One of the most challenging yet easily learned subject to draw is a flame. Whether it is drawn in colored or ordinary graphite tipped pencil, even a beginner will be able to draw the basic lines of a flame and adorn it with all the trimmings that will make it look like the real thing. You can very easily learn how to draw flames by following the steps below.
Step 1.
To get started, draw the basic outline of a flame using just a pencil and paper and practice until you get used to it. To do this, you need to draw a couple of curved lines pretty much like drawing several tear drops—only that the curves are more exagerated and rounded out and shallow at the bottom.
Step 2.
Drawing a candle flame is the more common and simpler way to illustrate this particular subject. If you find it hard to imagine how a candle flame looks like, you could light up a candle while you are drawing and observe the flame and refer to it once in a while. A candle flame in a windless room will appear like a single tear drop or even and inverted pear. Dipping the line in one of the side curves to bend the flame creates the illusion of flickering movement. Then, using the varying shades of yellow and orange, you can shade out the inner edges of the flame with yellow and orange on the outer edges, but you have to leave out a white space at the core where the flame leaps out from the wick to depict the hottest portion of the candle.
Step 3.
You can use the basic techniques in Step 1 to draw open flames in a campfire. The only difference is that it will involve several outlines of different shapes such that there will be some overlapping in the outlines and some individual tongues of fire will be leaping out of the main core. To lend realism to your drawing, draw some cylindrical outlines stack in a teepee-like fashion below the flames to depict burning logs.
Step 4.
Once you’ve drawn the outline to your satisfaction, you can now make use of shades and colors to breath life to your drawing. For a stronger contrast to the yellow and orange color of the flame, the background of your drawing should be colored black. While using an orange hue on the outer perimeter of the flame, the shade should gradually transform to a yellowish color as it nears the core where there should be no color at all except the tip of the wick which should be colored orange.
You may not quite make a realistic drawing at your first try. But that is how it is with learning how to draw flames. With a little practice, you will soon get the hang of moving from outline drawing to coloring your illustration.
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