23 replies to this topic

[Lastman]

This one is off the wall.

When I think about the way people paint flames on torches and flamethrowers, the effect seems to look like "slow" fire. The licks of flame are rather large.

How would you go about painting "fast" fire? Recall film footage of burning oil fields, or maybe a pressurized fire from a pipeline.

Lots of small licks of flame?

I'm just dredging ideas. Help! Thanks :)

[ixminis]

video? I'm not yet conceiving what you mean... although I'm no flame expert

[psyberwolfe1]

Lazlo's old web site and the link is for painting fire.

http://hot-lead.org/advance/fire.htm

[Metalchaos]

I think burning oil would have to be painted with a black smoky tip and a jet of white flames at the source.
http://www.globaleye...burning-oil.jpg

Natural gas will produce a blue flame with a yellow tip. Like a welding torch or gas oven.
http://www.networldd...urner-12140.jpg

In fact, every burning material produces a different flame color.
Firework color are created by mixing different elements with black powder.
Copper is used to obtain blue, potassium for violet, barium for green and so on.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firework

[Lastman]

Imagine a garden hose without the brass pressure focus thing on the end. That would be "slow" fire. Now set the brass nozzle on the most focused beam, that's "fast" fire.

starting at 2:40


from the beginning


The elemental in Laszlo's tutorial would be a "slow" fire as I imagine it.

I recall from books about comic book art the idea of conveying movement in figures. Certain poses look static, others look ready to pounce. Then there's those "movement" lines to denote shakiness or speed. Maybe this isn't doable in 3d.

[psyberwolfe1]

On a figure you can only convey motion with light. Now a "fast" fire is one that is burning fast so less reds and orange will convey heat which is what makes the fire do that.

[Arachne]

I would try to make it lean more towards white and blue, because when I think "fast" fire, I think "omghot" fire. I think you're on to something with smaller licks, too.

I just painted a mini with spellfire, and the desired effect was something gaseous like starfire, so I used a good deal of white and pale yellows, and it came out pretty decent.

[Lastman]

I just painted a mini with spellfire, and the desired effect was something gaseous like starfire, so I used a good deal of white and pale yellows, and it came out pretty decent.

Pic please?

[Arachne]

Oh eek. I'm really shy about sharing my work...plus he's not even done.


I just took some pictures. I've never shared anything before, so give me a few minutes to figure everything out.

[Arachne]

Ok, my first ever picture sharing on here. I just took it, quick n dirty on my worktable. There's more red in it, than I thought, when I was responding, because after I painted it, I went in and outlined the demon faces and hands in oranges and reds. The real effect I was talking about with whites and yellows is in the left side, the darkest it gets is a light-ish orange.

I primed white, and painted it linen white, then mixed buckskin pale and lemon yellow with the white, gradually leaving white behind, then starting in with the oranges from the auburn hair triad. I glazed it all with a really dilute wash of the buckskin/lemon mix, to make it look less chalky and cohesive, then I picked out the faces with dark orange and red on the tips.

I used way more white and soft yellows than I would normally if I was painting fire. This is my guys's PC and he was like "GIVE ME DIVINE SPELL FIRE!! GIVE ME STARS EXPLODING"...I'm like "oookay mister drama..." so I looked at pictures of red and yellow dwarf stars.

I hope it helps. I'm feeling rather self conscious right now. It's still a WIP, though. The blending is still meh, I want to be more gradual. I was trying to figure out a way to work in some blue, but I think that might screw it up.

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[Lastman]

Thanks! That fire is well-blended and looks very realistic. I am eager to see the finished figure.

Maybe you can work the blues in where it spouts from his hands.

The lighter colored left-hand part does look "faster" to me than the middle, which makes sense since it's blasting vertically and accumulating above. Maybe this is a trick of the mind when things are vertical or the perception could influenced by the way the licks of flame are sculpted, in addition to the heat of the colors.

Thanks everyone for your input. Now I need to leave the realm of theory and start doing this.

[Arachne]

Ooh, just a little touch of blue by the hand, you just solved two problems for me! Problem one: setting the hand apart from the fire, obviously regular shading wouldn't work. Problem two: finding a spot for blue. Thank you, Lastman!

[Lastman]

Looks like we were not the first to think of the blue flame from the hands on this fig... what a coincidence that I stumbled upon this pic just a few days after this thread.

http://www.newboldwo...5YJ1/YJ112.html

[Arachne]

Wow. I aspire to that level of awesomeness. Amazing, thanks for sharing the link. I kicked around the idea to reflect the light off his robes, but...it's for a tabletop job, and I've never even begun to think about how to do alternate light source stuff. I'm gonna stare at this hard, and make some adjustments to mine.

[Lastman]

Arachne: Here's another one with fire of a different color and OSL effects. Beware... it's by Natalya... be confident. ;)

http://www.newboldwo...01NM1/NM11.html