today i'm going to show you how to
create a vibrant visual effect by adding
neon lights to a photo this popular art
style often incorporates simple shapes
or text for the neon lights which are
illuminated in bright colors
i'll show you how to use photoshop to
draw a custom shape and give it a
vibrant glow with the help of
photoshop's layer style options
then we'll use a clever technique to
apply a colorful ambience to the
original photo as if it's being
illuminated by the new light source
as a finishing touch we'll also add some
smoke and particle effects to create a
neat cyberpunk art piece with a
futuristic vaporwave style
this style of art works with almost any
imagery but it helps to have a dark
scene so the luminance of the nail
lights is visible
i'm using this free portrait photo by
harsh kushwaha from pixels.com
the original composition is quite tall
and narrow so use the crop tool to
expand the canvas area slightly hold the
alt key to extend the sides by an equal
amount then add some extra space to the
top too
photoshop can actually do a pretty good
job of filling in this empty space
itself
use the marquee tool to draw a selection
around the empty space on one side then
hold shift and add the other areas to
the selection too go to edit and fill
then change the drop down menu to
content aware
photoshop should automatically generate
a completely new background but it might
make a couple of small mistakes
these can be easily fixed with the patch
tool
draw around the problem area then drag
to sample the area you want to use
instead
activate the brush tool and edit the
settings to maximum hardness
adjust the size to approximately the
diameter you want your neon tube to be
set the color to white and scribble a
couple of tests to check the line
thickness followed by command and zed or
ctrl and z on windows to undo
select the pen tool and click three
individual points to draw a triangle
alternatively you could experiment with
other shapes such as circles custom line
work or even text with a mono weight
font
create a new layer then right click and
choose stroke path
make sure the option is set to the brush
tool
the path will be outlined according to
the brush settings and size we've
already configured
use the command in t shortcut for
transform to adjust the position if
necessary
double click this layer to open the
layer style options we'll add a cocktail
of effects to create a colorful neon
glow
first add a color overlay choose a hue
for your nail light
bright pinks blues greens and yellows
all work well
add the inner glow effect next
configure the color to white then set
the source to center
reset the choke to zero then zoom in and
carefully adjust the size value to
generate a bright hot spot in the center
of the tube
change the contour profile to the half
round setting to make the color change
more abrupt
next add an outer glow
set the color to a similar hue to your
neon tube which is pink in my example
set the blend mode to linear dodge which
will help to generate a bright luminous
glow effect
bring back the opacity to 100 for now
adjust the size value to add a soft haze
to the tube eliminating the hard outline
60 pixels works for the scale of my
document
reduce the opacity value to soften the
glow slightly to around 50
it is impossible to layer up multiple
outer glow effects but we can instead
reconfigure the drop shadow to produce
the same kind of effect
instead of black set the shadow color to
your neon color with the blend mode of
linear dodge
reduce the distance values to zero then
adjust the size value to a larger
ambient glow
if you're working on a large image
chances are you'll have to just max out
the slider to 250 pixels
in order to add an even larger glow
we'll have to draw it manually
select the brush tool and configure the
brush with zero hardness and a much
larger size of around 1000 pixels
set up the foreground color with your
neon hue
then quickly trace the outline of the
neon shape again with the pen tool
add a new layer then right click and
choose stroke path again
this time the large soft brush will be
used
set the blending mode of this layer to
linear dodge to allow the color to
interact with the background photo
reduce the fill value to around 20 to
create a more subtle glow
shift and click both neon layers and use
the command and g shortcut to create a
group
a simple trick that helps to make the
neon appear if it's in the scene is to
erase a small portion to make it look
like it's surrounding the subject
first we need to make a selection of the
subject to activate the background layer
then go to select and subject
activate the group again then apply a
layer mask
the mask is currently being applied the
wrong way around so use the command and
i shortcut to invert the mask
this mask makes it look like the neon is
now behind the subject but we want the
closest part of the tube to be in front
so grab the brush tool and paint over
this area making sure you're working
with white and not black in the color
picker
a bright nail light would give off quite
a colorful glow that would be reflected
by the subject
add a hue and saturation adjustment
layer then click the colorize option
max out the saturation slider then
adjust the hue to find a suitable color
to match your neon
double click the layer then in the blend
if settings hold the alt key and drag
half of the triangle icon towards the
center of the spectrum
this will erase the hue and saturation
effect from the shadows so only the
highlights are reflecting the pink light
add a new layer for a couple of
finishing touches
dab two small spots of color where the
neon appears to go behind the subject
set the blending mode to linear dodge
and reduce the fill value to turn these
colour spots into subtle luminous glows
download and install the free smoke
brushes i've linked to in the
description
add a new layer above the background and
use the smoke brushes to paint a fog
around the artwork
apply a layer mask to this smoke layer
and begin erasing the smoke by painting
within the mask with the same brush it
helps to reduce the flow value and don't
forget to make sure you're painting with
black to erase the areas from the mask
you can fine tune the result further by
adjusting the opacity of the layer to
generate just a subtle misting of smoke
to help enhance the neon glow
for the ultimate vaporwave look you can
also mix in some other vibrant colours
add a new layer at the top of the stack
and use a large soft brush to dab some
spots of blue or any other contrasting
color
set the blending mode to soft light and
alter the opacity settings to add an
interesting color cast
download my free grain textures from my
spoon graphics website and open up one
of the png files
these textures are made from sprinklings
of british tea english breakfast to be
exact but they're handy for adding grain
or particle effects to your artwork
press command and a to select all
command and c to copy command on w to
close then in the working document press
command and v to paste
use the command and i shortcut to invert
the texture to white
then scale and reposition the particles
to fill the canvas with the help of the
command and t transform shortcut set the
blending mode of this layer to color
dodge and reduce the filler value so
they're barely visible
apply a quick gaussian blur filter to
take the sharp edge off the texture
then apply a layer mask and dab a few
spots here and there to help the
particles blend in
the final result is a colourful neon
light effect that enhances the photo
with an abstract futuristic cyberpunk
look photoshop's layer styles did a
great job of replicating a bright nail
light with vibrant glows but what makes
the real difference is the additional
color layers to generate the colorful
ambience
if you really love creating neon effects
you might want to check out the neon
toolbox it's packed full of resources to
help you create custom neon signs
complete with backgrounds and other
elements such as bars grids and wall
hooks
inside there's 95 one-click layer styles
of every color under the sun plus loads
of ready-made assets to create a custom
scene
check it out by following the link in
the description where you can pick it up
with up to a 50 discount when you buy it
along with other marketplace products
if you enjoyed this tutorial or learn to
new tips and tricks a thumbs up on the
video would be really appreciated stick
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as always thank you very much for
watching and i'll see you in the next
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