How to Draw Fireplace Flames

Capture the movement as well as the shape of flames when sketching.

Fire is a dynamic, energetic subject to draw and it requires some skill to capture these qualities. Even a very competent artist can make a drawing fall flat by failing to represent this this in their art. The key is not to allow the flames in drawing to appear uniform. Instead, use irregular shapes to suggest the chaotic movement of the fire in the fireplace and give a sense of dynamism to the drawing as a whole.

Instructions

1. Draw the fireplace and the grate first. Try to get this as symmetrical as possible. Draw from life or a photograph as a guide.

2. Draw the fuel in the fire in soft pencil. If it is a wood fire, draw sticks arranged in a pyramid to suggest a freshly lain fire or a few thick logs piled at angles to show a fire that has been burning for some time. For coal, draw the lumps with very narrow gaps between them.

3. Place a dot at the height of the fire you want to draw. Position it centrally above the pile of fuel. This will guide you in drawing the flames.

4. Start the line of the flame at the outside edge of the pile of fuel. Start drawing at about half the height of the pile. Draw an "S"-shape curving first outwards away from the pile and then inwards, but drawing more or less vertically upwards. The "S" should come to a height roughly half way between the center of the pile of fuel and the dot.

5. Draw another "S" on the other side in the same way, but more bulging than the other with a tighter "S"-shape. From the tip of each "S" draw more "S"s downwards towards the center of the flame to form wavy points. Draw a series of joined points in between the outer lines. Make them taller and thicker as you approach the center of the fire.

6. Draw a line around this outline, following the shape of the outline but with a thin gap between the two. Draw another line around this one.

7. Color the central section of the flame yellow, the next section orange and and the outer section red. Color the gaps between the fuel yellow, also. Color in the fuel and the rest of the fire place. Shade an orange haze in around the fire.

References

• How to Draw Cartoons: Blazing Cartoon Fire