How to Create Realistic Neon Light Effect in Adobe Illustrator Tutorial Part. 1
Today’s Adobe Illustrator Tutorial I am going to recreate some of the most questionable videos on my channel LADALIDI and to answer all those questions I'm going to recreate some of those videos.The video that I want to recreate this time is Glow Line Effect in Adobe Illustrator Tutorial . There are several problems that become questions in that video. The main problem is that there is no audio explanation so there are some things that should be important points but they get overlooked So that many viewers failed when trying it.
It's a good idea to watch this video Completely Realistic Neon Light Effect in Adobe Illustrator EPS. 1 or you can read this tutorial because every detail in this tutorial will affect the final result and if you miss something it could be that the final result will be different from the results I made as an example in this video.
Realistic Neon Light Effect in Adobe Illustrator Tutorial
In my old tutorial Glow Line Effect in Adobe Illustrator Tutorial Actually I want to show you one of the many techniques to create a Neon Light Effect namely by using Color Dodge on Blending Mode. If you are new to this you can go to the transparency panel which you can find on the Collapsed Panel or if you don't have it there you can bring it up in the Window menu and search for Transparency. Then you just have to open the Drop Down Menu. And Color Dodge is in between many types of blending modes.
Transparency Panel
Another Part:
How The Blending Mode Works
Before we start, it's good if we know what the Color Dodge is so that we can easily use it.The first thing to know is the Blending Mode because Color Dodge is one of the many types of Blending Modes in Adobe Illustrator.
Blending Mode is a mode of blasting the color of an object with the color of another object that is under it. To work with the Blending Mode you have at least 2 colored objects. The first is the Base Color and the second is the Blend Color. Combining these 2 colors produces a Result Color that depends on the type of blending mode you choose.
How "blending mode" Works
So the formula you have to remember is Base “Color + Blend Color = Result Color”.
As you can see in the Blending Mode dropdown menu there are various types of Blending Modes separated by groups. The first group is normal then Darken, Lighten, Contrast, Comparative and Color. Each of these groups has specific characteristics for blending colors.
Various Types Of Blending Modes
As you can see that the Color Dodge is in the LIGHTEN group.
This Lighten Group works by Making the black color of the Result Color invisible and only colors other than black will be affected by the Blend Color, Group Lighten on Blending Mode will produce a brighter result color.
And The Color Dodge in Blending Mode works by producing a bright effect on the Result Color by reducing the contrast between the Base Color and the Blend Color resulting in saturated mid-tones and blown highlights.
Color Dodge Simulation
You can also experiment with moving the blend color object to see how it reacts to the base color which in this case is a black to white gradient and you can also try it in other colors to get amazing results.
As I mentioned earlier, The Blending mode that is included in the Lighten Group only affects colors other than rich black. So when we position the Blend Color in the rich black part it will not bring any changes and if it is positioned on a color other than black then the Blend Color will produce a bright effect.
From the simulation example that I made by using a radial gradient as a blend color it will be easier for us to see the results directly whereas the Experts will usually explain it another way and use examples like this one, and with a complicated algorithm explanation.
Color Dodge Complex Simulation
And you will be familiar with Color Dodge or all kinds of Blending Modes if you are a Photoshop user, because most of the work there uses this Blending Mode.
So in short this color dodge gives a bright effect to the color by blending the base color with the blend color that is on top.
After finding interesting results from this Color Dodge we just have to do some experimenting by combining it with other techniques. In this tutorial I will create Realistic Neon Light Effect in Adobe Illustrator Tutorial.
Another Part:
Create Realistic Neon Light Effect
The very important thing to know when you want to work with Color Dodge or any other type of blending mode is that you have to make sure the Color Mode you want to use because the Blending Mode works differently in these two Color Modes.
If you want to follow exactly what I did you should use RGB Color Mode because if you use CMYK color mode it will produce a different result.
And the Base Color I want to use is blue because I want the resulting glow effect to be blue. I use the darkest blue color to create a dark background impression with hex color code #040C0F.
Remember color dodge can't work with 100% black. You can also make it with different colors to produce different glow colors.
If you want to follow exactly what I did you should use RGB Color Mode because if you use CMYK color mode it will produce a different result.
Create Background as Base Color
First of all create background as the Base Color, Remember the formula, Base Color + Blend Color will produce the Result Color. So in this way the result color will depend on the base color that you create.And the Base Color I want to use is blue because I want the resulting glow effect to be blue. I use the darkest blue color to create a dark background impression with hex color code #040C0F.
Remember color dodge can't work with 100% black. You can also make it with different colors to produce different glow colors.
Dark Blue Background As Base Color
Create Rectangle as Blend Color
Next step, I'm going to create a glow line using a Rectangle Tool. You just need to make a rectangle that is the same length as the artboard and for the height it can be adjusted later. Then I filled it with Linear Gradient with white in the middle and black at both ends.
Rectangle With Linier Gradient As Blend Color
White color in the middle is to create a bright Result Color and the rest to create glow effect. As I talked about earlier Color Dodge doesn't work on 100% black and that transition from white to black is what creates the glow effect. After that you only need to change the Blending Mode to Color Dodge and you will get results like this.
Result Color Produce a Glow Effect
It's just as simple as that.
But in the Previous Tutorial Glow Line effect Adobe Illustrator Tutorial I made a glow effect using the Blend Tool to make a transition from white to black because basically they have the same working principle.
Create Line as Blend Color
To make it we just need to create a straight line. You can make it using the Pen Tool or Line Segment Tool. Set the stroke to 5 points and set the width profile to profile number one. So that we get a line that is tapered at both ends.
Straight Line With Tapered Ends
To create a path with the basic form of the previous path is to use Offset Path in the Object Menu > Path > Offset Path. After the offset path panel is open. Because previously I gave 5 points to the stroke weight, so I also gave it 5 points for the offset, the path that will be formed has the same distance as the first path that we made earlier.
If you pay attention to the both ends the newly formed path cannot cover areas that have too sharp corners. For that, we have to change the joint type from Miter to Round.
Offset Path Panel with The Result
Then do the same thing again to make the third path. So that we get 3 paths with the deepest path we give it a white color then the second path we give a gray color and the outer path we give a rich black color.
After Colored
Next, we just have to unite them using the Blend Tool. With the Blend Tool active all you have to do is select it by clicking on the innermost path or the white one, After that you just have to choose the gray path and the black path, and lastly make sure the result has a smooth transition.
To make sure, you just have to double click the Blend Tool on the Toolbar, to bring up the Blend Tool Panel. If smooth color doesn't produce a smooth transition then I suggest to changing it to a specified distance and adjusting the values to get the right transition.
Blend Tool Panel With The Result
In the end, you just have to change the Blending Mode from Normal to Color Dodge. It’s just as simple as that. And our work is done.
The Result After Color Dodge
The question then is how can we develop this technique into another level. Into text, or even other forms. Once you understand how the Color Dodge works it will be easier to apply it to other level. All you have to do is some experiments or combine it with other techniques to produce different results.
For the next tutorial I'll show you how this Color Dodge is used in other designs, like applying it to text and creating a light effect in Adobe Illustrator.
Another Articles About Adobe Illustrator Basic:
Another Adobe Illustrator Tutorial:
0 Comments