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This lesson demonstrates how to create an animated firework burst. To work along, you will find the start image and assets Here. Unzip the file and open the contents onto Photoshop’s workspace. When choosing your own background image, bear in mind that the Palace of Westminster (London’s Houses of Parliament) image is 288 Pixels X 288 Pixels - my resizing lesson Here will help you resize your own photograph.
Note
There are different ways of creating animations, my tutorial Here explains how to create animation (image-frames) created from layers - thereby leaving the workspace relatively free of clutter. This (animated firework burst) lesson, utilises individual (duplicated) images, and does require a little organisation to keep the workspace neat and tidy.
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
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Open the start images onto Photoshop’s workspace.
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Then activate your image, and from the top menu, choose Image then Adjustments then choose Desaturate. Remove Colour Tutorial.
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Right-click the image’s top menu, then from the drop-down menu, choose Duplicate. There is no need to name this duplicated layer, click OK. You now have two identical images.
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Ignoring the first (original) image, activate the second. Now, activate the image named Star Guide.
Then activate the Move Tool. 
And drag the Star Guide onto the second image.
  
Now, reposition the star guide to where you wish (the centre) of the firework to be, then from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image.
Auto Select Layer
If you activate Auto Select Layer, highlighted above, you can quickly reposition individual (layered) elements from within the image, (for example the fireworks below). You do this by left-clicking and dragging the element, using the Move Tool.
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This in turn, activates (highlights) the corresponding layer in the Layers palette.
If Auto Select Layer is not active, to reposition a layered element, (you must go to the Layers palette first) then activate the layer you wish to move - then return to the image, and reposition the element, by dragging it with the Move Tool. Therefore, when working with multiple layers, you will find Auto Select Layer can save both time, and guesswork!
Tip - keyboard arrow keys
Once the Move Tool is active, you can gently nudge a (layered) element - in the corresponding direction - by tapping either the up, down, right or left arrows, of the keyboard. If you have more than one layered element, activate the layer you wish to move, then nudge it, using the arrow keys. This can provide extra precision when moving layered objects.
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Activate the second image, (it now has a star applied) then right-click its top menu. From the drop-down menu, choose Duplicate, again, there is no need to name the layer, click OK. Repeat this a further four times and you will have seven images open on your workspace. The first is untouched, and the remaining have star-guides in identical positions.
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Reposition the second image on the workspace so you can see it clearly.
Then activate a firework burst, and drag it onto the image. 
Now you have dragged it onto the image, you can safely delete (or minimise) the original firework.
From the top menu, choose Edit then choose Free Transform, and reduce the size of the firework using the Free Transform Tool, then reposition it centrally over the star guide - as shown below.
Then (again) Flatten the layers.
Creating a perspective firework shadow
From the Layers palette, right-click the firework burst layer, then choose Duplicate. There is no need to name this layer, click OK. Working on the duplicated layer, reposition the (duplicated) firework burst over the water, then lower the layer’s Opacity.
To warp the duplicated firework, from the top menu, choose Edit then choose Transform then choose Perspective - now manoeuvre the bottom-right deformation
box.
Again, Flatten the image’s layers, and your second image will be complete.
 
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Place the completed second image to one side. Now, activate (and reposition) the third copy - and using the tiny star as a guide, apply a different coloured firework to the third image. Remember to duplicate the firework layer and apply a perspective firework to the water - as described in Chapter 5. When complete, Fatten the layers.
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Activate images four, five and six, and using the tiny star as a guide, apply different coloured fireworks to each, making each one incrementally larger. Remember to duplicate the firework layer and apply a perspective firework to the water - as described in Chapter 5. When complete Fatten the layers.
Discard (or minimise) the original firework -and star guide, images - and you should have seven completed images (with their layers Flattened) open on your workspace.
Important!
It is time to drag six images onto the first (untouched) image, therefore to keep the images in the correct order, (where the firework bursts are becoming incrementally
larger), move the original image slightly to the left, and preposition the six images - in reverse order, so the smaller firework is above the second smallest, and the second smallest is above the third smallest, etc. You will then have a stack of images, the largest being at the bottom of the pile, and the smallest at the top - as shown below.
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Activate the Move Tool, then press and keep pressed the Shift key (of the keyboard) - then activate the smallest firework burst image. Now, keeping the Shift key pressed, grab the image and drag it onto the first (untouched) image. Because the Shift key is pressed, the (dragged) image will be centrally placed over the first. You can now safely discard (or minimise) the original of the image you have just dragged.
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Repeat the previous steps, and drag the remaining five images onto the first (original) image - discarding (or minimising) them as you work.
When you have completed this, you should have one image that contains seven layers.
Tip
It is a good idea to (Save As) your seven layered image as a PSD file, this keeps the layers intact, should you wish to modify them in the future.
11/ Photoshop CS and CS2 only - CS3 does not include ImageReady.
General optimising/saving animations lesson - CS, CS2, CS3 & Extended - here
Click the following Edit in ImageReady icon, at the foot of the toolbar.
And ImageReady will open with your layered image open on its workspace.
From the top menu of ImageReady, click Window then click Animation to click a tick - this displays the Animation palette.
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Click the tiny black triangle in the top-right corner of the Animation palette - and choose Make Frames From Layers.
The Animation palette now contains your seven layers.
If you click the Plays/Stops Animation tab.
You will notice the animation is much too fast. To reduce its speed, click the following tiny black triangle.
And from the drop-down menu, choose 0.5 - or experiment with the setting.
Additionally, beginning with the second frame, (as highlighted below), click to activate it, then click the tiny black triangle at the top-right corner of the Animation palette, and choose New Frame from the drop-down list. This duplicates the image (thereby slowing the animation) and for optimum results, needs to be repeated for each subsequent frame.
Now, activate the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh frames (consecutively), and add New Frames to them. When you have completed this, each frame (apart from the first) will be duplicated. Click the Plays/Stops Animation tab, and you will see your animation has decelerated.
Note
For a smooth animation, carefully check to ensure that just the first image transaction is (for example 0.5) - as shown above - each subsequent image should show - 0 sec.
Tip
To slow the firework burst further, add an extra frame to each image, (so there are three identical image-frames instead of two) - and remember to play with different settings; for example, altering the Delay setting, will increase (or decrease) the animation’s speed.
When you are happy with its speed, from the top menu of ImageReady, choose File then choose Save Optimised As.
Note
To slow down my animation, I duplicated the last image six times.
An alternative way of slowing an animation is by utilising the Tween setting, (from the bottom of the Animation palette). Experiment by adding more frames to see how this setting can effect your final animation.
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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