Movie type Explosions Photoshop Tutorial

How to make a explosion effect in Photoshop with flying sparks

Step 1

Put your type on its own layer and render. Right click/Cmd Click on its name in the layers pallette and render type. PS 5.5 calls this rasterize type.

Step 2

Now its time to rope us some type! Grab the lasso tool and select a portion of the type.

Step 3

Now select the move tool (V)

Drag the selected piece away from the rest.

Step 4

Repeat steps 2 and 3 lots of times, using differant selection sizes and shapes, until you get something like this.

Step 5

Duplicate the layer and apply a motion blur>Radial blur = 100 and quality = best

Step 6

Duplicate the blurred layer 2X

Step 7

Set the top blurred layer to Dissolve and bring the opacity to 47%

Step 8

Change the color of the blurred layers and the sparks using the Hue/Saturation control. Add a black background and “BOOM”.

Follow along for more tips

Keep growing with Premium Courses

Photoshop 2026 for Digital Photographers

Learn Photoshop properly, from the basics to pro retouching, step by step.

$129.00 · one-time purchase · instant download

View the course See all courses

Free for you

The Photoshop Vault

Get my free Layer Blending Modes ebook along with dozens of exclusive Photoshop goodies: actions, brushes, presets and cheat sheets.

You're on the list, so your free goodies are waiting for you in the Vault.

Get Free Photoshop Goodies Open the Vault

Hollywood style searchlight in Photoshop Tutorial

Create a hollywood style, spotlight effect. This tutorial came about as a result of a request from the forums. This effect will... Read tutorial →

Creating a cylinder in Photoshop Tutorial

Here is another tutorial that has come about by a request from the forum. This is how you wrap something around a... Read tutorial →

Reflections in Photoshop Tutorial, graphics and text

Here we will learn how to get realistic mirror reflections in photoshop. This will work for any object, not just for text.... Read tutorial →

Complete guide to Layer Blending Modes in Photoshop, written, video + free ebook

The complete guide to Layer Blending modes in Photoshop. This tutorial shows you how to use photoshop blending modes and what each... Read tutorial →

remove a tattoo in Photoshop / add a tattoo in Photoshop tutorial

how to remove a tattoo in Photoshop and how to add a tattoo in Photoshop. This tutorial show how to add an... Read tutorial →

Reflective Liquid type Photoshop Tutorial

Tutorials on creating metal type abound online, as do variations on simple liquid effects. Most are fairly short, offering a good foundation... Read tutorial →