Painting Realistic Flames

4. The traditional flames were then back masked (filled with masking tape), then a razor blade cut away the excess tape. When Danny's done painting the True Fire will be flaming all around the traditional style flames and the traditional flames will be negative flames in the Blue Blood Red basecoat.

5. Along with all the materials needed, the kit is also available with a Mike Lavallee True Fire stencil kit and Secrets of Airbrushing True Fire DVD.

6. Danny showed us the House of Kolor paints and materials he used for the project. He got the materials from Coast Airbrush. Coast Airbrush has compiled kits with all the necessary materials to do Mike Lavallee's True Fire. Included are colors such as, Molly Orange, Chrome Yellow, White, Pagan Gold, and Tangerine.

7. Danny informed us that the basic goal is to apply the colors in layers. Each color is laid down in a one-coat/one-pass manner, creating a transparent effect where the colors are still visible, but they build upon each other to create depth for that realistic look. The darker colors are applied first and take up the most area. The darker colors are also more prominent towards the outer edges of the fire where it's cooler, whereas the lighter (hotter colors) are more towards the center/base of the flames. Danny began by using a spray gun to put down the first layer, which was Red Candy.

8. Next, Danny used an airbrush to spray Molly Orange. He said in this photo he was freehanding/free flowing some flames where he wanted the fire to be.

9. Still spraying Molly Orange, Danny then used the stencils to add crisp edges to some of the rounded areas of the freehand flames. The entire process is a mix between varying colors of freehanded flames and sharp radiuses, along with multiple colors of candy layers in between.

10. The stencil kit comes with a wide array of patterns to create varying positive and negative flame effects. Danny continually used different radiuses from various stencils to build upon each layer.

11. After the Molly Orange, Danny sprayed a coat of Tangerine Candy. Then he used Chrome Yellow and freehanded/stenciled fire over some of the areas where he laid down the Molly Orange. Danny said that he made sure to lay fire against the outlines of the traditional flames, because it will help the traditional flames pop out from the True Fire.

12. Here you can see the layers of colors start to build upon each other and the traces of True Fire emerging.

13. Next, a Harley-Davidson logo was masked out and applied to both sides of the gas tank.

14. Danny used a mixture of Chrome Yellow with a little bit of white, which will help give the logo a ghosted effect in the center of the flames.

15. Once the Chrome Yellow/white mixture was applied over the logo, Danny sprayed a layer of Pagan Gold Candy. Danny said the Pagan Gold Candy takes the starkness away from the previous layer and helps everything blend together.

16. The last layer of fire Danny applied was white with a little bit of yellow. The white layer of flames is the hottest, therefore was applied in more concentrated areas, but in the least volume. Once again a combination of freehand and stencil flames were used.

17. Lastly, one more layer of Pagan Gold Candy was applied. Here you can see how the Pagan Gold Candy helped to knock down the white and blend it in with the rest of the layers as Danny sprayed the gas tank from back to front.

18. Here is a look at a finished saddlebag with True Fire blazing through traditional style flames. Danny did an excellent job and the owner will be very impressed. However, it's still not done. Check back next time when the paintjob is finished off with some Rich Gold pinstriping, and then everything is bolted back onto the bike.