Create flowing molten lava effects using the Liquify filter, custom brushes, and intense orange-red gradient maps for dramatic volcanic compositions.

Step 1: Setup Canvas

Create 800×600px document, black background. Create a new layer and paint rough lava flow shapes with dark red (#8b0000) using a soft brush.

Step 2: Liquify the Flow

Filter > Liquify. Use the Forward Warp Tool with brush size 200 to create flowing, organic lava streams. Click OK.

Step 3: Hot Core Colors

Add Gradient Overlay layer style: bright yellow (#ffcc00) to deep red (#cc2200) at 45°. Set blending mode to Overlay.

Step 4: Surface Texture

Create a new layer, fill 50% gray, Filter > Render > Clouds. Set to Overlay at 50%. Filter > Noise > Add Noise 3%.

Step 5: Glowing Cracks

Paint bright yellow (#ffff66) crack lines on a new layer with a 3px hard brush. Add Outer Glow: yellow, Screen, size 12px.

Step 6: Heat Distortion

Duplicate lava layer. Filter > Distort > Ripple: Amount 30, Size Medium. Set to Soft Light 40%.

Step 7: Final Glow

Add a warm Photo Filter at 30%. Stamp visible (Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E) and add a subtle Gaussian Blur at 0.5px for heat haze.

That's it! You've completed this tutorial. Experiment with the techniques and share your results with the Designstacks community.