Fire commonly burns red, orange, yellow, blue and white.
Painting is a constant learning process, no matter the subject or paint used. It requires patience and practice with a variety of subjects, including fire. Painting flames is a valuable skill set for tattoo artists, airbrush painters and graphic artists. Learning to paint flames is a step-by-step process starting with the outline and finishing with layering effects.
Outlining
Before painting, outline the basic shape of your flames with pencil. A number 2 HB graphite pencil is low-cost, erasable, dark enough to see on the work surface and light enough to paint over. Hold the pencil firmly, but don't squeeze the pencil until your fingers turn white. Draw several sets of practice flames, if you have never drawn flames before. Think gentle curves and sharp points. There's no need to get too detailed with the flames if you will be painting over the graphite.
Stenciling
Painting the flames with stencils gives that crisp edge associated with professional artists. You have several options in using stencils. Draw the flames on a piece of paper and cut them out. Tape the paper to your work surface and paint within or around the stencil. Purchase pre-made stencils with flame shapes in them and tape to the surface to paint. Or cut out some basic sharp and pointed curve shapes, then use them to create a crisp edge here and there, but free hand the rest of the painting.
Coloring
Fire is a plasma that burns in different colors. The best artists reflect these different colors in their paintings. The hottest flames burn blue, to white, to yellow, to orange and finally to red. The hottest fires have a small blue area of flame close to the base of the fire and near the fuel. White and yellow flames occur near the outside of the fire where the oxygen in air provides it with more fuel. Near the center of the flame is less oxygen and the flame is cooler, appearing as a dark orange or red color. When you paint your flames take these coloring stages into account to create a realistic look.
Layering
Fire is swirling, occasionally translucent plasma. A layering process works best to replicate this effect in a painting. Different materials and paints also play a part in the layering of a painting. Gauche paint is opaque and doesn't layer well. Artists instead paint in solid colors to create a graphic two dimensional effect. Watercolor paints blend well, but aren't easy to paint over. If the color used is wrong or too dark, the artist has to live with it or start over. Oil paints blend well and layer easily, but take a long time to dry. Acrylic paints are similar, but dry quickly so there is not much time for blending. Go slowly and layer with these issues in mind.
