Realistic Fire Tutorial

This tutorial was created for Paint Shop Pro 7 but can be easily followed in previous versions that support the Ulead Particle plug-in and on version 8. Keep in mind that the results will be different each time you try it because of the plug-in's random settings (unless you always use the default preset, but I don't see any fun in that :)).

Required download: Ulead Particle.

Create a new image, 400 x 400 pixels, 16.7 million colors, black background.
File > New or Ctrl + N.

Load the Ulead Particle plug-in.
Menu Effects > Plug-in Filters > Ulead Effects > Particle.

Choose the Smoke effect.
Increase all the effect controls and the opacity and lower the frequency to 12; change the color to red.
Press the "Random" button if you wish to change the flames' positioning (I've done that on mine).
When finished changing the default configuration, check "Select All" and move the flames down a bit to remove the black area from the bottom.
Since you'll be using these settings several times, save this preset by clicking on the "Add" button and then entering the preset name.
Click OK to apply.

(The screenshot above has been modified from the original to decrease the file size)

Load the plug-in again. Click on the "Load" button and choose your previously saved preset.
Change the color to orange and make a few minor changes on the settings.
Move the flames if you wish.
Apply it.

Once again load the plug-in and load your preset.
Change the color to yellow and make a few modifications on the settings.
Move the flames if you wish.
Apply it.

Load the plug-in again and select your preset.
Change the color to dark red and decrease the size.
Move the flames to the lower part.
Apply it.

From here on it is up to you to decide when to stop adding flames. Add as many as you wish, change the colors, sizes, everything! This is an organic element so the less rules you follow for creating it the more natural it will seem (the "Random" button is a real helper for this one). Let the flames, smoke and sparkles move around, don't try to make "cute" compositions with them (unless you are really sure of what you are doing).

The smoke can be created with the very same effect you are using (afterall, it is called "Smoke" :)). Use either a light grey for it or a light blue.

The sparkles can be created through endless ways: on this same plug-in there is a Sparkle effect, PSP's built-in Sunburst effect (without the rays or those odd circles), tubes, small round brushes with soft edges, the Retouch tool's Dodge mode, etc. For my image I used the Sunburst effect, but since I don't want all fires to look the same, I'll leave it completely up to you to decide, and this is also a chance for you to full around with different tools/plug-ins without having someone to tell you exactly what to do all the time (sometimes we can get so used to following tutorial steps that we forget to discover a few features on our own, which is one of the fun parts of getting to know the program(s)).

If you need some inspiration for the fire you can always take a look at some photos (don't start your own fire! :P). There is quite a good amount of fire photos available at stock.xchng, just enter the term on the search box and you'll be able to see some amazing photos.

The Particle plug-in can be quite tricky to master, so don't feel bad if you can't use it properly right away. With time you'll see that you can have almost complete control of it and you'll be able to create compositions much more complex than the one shown below. A great feature of this plug-in is that you can select each element it creates individually and place it anywhere you wish, so if you want to make, let's say, a campfire or a candle, you can by using a very simple method.

Don't ask me how many times I applied the plug-in or how many shades of red I used because I simply don't know... but hey! that was what I said before, change everything and apply it as many times as you wish :)