Create a Fire Text Effect in Photoshop

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1. 0:00 Introduction
2. 0:05 Document and Layer Style Breakdown
3. 0:38 Create a Path with The Curvature Pen Tool
4. 1:03 Apply The Flame Generator Filter
5. 1:58 Use Layer Masks to Make The Flame Interact with the Text Layer
6. 2:36 Apply Lighting Effects To The Text Layer
7. 5:16 Add Fire Overlays to The Design
8. 6:09 Final Thoughts

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A fire text effect in Photoshop wraps realistic flames around your letters with the Flame Generator, then adds hot light and sparks.

The Flame Generator renders realistic flames along a path you draw. It has been in Photoshop since 2014, and many people still do not know about it.

On their own, the flames sit flat on top of your letters. This flaming text effect uses a few tricks to make the fire seem to wrap around the text and light it up.

It is for anyone who wants to create fire around text in Photoshop. You do not paint the flames yourself. Photoshop renders them over a path you create.

By the end, you will be able to wrap fire around a letter, paint hot light where the flames hit, and blend in a sparks overlay.

The video was recorded in Photoshop 2022 (version 23.2). Every tool it uses is still available in the current version.

What You Will Learn

• How to draw a flame path with the Curvature Pen Tool
• How to render flames with Filter > Render > Flame
• How to use a layer mask so the fire wraps around a letter
• How to clip a paint layer to text that carries layer styles
• How to paint hot light with the Color Dodge blending mode
• How to blend a sparks overlay with a black layer mask and the Screen blending mode

Requirements

Fire Text Keyboard Shortcuts

Step 1: Check the Text Effect Layer Styles

To keep things simple, the video works with one character, the letter F, and a background. The final image shows an entire word made with the same techniques.

Double-click the FX icon on the text layer to see its Layer Styles.

The text uses Bevel and Emboss with a Contour, plus a Gradient Overlay. Pause the video if you want to take note of the settings.

Keep the Gradient Overlay in mind. It is the reason a clipped layer will not show over the text at first, in Step 5.

Step 2: Draw a Path for the Flame

Create a new layer. The flame goes on its own layer so you can work nondestructively.

Select the Curvature Pen Tool. The Pen Tool also works, but the Curvature Pen Tool is easier to use.

In the Options Bar, make sure Path is selected.

Then create a path over your image. The flame will follow this path, so draw it where you want the fire to go.

Step 3: Render the Fire with the Flame Generator

Make sure the new transparent layer is active. Then go to Filter > Render > Flame.

This opens the Flame Generator. The preview window on the left shows the flame as you adjust it.

First, select a Flame Type. This tutorial uses One Flame Along Path, but feel free to experiment with the other options.

Use the sliders to control the flame.

For more control, open the Advanced tab and make further adjustments to the flame.

When you like the settings, click OK. Photoshop renders a flame over the path you created.

Step 4: Wrap the Fire Around the Text

Next, make the flame seem to interact with the text. Start by making it wrap around the letter F.

Click the Layer Mask icon to create a layer mask on the flame layer.

Select the Brush Tool from the toolbar. Make sure black is your foreground color.

Paint with black on the part of the flame in front of the letter. This hides the flame from the front of the text layer.

The flame now seems to come out from behind the letter and curl around it.

To bring part of the flame back, paint with white. Press X to swap between the foreground and background colors.

Step 5: Clip a Paint Layer to the Text

Now work on the lighting effects over the text. Start by creating a new layer above the text layer.

Press CtrlAltG (Windows) or CommandOptionG (macOS) to clip it to the layer below.

Clipping matters here. A clipped layer lets you paint over the text and nothing else. Without it, your paint lands everywhere else too, and that does not look good.

With the Brush Tool, paint with white over the text.

Notice that nothing appears over the text layer. That happens when the layer below has an overlay layer style, like the Gradient Overlay on this text.

Step 6: Fix the Blending Options So the Paint Shows

Double-click to the side of the text layer in the Layers panel. This opens the Layer Style window.

You need to change two settings:

• Uncheck Blend Clipped Layers as Group.
• Check Blend Interior Effects as Group.

Once you do that, the white you painted a moment ago appears on the text.

You only need this fix because the layer is clipped to text with an overlay style. It makes sure the white, or any color you paint, shows over the text.

Step 7: Light Up the Text Where the Fire Hits

Now you can treat the clipped layer like any other layer.

Change its blending mode to Color Dodge.

To make the layer seem hotter, double-click to the side of it and uncheck Transparency Shapes Layer. The paint looks hotter right away.

You can also reduce the Fill Opacity to decrease the intensity.

Change your foreground color to yellow and paint over the text.

The light should land only where the flame touches the letter. If you painted everywhere, clear the layer and start again:

1. Press CtrlA (Windows) or CommandA (macOS) to select all.
2. Press Backspace (Windows) or Delete (macOS) to delete the pixels.
3. Press CtrlD (Windows) or CommandD (macOS) to deselect.

Now paint yellow only over the areas the flame would affect.

Next, switch your foreground color to white. Paint over those areas again to make them look hotter and more intense.

Step 8: Add a Sparks Overlay to the Fire Text Effect

An overlay makes the fire look more realistic.

Open the Libraries panel and drag the fire overlay onto your image.

The overlay in the video is a free Adobe Stock asset. To find one, go to Adobe Stock, open the Free section, and search for fire sparks overlay.

Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) for Free Transform. Click and drag just outside a corner handle to rotate the overlay.

Move the overlay so that it fits over the letter F.

Right-click and select Flip Horizontal. Then move the overlay into place again.

Step 9: Blend the Sparks into the Fire Text

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the Layer Mask icon. This creates a black layer mask that hides the whole overlay.

Remember that on a layer mask, black hides and white reveals.

Select the Brush Tool with white as your foreground color. Paint in only the sparks you want to show.

To make the black invisible, change the overlay’s blending mode from Normal to Screen.

With Screen, the black pixels disappear. Only the bright pixels stay visible.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

A fire text effect starts with the Flame Generator. It renders the flames. Layer masks, a clipped Color Dodge layer, and a sparks overlay then make the fire interact with the text.

Start with a single letter to keep things simple, as the video does. Once it works, use the same techniques on a whole word.

Watch the video to see each brush stroke, and comment on the video if you have a question or want to share your result.

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Final Image

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