How To Draw Fire With Colored Pencils

Today's mail represents something I haven't done in a long time: a tutorial! The discipline is how to depict flame in colored pencil.

A few readers have asked how to describe burn over the years, and I've never given what I considered a very satisfactory reply. Then when I came beyond a series of campfire photographs I took a few years back, I decided to sketch it.

Since I've also been practicing at drawing illumination and patterning my studies later Thomas Kinkade's piece of work, I likewise decided to exam Brush & Pencil products with this kind of light.

How to Draw Flame in Colored Pencil

This is my reference photo. My goal is non to draw this burn down exactly. Instead, what I want to do is depict something that likes similar fire.

But since we all know it'south easier to depict something you can see, I needed a reference photo, and chose this paradigm from more than than half a dozen.

I used Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils because they seem to piece of work better with Pulverization Blender than Prismacolor.

One other note. I'k working on Clairefontaine Pastelmat considering I'chiliad using Brush & Pencil products. I'm also using the 3-footstep drawing method I described last week, so I'm recording the drawing process in a series of "rounds" instead of steps.

Allow'southward get started.

Round 1: The Block-In

Step one

The first thing I did was apply Powder Blender to the paper with a sable round brush. It doesn't take much Powder Blender, so apply it sparingly.

So I loosely outlined the fire with Cadmium Orangish. I chose that colour because information technology's a adept mid-value base color.

Side by side, I layered Night Indigo over the background, followed past Blackness effectually the outside edges. Since orange and purple are complements, I next added Mauve over the background.

I did a couple of layers of each color, working through the order with each layer (Dark Indigo, Black, and Mauve.)

And then I blended the layers with a sable round brush.

Pace 2

Afterward blending, I layered Night Indigo over all of the background. This time, I layered it with a more careful, precise stroke. I however didn't stroke as carefully as I would when drawing on traditional paper, only I was more than careful to shade all of the background.

I did a couple of layers of Night Indigo, hatching the first layer and crosshatching the 2nd.

Then I blended with the brush over again.

Next, I filled in the fire shape with Cadmium Orange and medium pressure. I filled all of the burn down shape and overlapped the background just a bit to begin suggesting the glow that surrounds fire.

I did 2 or three layers of Cadmium Orange, then blended.

This fourth dimension, I tried a pocket-size bristle brush. That worked improve than the sable brush, only still didn't give me the results I wanted. And then I composite with my finger. Fingers aren't recommended unless you wear a cot, because skin oils could damage the drawing.

A sponge applicator would also work better for this.

The cake-in stage ended with three light applications of ACP Textured Fixative, with near fifteen minutes of drying fourth dimension between each awarding. Later on the third awarding, I prepare the drawing upward to dry overnight.

Round 2: Modeling

Step 1

Equally with the previous circular, I again began with a layer of Dark Indigo over the background. I used medium-heavy pressure and strong, diagonal strokes to embrace all of the groundwork. Some of the background color overlapped the flame.

So I layered Cadmium Orangish into the darkest areas of the flame, Cadmium Yellow into the lighter areas, and Cream into the lightest areas. I used a bit of White in a few very bright areas.

I then darkened the darker values with applications of Caput Mortuum Violet applied with lite pressure and smooth strokes.

Stride 2

I layered Blackness over all of the groundwork with heavy pressure, filling all the tooth of the paper as much as possible. I besides began more than clearly defining the shape of the fire and some of the hot gas wisps around the edges by cutting into the orangish with Black.

During this stage, I added the log at the bottom with Head Mortuum Violet, followed by Black.

In the flame, I refined the interior shapes with Caput Mortuum Violet, Cadmium Orange, Dark Cadmium Orange, and few touches of Cream.

Step 3

Afterwards that, I blended with Pulverisation Blender and a sponge applicator. Because the transitions in flame are and then smooth, I started in the lightest colors and blended into the darker flame colors.

So I composite the background, and softened the edges of the flame by pulling some of that color into the flames. I didn't desire to muddied the oranges, though, and so I was very conscientious not to get too much Black into into the flames.

And so I sealed my piece of work with three light coats of ACP Textured Fixative.

Round three: Detailing

Stride 1

The first footstep in detailing was adding White to the brightest parts of the flame, so edifice boosted colors around that. I used medium-heavy to heavy force per unit area with each color. Unless I needed to draw a fine line or sharp edge, I also worked with dull or blunt pencils.

From lightest to darkest, I used White, Cadmium Yellowish, Cadmium Orange, and Dark Cadmium Orange. To get shine transitions, I overlapped colors, then blended. I went over each area more than than once to go shine color.

Despite adding the two Cadmium Oranges to my palette, I wasn't getting the amount of dissimilarity I wanted, so later layering those colors a couple of times, I went over the background with Black. I used heavy pressure and cantankerous-hatching strokes to brand a solid black background.

When I finished this footstep, I sealed the drawing with 3 calorie-free applications of ACP Textured Fixative.

Step 2

The the fixative was dry, I mixed Brush & Pencil Bear on-upwards Texture and Titanium White into a paint-able liquid and applied it to the brightest parts of the flame. I used a modest round sable to stroke the mixture into the brightest highlights.

I also added a few details that I've seen on burning logs merely that don't appear in my reference photograph. Those were the two "rings" of fire around the burn down log.

Step three

Later on the mixture stale, I layered Cadmium Yellow with medium-heavy to heavy pressure over most of the white and into the oranges. I worked around the areas I desire to remain white.

Then I added Cadmium Orange around the yellow, overlapping some to create polish transitions. I used medium-heavy to heavy pressure for this color, every bit well.

I connected working into the darker oranges with Dark Cadmium Orange, then added Terracotta in the darkest oranges.

Step 4

Later on that, finishing the campfire was a thing of alternate between the colors to brand adjustments and create the "correct look." I wasn't interested in duplicating the reference photo, but I did want my campfire to look as bright, hot, and lively as the fire in the reference photo.

I made quite a few adjustments to the colors, values, and shape of the fire, as well.

This is the finished drawing.

That'southward How I Drew Flame in Colored Pencil

I promise yous've enjoyed this brief tutorial. An expanded tutorial explaining this procedure in more detail is now available at Colored Pencil Tutorials. Click here to read more or get your copy.

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Carrie Fifty. Lewis

Carrie L. Lewis has been an creative person longer than she tin can remember. An oil painter from her teens, she began using colored pencils considering they were ideal for highly detailed work, and were easier to transport and use at horse shows. She at present uses colored pencils almost exclusively. From the outset, equus caballus were a favorite field of study, and she'due south been an equine portrait artist for nigh of her career. When she began drawing with colored pencil (and after a move to Kansas,) she found special dazzler in landscapes, and landscapes are now what she draws most often. The rugged Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas is at the top of her list of cute places to visit and draw.

Source: https://www.carrie-lewis.com/how-to-draw-flame-in-colored-pencil/

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