Fire with Photoshop

You can create realistic looking fire in photoshop in a few steps, which you can save and use with other images.

Step 1 : Open a new white layer in Photoshop.

Step 2 : Make sure that the Foreground is set to Black and Background to White. If it is not press 'x' then 'd' on your keyboard to set it to the default.

Step 3 : Press ALT+BACKSPACE to fill the white layer with the Foreground color i.e. Black.

Step 4 : Go to Filter>Render Clouds.

This is how your image will look like.

Step 5 : Go to Filter>Render>Difference Clouds

This is how your image will look like.

Step 6 : Now press CTRL+F a number of times. I have pressed it 10 times. This will create the texture of the fire.

Step 7 : Go to Image>Adjustments>Gradient Map.

Step 8 : Click where shown by the arrow to bring up the Gradient Editor.

Step 9 : The Gradient Editor opens. Now click the Preset shown.

Step 10 : As soon as you click the Preset, the color band in the middle changes as above.

Step 11 : Now click the orange color stop at right. The color in the Color box will immediately change to orange. Click the orange color box.
Step 12 : The Select Stop Color dialogue box pops up. Click on the Black at the extreme left bottom to select.

Step 13 : The Color now changes to black. And, the first Color stop has changed to Black.

Step 14 : Click on the orange stop at the extreme right, press ALT and drag left. As soon as you click and press ALT and drag the orange stop duplicates. Drag this duplicate stop to the middle of the yellow and black stops. See above.
Step 15 : Again click the extreme right orange stop, press ALT and drag. Another orange stop forms. Drag this to the middle of between the yellow and orange stops. See above.

Step 16 : Now press ALt and drag the yellow stop in the middle to between the two orange stops as shown after it duplicates. Click ok in the Gradient Editor.

Step 17 : Click ok in the Gradient Map dialogue box.

And here is the blaze. Let us see what can be done with it.

Step 18 : I have opened this photo of a building.

Step 19 : Drag the 'fire' image onto the building keeping SHIFT pressed.

Step 20 : Keeping the SHIFT key pressed makes the fire image land in the middle of the building image.

Step 21 : Make sure that the Show Transform Controls (Bounding Box in PS 7) is checked otherwise the corner handles of the image will not be visible.

Step 22 : Keeping ALT pressed drag a corner of the image till the fire image covers the one of the building.

Step 23 : In the Layer pallette, change the Blend Mode to Overlay.

The building is on fire !! Call the Fire Brigade !! That is all.

Read More

Figure in Glass of Beer

You can put a figure behind glass or liquid so that it appears behind or in it by using layers in Photoshop.

Step 1 : I have opened these two photos in Photoshop. I will put the girl in the glass of beer.

Step 2 : I have first chosen the girl's image and pressed CTRL+A to Select All, then CTRL+C to copy. Now I will minimise the girl's image as it is no longer required.

Step 3 : Now on the glass of beer I have pressed CTRL+V or paste. This pastes the girl's photo on the beer.

Step 4 : The girl's photo has been pasted on the glass of beer.
Step 5 : Make sure that Show Transform Controls (Bounding Box in Photoshop 7) is checked in the top panel).

Step 6 : Click the Move Tool.

Step 7 : A selection appears around the girl's image. Place the cursor on the top left corner, press ALT and drag down to resize the image proportionately. Then press ENTER to commit the image.

Step 8 : CTRL+CLICK the layer thumbnail on Layer 1.
Step 9 : A selection immediately appears around the girl's image.

Step 10 : Now click on Background.

Step 11 : With the selection in place press CTRL+J. This will copy and paste the selection on a new layer i.e. Layer 2.

Step 12 : Now drag Layer 2 up with the cursor.
Step 13 : Now Layer 2 is above Layer 1 in the layer's pallette.

Step 14 : Press CTRL+SHIFT+U. This will desaturate the selection and it will appear as shown above.

Step 15 : Now change the Blending Mode of Layer 2 to Hard Light.

Step 16 : Press SHIFT and click on Layer 1. This will highlight both Layer 1 and Layer 2.

Step 17 : Press CTRL+E. This will compress Layer 1 and Layer 2 into Layer 2.

Step 18 : Click the Marquee Tool and select the Elliptical Marquee Tool.
Step 19 : Draw an elliptical marquee with the Marquee Tool.

Step 20 : Click the Add Layer Mask button and a Layer Mask forms next to the Layer thumbnail on Layer 2.

Step 21 : Go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

Step 22 : The Gausian Blur dialogue box opens. I have given the Radius at 115.2 pixels because the image I have used is a high resolution one.

Step 23 : This is how the image looks after clicking ok in the Gaussian Blur dialogue box.

Step 24 : Notice that the Layer Mask has a border around it which denotes it is selected.

Step 25 : Now click on the Layer thumbnail. The border now appears around it denoting that it is selected.

Step 26 : Press CTRL+L. It will bring up the Levels dialogue box. Drag the White slider at right to end of the histogram as shown. The histogram is the black mountain like graph.

Step 27 : This is how the image looks. It is brighter.

Step 28 : Click the Move Tool.

Step 29 : A selection appears around the image as soon as you click the Move Tool.

Step 30 : Press ALT and drag up with the top left corner handle to resize proportionately. Press ENTER to apply the transformation.

Step 31 : Click the Marquee Tool.

The selection disappears. The image is now complete.

Read More