drive from a car show he was demonstrating at in Detroit, MI, to Competitions for all career areas for the past 3 decades. Pro-
be with the students to judge their work. After the competition, fessor James Gerbach, Auto Collision instructor in Alfred’s Auto
Tom gave tips and tricks to the kids as they all marveled at the Collision Department stated, “the talent shown here today is in-
personal artwork he was showing them. Tom McGraw judged credible. All the teachers and students should be proud of their
the competition, as well. He’s no stranger to the automotive accomplishments in this new airbrush competition.” Alfred State
paint field. Tom spent 30 years with Sherwin Williams followed is also starting a new Custom Painting Module this coming fall.
by 7 years teaching automotive refinishing at the General Mo- An awesome day was had by all at the SkillsUSA Area 1 Custom
tors Training Center in Buffalo, NY. Tom currently is the General Painting and Graphics competition. Winner Brandon Boczar,
Manager of Main Mobility in Clarence, NY, specializing in mobility took home a $6,000.00 scholarship from Ohio Technical College
products for the physically challenged. They design, manufacture in Cleveland, OH. Congratulations to Brandon and all the competi-
and paint custom wheelchair vans for all the major automotive tors, teachers, and parents who took part in this great event to
companies.
make it a huge success.
Alfred State College has been hosting the SkillsUSA NY Area 1
9 Western NY schools competed in the Custom Painting and Graphics competition 1 st place goes to Brandon Boczar
This is a complete refinish job for Russell Sowers’ Racing of one is so important to understand! A gas does not have it’s
of their drag bikes.
own defined shape (it’s ever expanding). This tells me it’s
Material list: Auto Borne White reduced 1:1 with Auto Air 4011
a “freehand” technique, without the use of masking. The
Reducer, Auto Air Transparent Red Oxide, unreduced, Auto Air
outside edges need to be soft, so the color dissipates or
Transparent Yellow, unreduced, Fire Stencils (Ulitma Air-Prod-
fades away into the base-coat. In other words, it’s expand-
ucts), Skull Stencil (Skull King Series), Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS
ing. These soft, fuzzy edges will also help in the illusion that
the fire is glowing.
First off, let me start by saying that there are several ways
(methods or techniques) to create the illusion of fire. None
You always build fire from the back to the front, starting
of them are “right” and none of them are “wrong”. The dif-
with the background first, then bringing it closer to you with
ference between methods is the final appearance when fin-
each additional layer. There is a rhyme that will help you
ished. Some methods are more realistic looking, some are
remember how to build fire. “Fuzzy to Tight.....Dark to Light.”
more stylized. Which method is right for you? Ultimately, it
Your first layer needs to be very soft, fuzzy, transparent,
comes down to what the customer wants it to look like. The
and non-descript. As you add layers, your will add more and
way that I’m showing you is a beginner-friendly method, that
more definition to the fire. You don’t even really want it look-
is fast, quick, and easy (although not the most realistic).
ing like fire at this point. Remember, fire is layered! Each
In order to paint any illusion, you must understand, define,
layer you add will completely change the appearance of the
describe, and create a mental image of it in your mind. It’s
layer behind it. When it comes to color, you start with your
hard to draw a circle, if you don’t know what it is. So, let’s
darkest color first and work your way to your lightest color
start with our definition, and what it means to YOU, the
(with each additional layer).
Painter!
Fire is a transparent gas, that produces it own light. This
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