In this neon text photoshop tutorial you’ll learn how to give text a neon glow, and create cinematic lighting that compliments the effect. By the way, if you are interested in creating text effects with photoshop, here are older articles that you might be interested in: fire text effect and 3D flower text effect.

There’s nothing too complicated here, but you are expected to have a good grasp of the basics in Photoshop in order to use this tutorial.

Step 1: The Background

For the background we will use a brick wall texture from cgtextures.com. It can be downloaded here: http://www.cgtextures.com/texview.php?id=13026&PHPSESSID=0ij6isb488cf2ddnepq3aro6t5

Once downloaded, open the photo in Photoshop and add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer.

Take the Saturation down to -80.

Next add a Gradient adjustment layer.

Use a black to transparent Radial gradient with the Scale at 150%.

Set the gradient layer’s blending mode to Soft Light, and then duplicate the layer to strengthen the gradient.

Step 2: Adding the Text

The neon text we’ll use for this tutorial needs to be rounded so that it fits the neon style. The font we will use for this tutorial is called Comfortaa, and can be downloaded for free here: http://www.dafont.com/comfortaa.font

Once you’ve downloaded the font and added it to your computer’s font book, make a text box with your chosen text.

Make the text nice and big, and use the colour #4157ff.

When you’re done, use the Transform Tool to rotate the text about 20 degrees.

Step 3: The 3-Dimensional Neon Text Effect

Before we add the glow we will first add some Layer Styles to the text. To do this, first bring up the Layer Styles dialog box by double clicking on the text layer.

Begin by ticking the Drop Shadow box, and use the same settings as I have above. The colour of the shadow is #00044c.

Next click on Outer Glow and use the same settings as I have above.

And now add an Inner Glow, using the same settings shown above.

Next tick the Bevel and Emboss box, and use the same settings shown above.

And finally, click on Satin and use the same blue as earlier #4157ff along with the rest of the settings shown above.

Now that the text has a 3D look, the next step is to give it a glow.

Step 4: Adding the Neon Glow Effect

First duplicate the text layer twice. Rasterise both duplicates by right-clicking and choosing ‘Rasterize Type’.

Call the top layer ‘Motion’, and the bottom layer ‘Gaussian’.

For both of the layers, bring up their Layer styles boxes and un-tick all the boxes. Click on Color Overlay, and set the colour to white.

Set both layer’s Opacity to 60%.

Now for the Motion layer go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur, and set the distance to maximum with the Angle at 0.
This creates a horizontal white blur across the text.

And then, with the Gaussian blur layer selected, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur, and set the Radius to 15 pixels.

This adds a subtle white glow around the text.

Duplicate the Gaussian layer and move it below the text layer, adding an extra glow behind the text.

You can now group all the layers you’ve just created together in a folder called ‘text’.

Step 5: The Sparks

Create a new layer above all the others, and call it ‘sparks’.

In this layer, use a small soft white brush to draw some marks of varying sizes as shown above.

Now go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur, and set the Angle to -45 at 20 pixels.

Double-click on the ‘sparks’ layer to bring up its Layer Styles box, and tick the Outer Glow box, and use the settings shown above.

Step 6: The Lens Flare

To create a lens flare, first add a new layer and call it ‘lens flare’, then fill it with black.

Go to Filter>Render>Lens Flare, position the flare in the lower right of the image and set the Brightness to 120%.

Set the layers blending mode to Screen.

To change the colour of the lens flare, add a Solid Color Adjustment layer above the lens flare layer using the colour #4157ff.

Right-click on the Solid Color layer and choose ‘Create Clipping Mask’, then change the layer’s blending mode to Hue.

Step 7: Creating Anamorphic Lens Flares

First, using the Ellipse Tool with the colour #4157ff, draw a circle.

Next go to Filter>Blur>Motion Blur, and when you’re asked if you want to rasterize the layer click OK.

Set the Angle to 0, and the Distance to maximum.

Duplicate the layer several times to strengthen the visibility of the flare, and then merge the layers together.

Use the Transform Tool to scale down the flare vertically, and position it so that right side starts at the centre of the first lens flare.

Set the layer’s blending mode to Screen.

Duplicate the layer and move it across to the other side of the first lens flare.
Then duplicate it again and position the new flare somewhere in the upper half of the text.

Step 8: The Final Touches on Finishing this Neon Text Photoshop Tutorial

Add a new layer called ‘highlights’.

Take a small white soft brush, and draw some dots over random parts of the letters to create added flares.

Next add a Gradient adjustment layer using a blue #4157ff to transparent Radial gradient with the Scale set to 150, with the Reverse box ticked.

Set the layer’s blending mode to Soft Light at 50% Opacity.

Add another Gradient layer using a black to transparent Radial gradient with the Scale set to 150.

