Flames & Checkers

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The "classic Flame" and Checkered flag idea used simple masking techniques
combined with basic colour fill and shading.

These "panels" are Radiator support panels for a '56 Chev BelAir.
(They mount on either side of the aftermarket radiator to seal up
the front bulkheadAnyway, these formed aluminum panels, were delivered to me bare,
and I based them in a Black acrylic enamel.
The panels were then sanded to a smooth matte finish
and cleaned with "Final Wipe" degreaser.

Createx acrylics were used for the artwork (base white and black, transparent yellow,
orange, and red, kandy orange, pthalo blue and opaque sky blue)

DISPLAY02

Dave "AirDave" Winfield is the owner and head painter of Outlawz Airbrush and owner of Outlawz Art.
Located in Southern Ontario, Canada, Outlawz offers a wide array of art services including
Airbrushing Instruction for beginners and hobbyists. A self taught Airbrush Artist with over 15 years
of experience, Dave and his artwork have won numerous Automotive related awards.

AirDave Outlawz

Remove all your masking and expose the entire paint job.

With some transparent pthalo blue (or any deep blue)
spray a shadow, under the checker banner,
and across the flames to raise the banner into the foreground.
The blue will disappear into the black but will glow when cleared.
The blue shading across the flame will add more 3D effect to your painting.

All thats left is clean up any edges or lines with a very fine paintbrush.
I added a little white line highlighting to the edges of the banner.

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Now add all the effects that will make the banner come to life.
Pthalo blue for light shading. Thinned/diluted black for deeper shading.
and opaque white for highlights.
Spray across your banner and masking, in even controlled strokes.
(Remember you line control practice?)

When shading or highlighting, try light layers first, from a distance.
Slowly build the strokes to the desired depth of colour.
Move closer as you layer to increase the intensity of the paint.
It is easier to add more colour than it is to take it away!

With all the masking back in place, and the flame artwork completely covered,
we now expose the checkered flag banners.
Since the base black is already in place, you only need to remove
the pre-cut white areas of the flag.
Remember, only remove the checkers that you want painted white.

Once all the (soon to be) white areas are exposed a solid opaque even covering of white is needed.
Avoid building the paint too heavy, but an even coat is desired.

When the white is completed, remove the rest of the checker masking
to expose the complete black and white checker banner. (Keep all other mask in place, you ain't done yet!)

Once again, heat set the white if possible before continuing.

At this point I removed all the masking to add a classic flame blue pinstripe.
Since the Checkered flag and shading pass over the flames, I wanted to
complete this stage at this point. You could leave the pinstripe to the end,
but you will have to add a shading effect also.

Try to keep as much masking in place and re-use the masking you have removed.

For the blue pinstripe, I just used straight opaque blue.
When completed I heat set everything to continue.

Using some white, you now need to fade in some highlights within some of the flame curves.
This will again add to the 3D effect of the flames.
Use dagger strokes and carefully build highlighted areas.
Once you are happy with your highlight placement,
switch back to the transparent yellow and respray the white highlights.
A bright yellow highlight will look more realistic and natural.

There are also a couple of overlapping flame licks in this artwork.
To add a faint shadow, I used transparent red again.
A quick dagger stroke across the underlying flame lick does the trick!

Now you need to apply an even transparent coat of yellow over the entire flame artwork,
making sure once again, that you do not opaque the colour.
We need that original shaded flame art to show through as well as the oranges and red tint.
Use the dagger stroke and fade technique to fill with yellow.
Follow the flame shape when painting (as if you are freehanding the flames again).
This helps hide any banding or fill issues.
If you just filled with horizontal lines of colour and didn't achieve an even blending
then you would see those horizontal bands.
But if you follow the shape and curves of the artwork, working in all directions,
any banding becomes part of the artwork.

Now repeat the process with transparent orange (to make the red more red)
and follow up with some transparent Kandy orange.
Widen you spray with the Kandy colour and begin to close in the flames,
covering more of the white.
Kandy colours add a lot more depth to the colour and add to the 3D effect.

Again, don't overdo it.
try not to opaque the colour or lose the underlying shading.
You can go back to your transparent red to deepen and define some of the curves
or "shaded" areas.

At this point I like to harden the base white a bit using a heat gun.
With transfer paper this is not a problem, but with other stencil material
you can run the risk of heat setting the masking glue and leaving residue.

Using transparent red, once again follow the contour of the flame stencil.
Beef up the inside curves with the red.
Try to continue using the dagger stroke approach in all directions
to maintain good fades and overlapping.

Remember you are using transparent colour and want to keep the underlying design
showing through. Don't overdo the colour.

Start by removing the cut tape exposing the flame areas to be painted.
(Save the removed pieces if possible)
Using base white, spray the flame shapes.
Follow the contours of the flames and freehand the basic shape.
Using a dagger stroke technique, follow the inside of each inner curve
and create a rounded or 3D effect to the flames.
Once you have built some good contours, lay down an overall layer of white.
You need to make this white layer as bright and brilliant as possible without actually turning it
into a solid opaque white and losing your freehand design.
The white will become a base for transparent colour.
So build highlights and shadows now to show through the colours to be applied.

Start by masking the entire surface of the painted panel.
Here I have used Transfer (or Pre Mask) tape/paper.

Sketch out the entire design on the tape.
and using sharp x-acto blades, carefully cut the design.
Take care not to cut into (or too deeply) into the painting surface.

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