Beautiful Neon Lines in Photoshop

So just to get things started off right I thought I would bring in a heavy hitter that will allow you to create amazing neon lines in Photoshop. Currently working on a CS5 system so if you are using a different version, some options might be a little different. Some may take different approaches, and as everyone that uses Photoshop eventually knows, there are multiple ways to do things. But here is mine.

Start off by opening a new project. Name and size it how you like. I encourage everyone to use a high DPI on any project as it allows for better sizing down the road. Grab the pen tool and start creating a path. You may use points on the path to adjust the curve of your path (ex 1). Once your path has been created switch to the brush tool and access the drop down menu to change your brush tips. Use the brush tips fly out menu to change the selection of brushes to "assorted brushes". Then choose the tip that when hovered over is named "Texture 4". This is not the only tip you may use and we encourage you to try others later for different effects. Once selected hit F5 to bring up the brush window. Make sure that spacing is checked at the bottom and bring the slider down to 1%. (From here you may also set the brush size will effect the size of the stroke in the next step.) Also from the brush tip shape menu please check shape dynamics and make sure that the drop down says pen pressure.

Ok now we are ready for the fun stuff. You may close/minimize the brush window. Create a new layer to work with (CTRL+Shift+N). Now head back to to the path window. Make sure that you have white selected as you color palette. Select your work path, right click, and select stoke path.(Changing the brush size will change the size of your path) Make sure that pen pressure is the option and that simulate pressure is checked. (Simulate Pressure will change whether or not your line is tapered.)

Now head back to the layers window and double click your layer to access the layer style options. Select outer glow. Change the blend mode to normal, opacity at 75%, spread at 0, select a solid color (try color #ff00d8) and then just adjust the size. Try changing the background to a dark color as to make your line pop out! Finally you have a beautiful neon line in Photoshop!

You may duplicate, transform, change colors. Your options are limitless. We encourage you to try multiple options and tweaks. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I would love to see what you guys come up with so photos would be great to.