lines all slant the same way, like a spiral slide.
Step 7: More spirals
On each of the 3 cones above, draw 2 slanting curves the same way, one under the other.
Step 8: Leaf veins
Draw a line up the middle of each leaf. Start at the bottom and stop before the tip.
Step 9: The ground
Draw a ground line from left to right, lifting your pencil where it passes behind the leaves.
Step 10: Light green cones
Go over your lines, then colour the 3 bottom cones light green. Leave the leaves white for now.
Step 11: More light green
Colour the 3 cones above light green too, right up to the tip.
Step 12: Dark green leaves
Colour the 3 leaves dark green, and your romanesco is done!
Your finished drawing
Follow the steps above and this is where you end up: a romanesco, drawn by you.
Every step in one picture
