Deuces Wild

Since the 1940s, we’ve seen traditional hot-rod flames decorating just about everything on wheels. During that time, flame styles have gradually evolved. Now, vehicle artists design "ghost" flames, Polynesian tribal designs or elaborate, multi-level, intertwining patterns.

Typically, automotive artists have tried to reproduce the look of real fire, with long, sleek licks painted into multiple, blended colors with pinstriped outlines.

For the past four years, I’ve been developing my technique for painting realistic-looking fire on everything from hotrods to Harleys to big rigs to a helicopter I’ll be lighting up in the spring. My techniques for creating realistic fire have become so popular that I now sell three jobs a month in this style.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the steps required to create the blaze.

Getting started

My client is a hot-rod fanatic — he builds and sells them as a hobby. When he came to my shop and asked me to flame a ’32 Ford Deuce Coupe, my mouth started to water.

I began by making a digital sketch of my design. Using Adobe Photoshop