Set the layer’s blending mode to Soft Light.

And finally, to add a border to your image, use the rectangular marquee tool to draw a rectangle across the centre of the image, then invert it, and fill the selection with black.

The Final Outcome

Hope you find this photoshop tutorial on how to create neon text with cinematic effect useful. Do drop us any comments if you have trouble with any steps in this tutorial.

This article is bought to you by Matt, who also created the fantasy photoshop tutorial. Matt is a freelance graphic designer from the UK. Visit his blog at Blog.DesignNocturne.com for more tutorials.

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In this beginner photoshop tutorial I am going to explain the process of applying blur effects and fake lighting effects to make the whole picture look nicer.

Step 1: I open up a photo of my choice in photoshop and I duplicate the layer.

Having the first layer selected, I press “L” for lasso tool and at the same time I make sure that the feathering value is “250px” before making the selection like the pic below. ( The value of the feathering depends on the resolution of your photograph, the bigger the photo the higher feathering value you should set )

Then I press shift+ctrl+I to inverse the selection before going to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur and apply the first blur effect to the picture. I set the blur value to be about 15 and press ok.

I press and hold Shift while in lasso tool mode to add onto the original selection. This will make the centre circle smaller. Try to circle it around the lady’s face.

Now I use the same procedure to apply the blur filter, but this time using a smaller value. I used 8. Then I press ctrl+D to remove the selection and this is what we get.

At this stage we have achieved the blur effect that we want on the photograph. And now we want to apply some lighting effect at well. First we create a new empty layer on top.

Then we press B for brush and choose a soft edge brush by pressing the right mouse button within the canvas. In this case I choose 300 px for the brush size.

I make sure that the empty layer is selected and choose a light yellow color to paint over the areas circles in red below. This is to give the lighting in the photo a more dramatic make over, making it look softer so that it can help to set the mood better.

Then I press ctrl+L to bring up the level tool and move the control left to increase the high light intensity of the photo.

This is the final result we have. And I have put the two photos next to each other to see the before and after photoshop look. Hope you enjoy this photoshop tutorial on how to blur the background in photoshop.

This is part of the series of photshop tutorials for beginners. You can check out some of articles in the series here: how to change hair colors in photoshop, how to retouch photo in photoshop, how to make a collagen in photoshop and how to whiten teeth in photoshop.

In this tutorial you’ll learn how to use stock photos, adjustment layers, and blending tricks to compose a dark fantasy photo manipulation in Photoshop.

There’s nothing too complicated here, but you are expected to have a good grasp of the basics in Photoshop in order to use this tutorial. For those who are just starting, I am afraid this is not part of the photoshop tutorials for beginners.

Step 1: The Background

So let’s begin by opening a 1900 x 2500 document in Photoshop.

First we’ll create the background for our image.

Click on the Adjustment Layer button at the bottom of your layers panel, and choose Gradient.

Here in the Gradient fill options you need to set the style to Linear at a -90 degree Angle, and set the Gradient from black to white.

Step 2: Photoshop The Moon

Next we’ll place the moon on our background.
You can download the moon from here: http://swashbuckler.deviantart.com/art/Stock-Full-Moon-130369659

Once downloaded, open the photo in Photoshop.

Right click on the layer, and choose ‘Layer from background’, then use the Elliptical Marquee tool to make a circular selection around the moon.

Invert the selection, and then delete it.

Now save the photo as a .psd file called ‘moon’ then close it.

You can now drag the ‘moon’ file directly into your project file, creating a Smart Object.

Resize and position it with the Transform tool.

Set the ‘moon’ layer’s blending mode to Lighten, and it’s Opacity to 90%.

This will have lightened the dark areas of the moon, and helped it to blend into the background.

Next go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian blur and put the Radius at 0.8 pixels.

Finally add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer, then right click on it and choose ‘Create clipping mask’. This ensures the adjustments will only affect the ‘moon’ layer.
Put the Brightness at +10 and the Contrast at +35.

With the moon finished, we can now move onto the trees.

Step 3: Photoshop The Trees

You can download the trees here: http://two-ladies-stocks.deviantart.com/art/fir-trees-84841194

Once opened in Photoshop, go to the Channels panel and click on the Blue layer, where the contrast between the trees and the sky is strongest.

Now take down the Brightness, and increase the Contrast so that the sky is completely white and the trees are black.

Take a black paint brush and fill in any white parts in the lower part of the photo, so that the tree area is completely black.

Next go to Select>Color Range, and choose to select the Shadows. This will create a selection over the trees, which you can now copy and paste into your project file.

Resize and position the trees, then double click on the ‘tree’ layer to bring up its Layer Styles dialog box.

In the Layer Styles dialog box, click on the Gradient Overlay option, and create a light grey to white gradient as shown above.

