Easy Step by Step Cartoon Fire Drawing

Cartoon fire isn't that hard to draw - it's really only a few simple shapes. Finding a nice style of fire is a little bit more of a challenge. Once you have learned how to create fire like the image beside to the right, feel free to experiment and try a different approach to drawing cartoon fire. Don't miss the helpful tips at the end of the tutorial when it comes time to make your own style of fire.

Step 1 - The tear-drop
This is a really simple shape and it often comes in handy when you want to do cartoon drawing. Follow the arrows in the diagram to draw the same way that I do. I find it easier to start at the pointy top, and then draw the indent curve. I like doing things this way because when I need to draw the curve on the other side, I can easily follow the shape of the first curve that I drew. This tear drop will be the main body of fire.

Step 2 - Additional Flames
Add in some flames to the sides of your tear-drop shape. The shape of these flames is very deliberate. Notice how they follow the shape of the initial large flame by coming to a point at the top and curving towards the left. Also notice that the sizes of these flames are slightly different with one being smaller than the other. This is also done on purpose to help give some variation to the drawing.

Step 3 - Finishing off the Main Cartoon Fire Shape
Add one more flame into the middle of the large tear-drop. Again, notice how this shape follows the first flames. This one is a little different than the others because it starts off like a tear, but it has two points instead of just one. To make it easier you could lightly draw two tear shapes that intersect to make this shape, or just follow the guide drawing and draw what you see - it's up to you.

Step 4 - Final Touches
The drawing is looking pretty good, but with a few additional details it can look even better. As fire burns it sometimes becomes separated from the main body of flame. Follow the step 4 image and add in these little detail flames coming off the tips of the two larger flames that make up the cartoon fire.

That's all there is - color your fire drawing if you like. You can follow the colors of the fire at the top of the page or make up your own fire colors.

Tips for Making New Fire
Fire comes in many different shapes and sizes. Try experiment with different line styles, by adding more jaggedness. You could also try adding more flames in step 2 to create a more complex fire shape. Finally, take a look at some examples of fire photographs and try to incorporate some of the things that you see into your cartoon fire drawings. There's no such thing as a right or wrong way to approach this - use your imagination and see what you can com up with.