Week 37 // Fire // Making Art Everyday – Year Three • Bardot Brush

Week THIRTY-SEVEN

We continue this month’s artful exploration of the elements by studying light and fire this week.

Before we get into the art stuff, I can’t talk about fire without mentioning the California wildfires currently impacting my state. The Caldor Fire is especially heavy on my heart. My husband spent a lot of his youth growing up in South Lake Tahoe, and last year we realized our dream of owning a home there. Lake Tahoe is a second home to my family. The natural beauty of Tahoe brings inspiration and peace to so many. While we are cautiously optimistic our house will be spared, others have not been so fortunate. If you are able, consider donating to the El Dorado Community Relief Fund or the Aid to Victims of Emergency Program.

Several days ago, in an effort to channel my fear and helplessness over the fire situation, I drew this:

I share this with you because there is power in the skills you are learning. My art skills gave me a way to express my feelings and respond to what is happening in the world around me. This is one of the reasons I dedicate my work to helping people find their creativity. Creativity can serve us in so many ways. It can be an escape from our struggles or a way to dive deep into the challenging aspects of our lives. So keep up with your art-making practice — you’ll be surprised at how many ways it will serve you.

September's Theme:

ELEMENTS

Week 37: Fire

It’s no surprise that studying light sources, such as flames, electric light, sunshine, etc., is fundamental to an artist’s development. Light gives form to objects and mood to scenes. So for this week’s fire theme, we are exploring things that glow!

What makes light look like light? Observations I’ve made are the way it glows, its very bright values, and how it illuminates objects around it. For flames, there is a specific color pattern: red, orange, yellow, white (and sometimes purple and blue!) What else can you observe?

I have TWO live tutorials coming this week about drawing flames and neon! Learn more about those below and read on for a quickie fire tutorial!

How to Draw Fire

Draw the shape of the flames using bright red
On the same layer, paint within the shape using bright orange, leaving the tips of the flames red.
Repeat step 2 using bright yellow, be sure to leave the orange on the tips visible.
Add some white to the bottom near the source of the flames.
Time to add some glow! Adding a dark background will really help sell the effect. Duplicate your flame layer. Select the bottom layer and use Gaussian Blur to blur the shape. Set the blend mode of this blurred layer to Add or Vivid Light or whichever mode gives you the best glowing effect. TIP: you can even duplicate this blurred layer to intensify the effect!

The Prompts

Week 37 | Sept 6-12

FIRE

Mon: sun
Tue: candles
Wed: lightning
Thu: bioluminescence
Fri: flames
Sat: lightbulb
Sun: neon

This piece was drawn using my Texturrific Pastels brush set for Procreate.

You can access each week’s prompts, with links to reference photos, at makingarteveryday.com

This Week's Tutorial

Live Tutorial! DATE at TIME PST

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The best place to catch the live stream is on the Bardot Brush YouTube Channel. Don’t forget: You can watch or re-watch the previous livestreams on my tutorials page on Bardot Brush!

LIVE Tutorial! Monday, Sept 6 @ 1:30 pm PDT

Learn how fun and easy it is to draw a neon effect in Procreate! Join me in this live tutorial where I will teach you how to draw neon using Procreate built-in brushes. Once you learn this effect, the possibilities are endless! Use it for lettering, designing your own neon signs, and so much more.

LIVE Tutorial! Friday, Sept 10 @ 10:30 am PDT

Join me for my next live tutorial, where I’ll be teaching you how to draw fire in Procreate! I’ll show you two ways to draw flames: a super simple method using a built-in Procreate brush and a more painterly flame effect. I’ll also show you how to create a glowing effect using gaussian blur and blend modes.

How to Draw a Candle

The gentle glow of candlelight can add some serious ambiance to your illustrations. We’ll be using Procreate features such as blend modes, Gaussian blur, alpha lock and clipping masks, and more. I’ll even show you a quick and easy way to add an interesting background that also adds an element of depth.

How to Draw a Glowing Neon Jellyfish

Learn how to draw a super-cool neon glowing jellyfish in Procreate! This tutorial will take you step-by-step, showing you lots of useful techniques and tricks along the way. By the end, you’ll have a pretty rad drawing of this most unusual sea creature.

SALE EXTENDED!

Want to try out some new art mediums and styles in Procreate? It’s time to beef up your brush library!

Get 25% OFF EVERYTHING Use Code: BEEF25

Head over to the shop to check out my latest artsy offerings, including the new Scratch Art Sgraffito brush set or my recently overhauled and updated Pencil Box and Awesome Alcohol Markers!

This Month's Progress Tracker

You can always download the current month’s Progress Tracker at bardotbrush.com/progress

(its a .Procreate file, so you can keep track of your progress right in Procreate!)

You’ll find instructions about how to use the Tracker at the link above. I even made you a star stamp brush for you to use! It’s my Procreate version of a gold star sticker.

Share and Connect with other MAE Artists

Making Art Everyday // Bardot Brush Facebook Group

We’ve got a Facebook group just for participants of Making Art Everyday and all things Bardot Brush! Come join our group of supportive artists of all skill levels, share your work, ask questions, and be a part of the community!

Making Art Everyday is brought to you by me, Lisa Bardot!

I’m the owner of Bardot Brush, one of the leading brush makers for Procreate. If you’d like to support me, please check out my premium brush sets that inspire creativity at bardotbrush.com.