How to set your page on FIRE!

I'm guessing you're cozied-up with the heat on, slippers on and the lights on by 4pm! And maybe there's even a real fire crackling in the grate too? If there is, take a moment to breathe in that wonderful woodsmoke aroma. Ahhhh, lovely! (though possibly not good for your lungs long-term. I don't know)

Anyway, I’ve always been fascinated with the way a fire moves, how it twists and breaks apart like ribbons. In this blog, I'm going to take you through the different stages of drawing fire to help you capture that heat and movement with just five pencils on black paper.

The first thing to note is that not all fires look the same. There’s the squat smouldering sort with short flickering flames, the curvy dancing type, and the spikey fire demon type with its sharp edges and torn apart appearance. What type do you think this little one is?

Simple flame drawing

To make your fire drawing believable you need to capture the movement. If you're prone to quite tight sketching, a great way to loosen up and create bigger, more liquidy shapes, is to stand up, or sit, at arm’s length from your paper, holding the pencil loosely near the back. Use your shoulder or body to move your whole arm. Your motions will be less controlled and more naturally create the curving lines that overlap in a vertical ascent up the page. The more wisps and break-aways you add, the more fierce the fire will appear. I recommend using a reference and copying some of the shapes you see.

TOP TIP: Start with a single flame (e.g. candle) before progressing to larger fires (like campfires)

Use black paper for the best effect. You can draw flames on white paper, but the intensity and drama does get a little lost without the contrast. And as with most colour pencil drawings on black paper, you need an underlayer of white. This will give the colours a bright base to help them shine, which is especially important for the brightest areas as well as the yellow, which is a more transparent colour. I love my Pablo White pencil on Fabriano Black Black paper.

The classic colours you’ll need, apart from white, range from a hot yellow, one or two oranges, and a ‘spicy’ red. Black may also be useful to push back certain areas, or cover up mistakes on the black paper. 

STEP 1 - Sketch and underdrawing

A large fire, rather than a flame, is combined of many separate pieces that have a mainly vertical ascent up the page. Some parts will be spikey and sharp, but the main lines will curve and overlap in coils and twists.

Use a white colour pencil to loosely copy this design. Stand back from the page and try to work from your shoulder, rather than your hand or wrist, which will help keep the lines more dynamic.

Note how some of the filler shading fades to nothing. Try to add this in similar places, working lightly to create a base of white upon which your lighter colours will be applied.

Press more firmly with the white where you want the flame to appear hotter, or where the twisting tongues overlap. And if you allow some lines and edges to fade in and out of the background it will enhance the overall sense of movement.

STEP 2 - Lightest value for the heat

Using a warm yellow, such as a Medium or Light Cadmium Yellow, lightly apply over the white areas, including any fill shading.

Yellows are notoriously transparent, and this white base helps brighten the result.

Work with light pressure using a fairly sharp point and try to colour any larger areas vertically, rather than horizontally to enhance directionality. You can build layers and increase your pressure over the brighter sections to intensify the colour, but be sure to leave yourself some tooth to complete the next few steps.

STEP 3 - Mid values for the gradients

Change to a warm orange, such as a Dark Cadmium Orange, or something deeper if you prefer, and apply over the yellow, being careful to avoid the brightest, hottest, elements that are to remain yellow (or white).

Use the orange as the beginnings of a gradient from yellow to red. Work lightly and vertically, adding layers gently to create colour without pressing hard.

It will very quickly start to look like fire. If you prefer, you can use a yellow-orange first, then a red-orange to help smooth the transition from yellow to red.

STEP 4 - Dark value for the drama

Choose a deep vivid red next, I’ve used Scarlet for mine, and colour over the orange. Use light pressure to glaze over the orange which will help to combine the colours and create smooth transitions. Leave a few ‘hot spots’ of pure yellow to really add intensity to the fire.

The goal here is to add depth to the ragged ends of the flames, as well as push some further back. Make use of the black paper by colouring directly onto it as you soften and fade out some of the edges.

By working lightly, you can adjust the shapes, add extra little marks and sparks. You don’t have to completely cover the tooth of the page either. Instead, let the paper show through to darken certain parts and the spaces in between flames.

STEP 5 - Add and Adjust

The final stage is where you can re-apply any of the previous colours to build on the layers, soften blends and accentuate some of the twisty-turny forms.

You might like to add new elements, like sparks, or simply work to smooth out the blends, as I have done.

Use a Black colour pencil over anything you want to darken or push back into the background.

Try to ensure there is some separation between all the main forms by having a darker value between them.

And that's it. The hardest bit is the sketch. Don't trace, just copy a reference and try to make a few changes as you go!

Eerie Fire

TOP TIP : Try changing the colours of your fire and see how the mood changes.

I’ve gone green and it looks pretty eerie. Purple fire could look magical, or blue could be supernatural maybe. Playing with a range of colours could be interesting. Rainbow fire, anyone?!

I hope this was useful. If you do give it a go, I’d love to see!  In the meantime, I'll wish you a very Happy New Year.