Hi. This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV.
I'm going to show you how to make your own neon sign.
This is a revised version of one I did quite a while ago
on an earlier version of Photoshop. I provided this brick wall for you to download.
Its links is located in the video description or project files.
The size is 1280 by 720 pixels
with a resolution of 150 pixels per inch.
To fit the image onto your screen, press Ctrl + 0
on a PC or Cmd + 0 on a Mac.
Let's make the brick wall dark. Click on the Adjustment Layer icon
and choose "Levels". We need to see more of the levels properties,
so hover your cursor just below the window until you see a vertical, double-arrow.
Then, drag it down.
Now, we can see the "Output Levels" in the right box.
Type in 60. If you feel the brick wall is too dark,
you can always increase the number later. Open your Type tool
and choose a font.
I'm using "Freestyle Script". If you'd like to use it,
I provided that link, as well. I'm choosing a size
of 191 points... "Sharp" and Left Alignment.
Click on the color box and pick white.
Then, click OK. Type out your text.
To move a line to the right,
click to the left of the first character of the line
and press and hold Alt or Opt
plus the right arrow key on your keyboard.
To increase or decrease the space or "kerning"
between two characters, click between them
using the same characters of Alt or Opt + the left or right arrow keys.
Continue to kern your characters until
all of your text looks good. Go to
Layer...Rasterize...and Type.
Click on your Move Tool. To angle your text,
open your Transform Tool by pressing
Ctrl or Cmd + T. Go to a corner
and when you see a curved, double-arrow, rotate it counterclockwise.
Click inside to reposition it.
Then, press Enter or Return. Ctrl-click
or Cmd-click on the thumbnail of the text to make a selection
of its shape. Go to "Select"
and "Save Selection". We'll name it
"text" and click OK. Since neon tubes
are relatively thin, we'll delete the center portion
of our text making it look more like thin tubes.
Go to Select...Modify...
and Contract. I'll contract it by 4 pixels.
Depending on the size of your text, play with the amount of contraction
to see what looks good to you. Then click OK.
Press "Delete" to get rid of the areas
inside the selection. Press Ctrl or Cmd + D
to delete the selection. We're ready to add color and glows to our text.
Double-click on its thumbnail to open the Layer Style window.
Click "Color Overlay". Click on the color box
and pick a color. Pick a medium shade of a color you like.
I'll choose 6 E A A F B
for mine. Click "Outer Glow" and the color box.
Pick a slightly darker or richer shade
of the same color as you picked just before. For mine,
I'll type in type in 0 B 5 B F F.
The blend mode is "Normal",
the Opacity is 75%, and the Size is 10 pixels.
Click "Drop Shadow". The blend mode its "Multiply",
the Opacity is 100%... the "Distance"
is 5 pixels and the Size is 7 pixels.
Make a copy of the text by pressing Ctrl or Cmd + J.
Double-click on "Outer Glow" and change its blend mode to "Color Dodge"
and its Opacity to 100%.
Click on the color box and pick a medium shade
of your color. I'm typing in 5 B
8 F F 9.
Make the size approximately, 100 pixels
and uncheck "Drop Shadow". Then, click OK.
Next, we'll add a thin, inner glow to make it look more like neon tubes.
Click on the New Layer icon to make a new layer.
Let's name it, "Tube Highlight".
Ctrl-click or Cmd-click on the thumbnail of your text
to make a selection of its shape. Go to "Select",
"Modify" and "Contract". I'll contract it by 1 pixel.
Feel free to experiment with this amount. We'll fill it with white
and since white is the background color, press Ctrl
or Cmd + Delete. Then, delete the selection.
To blend the inner glow into your neon color,
change the blend mode to "Overlay".
We're ready to make the neon glow on the brick wall.
Make the Adjustment Layer active. We'll place the brick glow
above this layer. Make a new layer
and we'll name it "Brick Glow".
Open your Channels panel and Ctrl-click
or Cmd-click on the "text" channel that you saved earlier
to make a selection of its shape. Open back up your Layers panel
and go to "Select" and "Refine Edge".
Feather it 50 pixels and shift the edge
70%. Then, click OK.
Fill the selection with white and delete the selection.
Change the blend mode to "Overlay".
Double-click on the thumbnail of the brick glow to open its Layer Style window.
Click "Color Overlay" and the color box.
Pick a rich shade of your color.
I'm picking 0 0 4 2 F F.
Change the blend mode
to "Color" and reduce the Opacity
to 70%.
We'll add one more glow to the brick wall to make our sign really pop.
Make a new layer and name it "Brick Glow 2".
Open your Channels panel and as before,
Ctrl-click or Cmd-click on the text channel
and open back up your Layers panel. Go to "Select"
and "Refine Edge". Feather it 50 pixels
and this time, shift the edge 40%.
Fill it with white and delete the selection.
Change the blend mode to "Overlay".
Go to the Effects of the original Brick Glow
and press and hold Alt or Opt
as you drag a copy of it to "Brick Glow 2".
This is Marty from Blue Lightning TV. Thanks for watching!