Liquid Lava Effect in Photoshop

This is a simple tutorial for making a lava effect that is useful for backgrounds.

Open a canvas of any size, I am going to use 500 x 500.
For the best results, use a black background.

Then, add 3 lens flares (preferable 2 at the top, 1 at the bottom)

[img:b31893c3d7]http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/823/14eo3.jpg[/img:b31893c3d7]

Next, go to Filter >> Sketch >> Chrome. It should now look like this:

[img:b31893c3d7]http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/8441/20uz1.jpg[/img:b31893c3d7]

For a lava effect, press CTRL + B, put it on the following settings:

[img:b31893c3d7]http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/777/30jo.jpg[/img:b31893c3d7]

[img:b31893c3d7]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/281/42nr.jpg[/img:b31893c3d7]

[img:b31893c3d7]http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8421/54rq.jpg[/img:b31893c3d7]

It will turn out to be:

[img:b31893c3d7]http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/261/62ou.jpg[/img:b31893c3d7]

You can also play with the color balance for a liquid gold effect:

[img:b31893c3d7]http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/983/74ta.jpg[/img:b31893c3d7]

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial.