Neon Light Effect in Photoshop

Neon Effect Portrait in Photoshop

The neon effect is a popular design technique that emulates the vibrant and glowing appearance of neon lights. It adds a bold and eye-catching element to your designs, making them visually striking and attention-grabbing. With Adobe Photoshop, you can easily create stunning neon effects to enhance your graphics, text, or illustrations.

Adobe Photoshop offers various tools and features that allow you to achieve realistic and customizable neon effects. By combining layer styles, blending modes, and adjustment layers, you can create the illusion of glowing neon lights.

To create a neon effect in Photoshop, you can start by selecting the desired text, shape, or object that you want to apply the effect to. Then, using layer styles, you can add a combination of effects such as Outer Glow, Inner Glow, and Color Overlay to simulate the neon glow.

Experimenting with different color combinations and intensities can help you achieve the desired neon effect. Bright, vibrant colors like electric blues, vivid pinks, and radiant yellows are commonly associated with neon lights and can be used to create an authentic and impactful look.

Furthermore, you can enhance the realism of the neon effect by adding additional elements such as light streaks, reflections, or even a subtle flickering animation. These extra touches can elevate the overall visual impact and bring your design to life.

When applying the neon effect to text, consider selecting a font that complements the style and concept you want to convey. Bold, sans-serif fonts are often used to achieve a modern and dynamic neon look, while script fonts can add a touch of elegance and sophistication.

As with any design technique, it’s important to strike a balance between the neon effect and the overall composition of your design. Avoid overusing the effect, as it may distract from the main message or theme. Instead, use it strategically to emphasize key elements or create focal points.

Adobe Photoshop offers a range of tools and features to help you create stunning neon effects. By experimenting with layer styles, blending modes, colors, and additional elements, you can achieve unique and impactful designs that capture the essence of glowing neon lights. Let your creativity shine and explore the endless possibilities of the neon effect in your Photoshop projects.

Neon Light Effect in Photoshop is used for lighting up the images. One can make the photographs attractive by adding Neon Light Effect to them. This effect is fun and easy to create in Photoshop.

In today’s Photoshop Tutorial, you will learn to create Neon Light Effect. We will create this Glow Effect using Pen Tool, Brush Tool, and different Layer Styles.

Launch Adobe Photoshop and open an image as a new document. Now follow the below mentioned step-by-step process:

Step 1

After opening the image, select the Brush Tool and select a Soft Brush. Set the size of the brush and increase the hardness.

Step 2

Now select the Pen Tool and draw a closed path shape on the image.

Step 3

After creating the closed path shape, click on Create a New Layer. Then place the cursor on the closed path and right-click. Select the Stroke Path from the options list.

A Stroke Path dialogue box will appear. In that dialogue box, select Brush from the drop-down menu and click OK. The stroke of the closed path will get converted into the brush size which we have set up in the above step.

Step 4

In this step, we will apply Color Overlay Layer Style to the closed path shape. Select the new layer created in the above step and click on the Add a Layer Style fx icon in the Layers Panel. From the options, select Color Overlay.

Now we will select a neon color for our Neon Light Effect with the help of the Color Picker. Double-click on the color box to set the color of the overlay. Then the Color Picker will pop up. You can choose a color for your effect and click OK.

Step 5

Now we will apply the Inner Glow and Outer Glow Layer Styles to the shape. In the Layer Style dialogue box, select the Inner Glow Effect and make some alterations in the settings. Set the Blend Mode to Linear Dodge and use the white color for the inner glow effect. You can also set the size and contour as per your shape.

After applying the Inner Glow effect, select the Outer Glow. We will select the color for the outer glow similar to the neon color effect. Make the required alterations in the size and spread of the Outer Glow.

After applying the Inner Glow and Outer Glow Effect, the image looks like this-

Step 6

Now we will create a Drop Shadow effect for the Neon Light. Select the color similar to the neon color and set the Blend Mode to Linear Dodge. Deacrease the distance and increase the spread and size.

Step 7

Now to create a good ambience for the Neon Light, we will recreate the shape. But, before that select the Brush Tool. In the Brush preset, decrease the hardness and increase the brush size. Also, select a similar neon color for the brush effect.

Select the Pen Tool and draw the shape by creating another anchor points on the same shape. Then create a new layer and change the Stroke Path to Brush as done in Step 3.

Change the Blending Mode of the new layer to Linear Dodge and reduce the opacity to create a Neon Light Effect.

Step 8

Group both the layers by selecting them holding the shift key. Then click on the Create a New Group icon in the Layers Panel. You can also use the Layer Mask if you want to create a Pass Through Effect.

Step 9

If you want to change color of your Neon Light you can use the Hue/Saturation Adjustment Layer.

Click on Create a new fill or adjustment layer and select Hue/Saturation. Set the Hue and Saturation according to your color choice and you will see a color change in your neon light.

In this tutorial you have learned to create Neon Light Effect in Photoshop and also to change color of the effect. Practice this Neon Light Photoshop Tutorial and share your views in the comment section. Also, share this tutorial with others.