(PS) Lightning

My first tutorial! (2 stars)

Here is how to make lightning to get effects such as this:




Step 1: Fill your background with black and create a new layer. (Layer>New>Layer)

Step 2: Make a white line straight down your canvas with your 5 pixel brush tool by holding shift and moving your cursor straight up and down. Your canvas will now look like this:



Step 3: Click Filter>Distort>Wave and randomize a few times. You will now have something that looks like this:



Step 4: Click Layer>Layer Style>Blending Options, and set these settings (note: you can use any color you want for outer glow, I just used blue)



Step 5: Repeat Step 2-4 as many times as desired



Step 6: Now take out a large soft brush. Apply it twice. Next, take smaller soft brushes and apply it as needed. Just don't use it too much.



Step 7: Use this brush: and create 'sparks' around your lightning. It'll now look like this:



That's the end of my tutorial. Enjoy!

Heh. For Step 6, you could put the brushes on 500 - 1000% Scatter, too. ;P

Nice tut. Gonna try it now.

Skipped the last steps, cause it'd look bad on this. xD

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g1...ingattempt.jpg

Whoo, I tried. And I failed. Gimp doesn't have enough buttons to do it well, but I almost made lighting...

It's wonderfully easy to follow along with the tutorial. Good job making it. And now I'll return to failing to figure out how random buttons work...

Umm, I don't have Blending Options under the Layer Styles. >.>

I did this on 7.0, what version do you have?

Elements 2.0.

Hmm, I do lightning like the first couple of steps but then I go in a different direction. Nice tut though. ^^

DarkShadowLink9: How exactly do you do it? Feel free to post other ways. I'm up for anything that could improve my work. Also:

Zero Hex: That looks really good! Glad my tut helped

Dog Dog 123: Doesn't look too bad. Try overlapping the lightning for a better effect. Besides that it looks pretty cool

Aslan: You should definately upgrade if you can. Photoshop 7.0-9.0 are the best things I can think of. But if you feel more comfortable with Elements, please use that. Don't feel as though I'm trying to push you.

Well, when I make it my way what I do when I encorperate it into a sig I first apply the image (ctrl+a>ctrl+shift+c>ctrl+v) then I transform it (ctrl+t) into a sliver. Then I go to the wave effect and then I set it to either color dodge or linear dodge and then mess around with the opacity.

Mmm, I have no clue where elements is. I mean, a new one is actually Elements 3, and that's really new, so I'm not exactly sure. And I don't think my dad'll pay or anything to get the normal version. >.>

Umm I know for a fact that I saw a Photoshop Elements 5.0 for $50 at Best Buy.

As I said, I'm not exactly sure. >.>

Is there really a difference between Photoshop and Photoshop Elements?