Step 4: Ph0toshop The Woman

Next we’ll add the woman. You can download the stock photo here: http://lisajen-stock.deviantart.com/art/Dark-feelings-16-79668178

You can use the Quick Selection Tool to make a selection around her, then go to Select>Refine Edge to tidy up the selection. For more info on making selections, have a look at this tutorial: http://blog.designnocturne.com/2011/04/08/photoshop-tip-making-selections/

Once you’ve made a selection around the woman, delete the background and save it as  a .psd file called ‘woman’.

As we did with the moon earlier, drop it into your project file as a Smart Object.

To decrease the saturation of the entire image, we’re now going to add a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer above all the other layers, taking the Saturation down to -70.

Now, back to the ‘woman’ layer, we’ll add a Curves adjustment layer with a clipping mask, and arrange 3 points on the chart as shown above, to give the contrast a subtle boost.

And finally, give the ‘woman’ layer a Gaussian blur set to 0.4 pixels.

Now we’ll give the woman an outstretched arm by using another stock photo that you can download here:

http://blog.designnocturne.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/arms_and_hands_7_by_bobbistock.jpg

Cut out the top arm, then go to Image>Trim and set it to Transparent Pixels. This will trim away all the transparent pixels leaving just the arm.

Save it as ‘arm’, and drop the file into your project below the ‘woman’ layer, and rotate and resize it so it matches the size of her other arm.

Add Hue/Saturation and Brightness/Contrast adjustment layers, both with clipping masks above the arm layer. Tweak all the sliders in both until you get the arm looking the same colour and contrast as the other arm.

Step 5: Photoshop The Owl

Next we’ll add the owl, which you can download here: http://tigg-stock.deviantart.com/art/Bird-of-Prey-21-114235987

As you did with the arm, cut it out save it, drop it in your file, then flip it horizontally and resize and position it above the arm.

Use the Ellipse Tool to draw a black oval beneath where the owl sits.

Gaussian Blur it at 8.0 pixels.

Duplicate the layer and give them both clipping masks.

Set the bottom one to Overlay at 80% Opacity, and the top one to Hard Light at 30% Opacity.

Step 6: Photoshop The Fox

You can download the fox stock photo here: http://rbsrdesigns.deviantart.com/art/Fox-Stock-3-151768404

Cut the fox out, Trim the image, save it, drop it into you project above the woman, flip it horizontally, and resize it.

Add a Curves adjustment layer and a Color Balance Adjustment layer, both with clipping masks.

Use the Curves layer to strengthen the contrast, and the Color Balance layer to adjust the colour.

Create shadows beneath the fox as you did for the owl.

Step 7: Photoshop The Antlers

You can cut out the antlers from a stock photo that can be downloaded here: http://sassy-stock.deviantart.com/art/Stag-Antlers-Stock-128076033

Use the same cut-trim-save-drop process as before, flip them horizontally and position them on top of the woman’s head.

Give it a layer mask by click on the Layer Mask button at the bottom of the layers panel.

In the layer mask you can use a black brush to paint out the small area of the right antler that overlaps the top of the head.

Use a curves layer with a clipping mask to adjust the contrast of the antlers.

Step 8: Photoshop The Paint Splashes

Next we’ll add the black paint splashes. You can download a set of brushes here: http://arcandio.deviantart.com/art/ARCINK-Brushes-38712246

Once you’ve downloaded the set, click on the Brush Tool, then click on the arrow in the dropdown box and choose Load Brushes to load the set you’ve just downloaded.

In a new layer above the ‘tree’ layer, use a black colour to paint on one paint splash.

Use the transform tool to scale down the paint splash vertically. Add a couple more splashes, each in a new layer.

When you’re done, go back to the ‘woman’ layer and give it a layer mask, then mask out the bottom edge of the dress with a small soft black brush so it fades into the paint beneath it.

Step 9: Photoshop The Mushrooms

Download the mushroom stock from here: http://ladyfoxill.deviantart.com/art/Mushrooms-186579392 and here: http://dracoart-stock.deviantart.com/art/Mushrooms-25-40885206

Place them into your file as you’ve been doing previously.

As well as adding shadows below the mushrooms, also add a new layer above them with a clipping mask, and use a black brush set to Darken at 20% Opacity, then use it to paint on some shading at the base of the mushrooms.

Step 10: The Final Touches

We’ve now finished adding all the elements to our manipulation. You can organise all the layers into groups so the layers panel looks tidier.

Add a Black and White adjustment layer above all the other layers, and set it to Overlay at 30% Opacity.

Lastly we’ll add a dark vignette around the edges of the image.

To do this, add a Gradient adjustment layer using a black to transparent Radial gradient with the Scale set to 150%. Change its blending mode to Soft light.

The Final Outcome

Hope you enjoy this fantasy photoshop tutorial.