How to Paint Authentic-Looking Flames

Paint flames that look real.

When painting, a great importance is placed on the blending of various colors together. However, to paint flames, you have to go even further than that. To add a sense of authenticity to your painting of flames, you need to have a familiarity with how flames look and move and the various colors they can contain at any one time.

Things You'll Need

• Paint brush
• Acrylic paint
• Canvas board
• Gel medium

Instructions

1. Find a photo or image of a real fire. Images can be found online or in books. Print out or cut out the image and keep it near your painting work area. The image will be used as your reference source for coloring and blending, until you can do it by memory.

2. Paint your entire canvas board in a dark color like black, making the painting's background. The dark color or black background will help bring out the details and brightness of the flame. Allow the paint to dry completely.

3. Mix your blue paint with your gel medium. The gel medium will help with blending and thinning out your paint. Refer to the image of flames you have and start to thinly paint in the blue sections of the fire along the base of the canvas board. This is the hottest part of the flames. Place the brush at the base brushing up to a short point. Be light with the paint, almost as if the blue is transparent.

4. Mix your red and yellow paint with the gel medium. Refer to your flame photo and build upon the blue you added in step 3. Add reds first starting at the base with the blue. Build the flame as if it was wrapping around the blue and flickering up the canvas. Add yellow to the red flames to add hot spots and transitions. Paint the yellow lightly into the red as if the yellow is wrapping around the red flame shapes.

5. Mix a small amount of the dark color or black you used for the background with your gel medium, about one part color to three parts gel. Paint this mixture along the hard edges of the flames to blend the fire into the background. Dip a clean brush into the gel medium and use this to blend and soften the yellows and red together. Refer to the image you have of flames to better understand how the reds and yellows blend together.

References

• Golden Paints: Color Chart