In this tutorial I will explain how to create a burning flower using Adobe Photoshop CS3. I will also provide you with the psd source file at the end of the tutorial.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Completion time: 1-2 hours

Tools: Photoshop CS3

Resources:

-          Floral Vector Pack 21 from Designious.com or try some of the Freebies.

-          Flames from Shutupandwhisper

-          Fire from Ermbmx2

-          Smoke from Falln-brushes

-          Fire brush from Hidden-eddie

Here’s a preview of the final image.

STEP 1

Create a document in RGB color mode at 72 dpi. I made it 1680×1050 px. I made it a bit larger so I can add more stuff later if needed.

STEP 2

Grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill the background with black (#000000). We will work with fire and we will have bright colors, so a dark background will allow us to see better the shapes.

STEP 3

Open the Floral Vector Pack 21 from Designious.com. Grab the Lasso Tool (L) and select a flower of your choice. Copy it (CTRL+C) and paste it in our drawing (CTRL+V). Name this layer “flower”.

STEP 4

Go to Layer > Layer Style > Blending Options. Check the “Outer Glow” checkbox, then click it. Set Blend Mode to Screen, Opacity to 75%, color to a bright red and Size to 24 px.

STEP 5

Check the “Inner Glow” box. Set the Blend Mode to Screen, Opacity to 75%, color to light orange, Choke to 5%, size to 13 px and Contour to a curve.

STEP 6

Check the “Satin” box. Set Blend Mode to Normal, color to a dark red, Angle to 19 degrees, Distance to 11 px, size to 46 px and Contour to a choppy, random curve. Just draw one, it will do nicely.

STEP 7

Check the “Color Overlay” box. Set Blend Mode to Normal, color to a light orange, Opacity to 100%.

This is how the image looks like after these effects.

STEP 8

Grab the Lasso Tool (L) and set its Feather to 30 px. Make a very rough selection of the flower.

STEP 9

Create a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT+N) and name it “Glow 1”. Now grab the Paint Bucket Tool (G) and fill the new layer with a bright red. Make sure you click inside the selection. Then go to Select  > Deselect (CTRL+D). Set the layer to Screen blending mode and set Opacity to 48% and Fill to 60%.

STEP 10

Go to Layer > Duplicate Layer… (CTRL+J). Grab the Selection Tool (V), go to Edit > Free Transform (CTRL+T), hold ALT+SHIFT and click-drag one of the corners. Hit Enter. Set Opacity to 60%.

STEP 11

In the “Layers” window (Window > Layers), drag the “Glow 1 copy” below the “Glow 1” layer. Go to Layer > Layer Properties… and name it “Glow 2”.

STEP 12

Open the “Flames from Shutupandwhisper”. Select it (CTRL+A), copy it (CTRL+C) and paste it in our drawing (CTRL+V), behind the “flower” layer.

STEP 13

Go to Edit > Free Transform… (CTRL+T) and resize it as you see fit. Then right-click > Flip Horizontal.

STEP 14

Select the “Flower” layer in the Layers window. Go to Layer > Duplicate layer. Create a new layer (CTRL=SHIFT+N), then select both this layer and “Flower copy” layer and press CTRL+E to merge them.

STEP 15

Open another image from “Flames from Shutupandwhisper”. Select it (CTRL+A), copy it (CTRL+C) and paste it in our drawing (CTRL+V), behind the “flower” layer.

STEP 16

Go to Edit > Free Transform and make it smaller. Hit Enter. Now go to Edit > Transform > Warp and distort it to follow the shape of the flower.

STEP 17

Go to the Layers window and click the “Add Layer Mask” button. Then grab the Brush Tool and with a soft brush, paint over with black the unwanted parts.

STEP 18

Open the “Fire from Ermbmx2”. Select it (CTRL+A), copy it (CTRL+C) and paste it in our drawing (CTRL+V). In the Layers window (Window > Layers), set Blending Mode to Screen. Also set this layer behind the “flower” layer.

STEP 19

Place it like below, then go to Edit > Transform > Warp and distort it to match the shape of the flower.

STEP 20

Repeat STEPS 15,16,17 until the entire flower is covered.

STEP 21

Move some of the flames layer above the “flower copy” layer, so it will appear as if the flame surrounds the flower on all sides.

STEP 22

Select a flame layer, then go to Image > Adjustments > Levels (CTRL+L) and adjust the shadows and the highlights. Move the black and white triangles around until you are satisfied with the result. Then do the same for all the flames.

STEP 23

Create a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT N) below the “flower copy” layer and name it “smoke”. Open the “Smoke from Falln-brushes” and start adding some smoke. Use a light gray.

STEP 24

Select the “smoke” layer in the Layers window and click the “Add layer mask button. Then grab your Brush Tool (B), select a soft brush and paint with black the unwanted areas. If you want to make faded areas, just reduce the Opacity and Flow of the brush. I’ve marked the areas where you should definitely mask the smoke.

STEP 25

Create a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT+N) and name it “heat wave”. Move it behind “flower copy” layer. Set Opacity to 40% in the Layers window.

STEP 26

Open the “fire brush from Hidden-eddie”. Grab your Brush Tool (B) and make a large “flame”. Use a bright orange color.

STEP 27

Select the “heat wave” layer from the layers window, then go to Filter > Liquify (CTRL+SHIFT+X). Select the “Twirl Clockwise Tool and make a large twirl. Hold ALT key to twirl counter-clockwise.

STEP 28

Create a new layer (CTRL+SHIFT+N), name it “sparks” and place it behind “flame” layer”. Open the Brushes palette (F5) and pick a small hard brush. Start adding small, random dots of different sizes and opacities. Use a bright, yellow color.

STEP 29

Select the top-most layer in the Layers window, then go to Layers > New Adjustment Layer > Brightness/Contrast. Adjust the bars a bit till you get a bright, vivid fire. Done!

STEP 30 (optional)

Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Hue/Saturation and place it below the top-most layer. Double-click its thumbnail in the Layers window, check the “colorize” box and play around with the cursors.

The source file for this tutorial is available for download in the link below.

Source psd file:

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