Acrylic Color EMBER ORANGE

A smoldering ember as a color model

An ember in a dying fire is neither orange nor red, it lies somewhere between. It is exactly this shift toward red that separates the shade from an ordinary orange and makes it a tool for light effects. Where it is to be apparent that something is glowing from inside, it suits better than a bright signal color, because it works by depth, not by intensity.

Light coming out of a model

The effect of an inner glow is painted from the bottom up: the darkest edge stays almost brown, the middle gets exactly this tone and the core is finished with a light yellow, or a pure white at the smallest point. The procedure works on lava bases, on forges, on engine nozzles, on molten metal and on the eyes of demonic characters. The key is for the transition to have at least three steps and for the lightest area to be by far the smallest.

Rust and the heat coloring of metal

The second great use lies outside light effects. Steel heated to a high temperature changes color and passes through straw, orange and purple into blue - this shade covers the hottest part of that transition on exhausts, barrels and armor plates by a weld. Thinned into a glaze it manages fresh rust as well, which is always warmer and more orange than old rust.

The range the paint comes from is built above all for application with a brush, so the consistency suits small work and transitions can be built up by gradual layering without having to use an airbrush. It thins with water without trouble, so a glaze can be prepared straight on the palette from a few drops.