In this tutorial we would be using various image manipulation techniques to give a simple basic image a burning effect. We would be playing around with stock images and the brush tool to come up with an illustration like the one displayed below.
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Final Image
Step 1 : Stock Images
First of all download two images which would form the basis of your illustration. You can download the tree image and the fire image from the following links:
Fire Image:
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1093986
Tree Image:
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1344457
Step 2 : Desaturate and Invert
First of all bring the tree image to the canvas and resize according to your requirements. Desaturate the image by pressing “CTRL U”. Set the “Saturation” value to -100 and hit enter. After that simply press “CTRL I” to invert the colors of the image. Your image should like somewhat like this.
Step 3 : Duplicate
Duplicate the layer twice. Change the blending options of the first layer to “Screen” and change the blending options of the other layer to “Hard Light”.
Step 4 : Darken
Go to the layer palette and bring the original image layer right at the top. Change the blending options of the original layer to “Darken”. This would completely remove the background and you would have something like this on your canvas. Rename the layer “Original – Darken”.
Step 5 : Fire Image
Bring the fire image in the canvas now and resize it according to your requirements. Change the blending options of the layer to “Screen”. This would remove the black backdrop of the image to a great extent.
Step 6 : Warp Tool
Press “CTRL T” and transform the image according to the tree image. Right click on the selection and choose the “Warp” option. This would allow you to transform the image more freely according to the tree image. For this particular step, I have only covered the left hand side of the tree.
Step 7 : Flip Horizontal
Duplicate the previously transformed image and press “CTRL T”. Cover the right hand side of the tree using the transformation tool. Go to the layer palette and move the layer below the “Original – Darken” layer.
Step 8 : Resize
Duplicate the original fire image. Resize it so that the image completely fills the canvas. Change the blending options to “Overlay”. This would add to the color of the fire. Rename the layer Fire-Overlay
Step 9 : Reflection
Do the same step again, but this time focus more towards the ground beneath the tree. Change the blending options of the layer to “Vivid Light” instead of “Overlay”. Rename the layer Fire-Reflection.
Step 10 : Brush
Now we would play with the brush tool. Once you have selected the brush tool, press “F5” or go to Windows and choose the Brushes option. Apply the following details to create your very own custom brush. Once done create a new layer and position it between the Fire-Overlay layer and the Fire-Reflection layer. Choose white color for your foreground and apply the brush randomly on the canvas. Use different sizes for the effect to add more depth to the image. And there you have it. A nice fire illustration for your image.
.png "Burning Tree Photoshop Tutorial 10")
.png "Burning Tree Photoshop Tutorial 11")
.png "Burning Tree Photoshop Tutorial 12")
.png "Burning Tree Photoshop Tutorial 13")
Final Result
.png "Burning Tree Photoshop Tutorial 14")