Select Visible.

Layer -> New Layer.  Set it to Transparency.

Edit -> Paste Into.

Anchor the pasted image onto the new Layer.

Colors -> Desaturate.

Basically what you’ve done is created a Black and White version of the image on a clear transparency above the color version.

Then use the eraser [...]]]> Open the full-color version of the image you wish to transform.

Select Visible.

Layer -> New Layer.  Set it to Transparency.

Edit -> Paste Into.

Anchor the pasted image onto the new Layer.

Colors -> Desaturate.

Basically what you’ve done is created a Black and White version of the image on a clear transparency above the color version.

Then use the eraser feature to erase the part that you want colored.  Zoom in, use different size brushes, etc.

This results in a really cool effect where you have the part of the image that you ‘erased’ in full color, and the rest of the image in black and white.

If you want to, try applying a Gaussian blur to the layer with the black and white.  This makes the black and white ‘background’ appear blurred, while the main color image stays focused.

This is what we will be making:

Step 1: Open up a new canvas. Make it any size you want. Mine is 400×300.

Step 2: Fill canvas with black and make a new transparent layer.

Step 3: The fire will be made with 3 colors, red, yellow, and [...]]]> How to Make Fire or Flames with GIMP:

This is what we will be making:

Step 1: Open up a new canvas. Make it any size you want. Mine is 400×300.

Step 2: Fill canvas with black and make a new transparent layer.

Step 3: The fire will be made with 3 colors, red, yellow, and white. With your red color the basic shape of the fire, Similar to below.

Step 4: With your yellow brush make the second layer, make sure there is still red showing. See below.

Step 5: Repeat, now with white. Once your done with the red white and yellow, it should look similar to the screen below.

Step 6: The fire looks like it has been done by a 3-year-old. Now you will need to add a gaussian blur(Filters–>Blur–>Gaussian Blur). Set Vert and Horiz to 100. It should look similar to the image below.

Step 7: It looks alright but still doesn’t look realistic. Now make a new transparent layer and goto Filters–>Render–>Clouds–>Solid Noise. See the settings similar to below. X-Value=13 Y-Value=7

Step 7: Duplicate the layer with the clouds.

It should look like this by now;

Step 8: Now create a new transparent layer. And goto Filters–>Render–>Clouds–>Plasma. Turbulance=5

Step 9: And now goto Layers–>Colors–>Desaturate. And then set both cloud layers options to Overlay.

IF you want a little more random movement on the fire you can just goto filters–>distort–>IWarp. And play around with it.

All done!