Skull With a Rose Between Its Teeth Coloring Page

A full blown rose fills the lower half of this face, gripped between the teeth, with its stem running out to a pointed leaf on either side. The bloom is built from eight layered petals spiralling in toward a tight closed center, and every petal is a separate closed shape. Above it the cranium is drawn plain and smooth, so the flower carries all the detail on the page. The eye sockets are deep set with heavy brows above them, which gives the skull a brooding look that suits the subject. Rose and skull is the oldest pairing in tattoo flash, shorthand for beauty and mortality sitting in the same frame, and it holds up because the two shapes could not be less alike. Deep reds and crimsons are traditional. Work from the outer petals inward, deepening as you go toward the center, and the bloom gains depth without any outlining. Leave the bone pale so the rose stays loud. The leaves take green, but keep them muted or they pull attention away from the flower.