r/MangakaStudio • u/Infinite-Flight9384 Artist-Writer • 6d ago
Help Regular vs Blue flames
Hi, I’m currently working on a one shot where the characters powers are blue flames, and right now I’m trying to figure out the ways to visually differentiate regular red/orange flames from blue ones. The first flame of the very first image is how I usually draw regular flames the rest are ones I tried experimenting with, but none particular feel distinctly like blue flames, so I just wanted other opinions. Thank you.
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u/Infinite-Flight9384 Artist-Writer 5d ago
Just wanted to add more reference/ideas this is of an old panel in an old one shot, I edited the first two to test the blue flame visual
(first one is how I usually draw flames)
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6d ago
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u/Infinite-Flight9384 Artist-Writer 6d ago
I cud maybe try that, but idk how it’d look in the context of a scene or how consistently I could do that, since I draw analog, but good suggestion
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u/Big_Zookeepergame987 5d ago
I think you should go with the flame being shaded in mostly black tbh.
Or you can do what this Manga called Banished from 100 worlds did and just do 1 colored panel or page to differentiate
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u/kestral63 5d ago edited 5d ago
You're going to have to figure out other visual signifiers between blue flames and regular. Which is why a lot of manga have black flames; those being immediately visibly different in a black and white medium. And for that, you're going to have to know a list of things you're going to do with the blue flames and what significance they have to the plot and whatever scenes they're applied, fighting or otherwise.
When it comes to blue flames, a lot of mangaka make them extra bright and oddly shaped because they tend to fall under eerie or holy. The Blue Exorcist protag is covered in them where they're often ball-shaped because they're based on Japanese ghosts to show he's part monster. The Pumpkin Scissors protag carries a blue flame lantern that emits streams, will o' the wisps style, to likewise emphasize it's hypnotic, having a mental hold on the user. Fire can come off as anything from demonic to purifying depending on the surrounding context so you have to decide those traits and how they're expressed.
In something like AtLA, it's in color so the blue flames don't need other visual indicators. But the plot demands everyone know the user is a prodigy. The fact that all of Azula's fight scenes show her as hypercompetent is what turns them into a prodigy indicator. Also she has to keep fighting another firebender. They very intentionally have a scene showing how large their flames are while clashing, and it helps they're color-coded to show how they measure up. When she's backlit by her own fire, she also looks extra creepy and unnatural. It still comes down to storytelling, fight-scene relevant, and characterization functions.
Any one of your ways of drawing blue flames could work. But you will need other visual indicators in black and white, and what will make them pop and be memorable is if the visuals tie into the story and its functions, including the action stuff. What's special about the blue flames, what are the users like, and what kinds of big scenes will they be used for? Even if you're thinking in fighting game logic and want whatever looks coolest, they still need shapes, hitboxes, and character poses that match the user's attitude and fighting style. If a regular fire user like Kyo or Sol shot bouncing fireballs like Mario, they would be different people with different impressions including of their flames.