Airbrush Technique Issue 23 - (Page 21) The trick to fire is accomplished with a ton of practice and patience. I have done 300 license plates worth of practice, studied everyone’s fire, studied real fire, studied different colors, have done countless helmets, and the list goes on. Still, I can get better; it takes time and I have to be willing to realize this. List of supplies. Paint: All Auto Air, Transparent White, Semi opaque Flame Red, Transparent Sun Gold. Homemade and Created Freehand Fire shields. Omni 4000 airbrush. Stencil Size and Shape Matters You must have a fire stencil. This stencil is cut from a manila folder. It is one of my favorite fire stencils that I have made and is the perfect size for fire on a motorcycle. If I were doing a car hood the stencil would be doubled in size, and if it where for a helmet I would make the stencil smaller. The size of the stencil is important. I laid this stencil on a piece of paper so that you can make your own and can see the size of the stencil compared to the paper. Beginning 1. On a black painted surface, layout the design of your fire using Trasnparent White. Keep in mind the shape of the bike and the overall flow of the fire on the bike. While airbrushing my fire design in, I make certain to use my fire stencil in conjunction with freehand airbrushing. This way I will not end up with a Swiss Cheese Fire paint job. 2. Add some flames that have broken away from the main part of the flames to the design. This is to help ensure a natural look. 3. Freehand fill in the White with Semi opaque Flame Red. Keep it strong on the outskirts of the fire. 4. Also remember to make some areas even stronger by increasing the color of the red and by flaring it a bit more into the black areas. These areas, with more intense color value, are considered higher in “Chroma Value”(color intensity). 5. Now make a whole new different layer of flames like in step one with Transparent White and start filling in the White with Transparent Sun Gold. Make some of the Fire disappear into the background Red Fire Layer. 6. Note the Sun Gold does not have a lot of Chromatic glow to it at this point. Also, some of the overspray from the Flame Red to the Sun Gold is blending together and appears like Orange. In this fire Orange is not needed.
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