Before I get on with anything, I’d like to thank you for downloading this. All I ask is a little E-Mail, comments, complaints, whatever. Just send them to
Doctor W@aol.com
This is a slightly revised version of the originial procedure I uploaded some time ago, and contains some tips for other effects.
Sal’s Flaming Text Effect
Step 1
Create a new file in the size and resolution desired. Set the mode to Grayscale, and fill the image with black.
Step 2
Use the Text Tool to type the text you want in white. For best results, use a large, Sans Serif Font. (For this example, I used Cooper Black Italic) Set the text towards the bottom of the picture frame so there will be enough room for the effect.
Step 3
Save the Selection.
Step 4
Rotate the image 90 degrees counter-clockwise.
Step 5
Apply the Wind Filter (Stylize Menu), using the following settings:
to achieve this:
Step 6
Return the image to it’s original orientation by rotating it 90 degrees clockwise.
Step 7
Apply the Stylize -> Diffuse filter, setting the Mode to Normal. Your image should now look something like this:
Step 8
Go to the Blur Menu and select Gaussian Blur. Apply it with a setting of about 2.5:
Step 9
Go to the Distort menu and select the Ripple Filter. Apply it with these settings (default settings):
to give the image a wavy appearance:
Step 10
Load the selection you saved in Step 3. Feather it with a radius of 1 and fill the selection with black.
Step 11
Convert to Indexed color mode. Select Color Table from the Mode menu and change the Color Table from Grayscale to Black Body.
Admire the finished product.
Below are some suggestions for variations of this technique. Some require third party Filter sets.
Natural Gas Flame
Use the Natural Gas pallete (included in this archive) instead of Black Body in Step 11, then convert to RGB and apply the Blur -> Blur filter. Open the Brightness/Contrast Dialog and increase Contrast to +50:
Burning Black
Apply the Gallery Effects Volume 2. -> Photocopy at its default settings to the image after Step 10, then invert the image:
Fire Trimmer
Or, after completijg the final step, create an Alpha Channel, and copy the finished product into that channel. Use the Gallery Effects Volume 2. -> Photocopy as before, but this time do not invert. Go back to the image and load the selection you just made. Fill it with black. This does not crate any fantastic effect, but rather “trims” the Fire down a little, making it slightly more realistic-looking.
Silhouette
Or, you can do exactly as you did in the “Fire Trimmer” effect, except invert the selection after you load it to produce a sort of silhouette:
Nuclear Ash
Apply the Gallery Effects Filter “Neon Glow” at these settings:
and the image will look like this:
Of course, the Flaming Text technique can be applied to line-art images as well. Here’s how it made Aerosmith’s Logo look (in this example, I trimmed the Fire down using the “Fire Trimmer” method described above)
