Even More Randomness

Create a new image 400 x 400 | 72 dpi | Transparent | 16.7 mil colors

Selections | Load from disk | cauldron.sel

Foreground Color 89 | 85 | 85

Background Color 0 | 0 | 0

Set foreground style to Sunburst Gradient

Horizontal | 28

Vertical | 29

Repeats | 0

Fill the cauldron selection

Effects | Texture Effects | Fine Leather | More Cracks | Color | Black

Angle | 210

Blur | 10

Number of furrows | 18

Length of furrows | 10

Transparency | 247

Deselect

Create a new layer

Selections | Load from disk | top.sel

Fill with the same gradient, however, check inverse

Deselect

Add Drop Shadow

V and H | 2

Opacity | 100

Blur | 8.2

Create a new layer

Selections | Load from disk | inner.sel

Foreground Color 0 | 192 | 0

Background Color 11 | 245 | 11

Set foreground style to Sunburst Gradient

Same settings as before

Fill selection

Effects | Texture Effects | Fur

Blur | 48

Density | 100

Length | 19

Transparency | 91

Deselect

Right Click on Layer 3 | Duplicate green layer

Effects | Geometric Effects | Ripple

Amplitude | 6

Wavelength | 28

Horizontal Center | 0

Vertical Center | 50

Retouch tool set to Push

Size | 6

Hardness | 5

Opacity | 12

Step | 1

Density | 60

Push or pull a couple of drips over the side

Create a new layer

With Hoods Gray Bubble Tube, size set from 10 – 20, create a layer of bubbles above the brew.

Colors | Colorize | Hue 60 | Saturation 120

Create a new layer, drag to the bottom of your layer palette and fill with black so we can see our smoke.

Create a new layer at the top of your palette.

With Hood’s Smoke Tube set scale at 80, add some smoke, then lower the opacity of the smoke layer to around 50.

Effects | Geometric Effects | Wind

Strength | 6

From left or right

Hide your black background layer, then merge visible. Your bubbling, smoking cauldron is finished!

Next, we’ll add the firewood, sparks and flames.

Create a new layer

Selection Tool | Rounded Rectangle | Antialias Checked

Create a selection to make a stick of firewood.

Set Foreground Style to Pattern | Drift Wood

Fill your selection

Colors | Adjust | Brightness/Contrast | Brightness -50 | Contrast 0

Deselect

Duplicate 4 or 5 times, then rotate, resize and place each piece of firewood under the cauldron. Refer to my finished image at the top of the page for placement ideas for the wood and for the flames in the next part. Place some behind the cauldron and give each piece of wood a drop shadow to give your image more depth.

Create a new layer

Add some flames and sparks with Hood’s fire and sparks tubes, scale set from 20 to 30.