Celestial Flare

[Tami]

Celestial Flare
Level: Very Easy

1. Open up a new image document; the one in this tutorial is 300x300, transparent background, 72dpi, 8 bit. Foreground colour: black and Background colour: white

2. Go to Filter>>Render>>Clouds and then Filter>>Render>>Difference Clouds.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare1.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare2.gif[/img]

3. Next, go to Images>>Adjustments>>Invert and click it.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare3.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare4.gif[/img]

4. Click on Control + L to bring up the levels screen and move the centre arrow over to the far right.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare5.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare6.gif[/img]

5. Next we\'re going to add some Radial Blur. (Filter>>Blur>>Radial Blur). Set the distribution to somewhere between 50 and 55, Zoom, Good.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare7.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare8.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare9.gif[/img]

6. Duplicate the layer by right clicking on it in the Layer Palette and selecting Duplicate Layer. Set the Layer Mode to Colour Dodge.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare10.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare11.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare12.gif[/img]

7. Now we\'re going to change the Colour Balance on your original Layer. First, click on Layer 1 in your Layer Palette to select it, then go to Images>>Adjustments>>Colour Balance and play with the settings until you get something you like.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare13.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare14.gif[/img]

8. Now we\'re going to thin out the brightness and give the flare a bit more of an explosive look. Select your Eraser from the Tool Bar and set the opacity to 50-60% then click on your Layer 1 copy to select it.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare15.gif[/img]

Use these Eraser settings:

Brush
Brush Diametre: 25
Hardness: 0
Opacity: 60%
Flow: 65%

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare16.gif[/img]

Now selective erase on your Layer 1 Copy to get the explosive look (most of your erasing will be on the bright/midtones areas):

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare17.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare18.gif[/img]

9. Now we\'ll smooth out our flare by brushing over Layer 1 with the Blur Tool.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare19.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare20.gif[/img]

10. Next we are going to add Lens Flare (Filter>>Render>>Lens Flare) to give it more of a celestial flare look. Center your Lens Flare in the middle of your Celestial Flare.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare21.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare22.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare23.gif[/img]

11. To make the Flare blend in better, add some Radial Blur with a setting of 40, Zoom, Good.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare24.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare25.gif[/img]

You can either leave the Celestial Flare as is, or you can play around with the Hue & Saturation to change the colours/tones of your flare. (Images>>Adjustments>>Hue/Saturation)

Layer 1 Setting I used for this tutorial:

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare26.gif[/img]

Layer 1 Copy Setting I used for this tutorial:

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare27.gif[/img]

I also went over Layer 1 with the Blur Tool once more for a final smoothing.

[img]http://www.killagraphix.com/tutorials/cflare28.gif[/img]

[to@ds]

Nice, I like this! Might have to give it ago myself <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... igwink.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\';)\' />

[Paradox]

Cool! By step 5, it looks like thunder! How sweet!

[Tami]

Did you finish the tutorial, Paradox? If so, let\'s have a look at how yours turned out <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... /smile.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':)\' />

[Paradox]

I made this....

[img]http://img396.imageshack.us/img396/9062/rep3nj.png[/img]

I like it... <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... /smile.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':)\' />

Thank you for your amazing help Tami!

[Tami]

Wow that\'s an excellent image, Paradox; well done <img src=\'http://www.killanet.net/forum3/public/s ... iggrin.gif\' class=\'bbc_emoticon\' alt=\':D\' />