How To Create Realistic Neon Light Effect In Adobe Illustrator Tutorial Part. 3
Welcome back in another LADALIDI’s tutorial.This is the third episode of Realistic Neon Effect in adobe illustrator, and today I will show you how to create neon text like this in Adobe Illustrator.
In the first Tutorials of How To Create Realistic Neon Effect I showed how Color Dodge works and in the second episode I showed how this Color Dodge is used to create a Neon Effect on geometric shapes and in this tutorial I’m gonna show you how to use it in more complex shapes such as creating neon text like this.
Sample of Realistic Neon Text Effect in Adobe Illustrator
I made this realistic neon text tutorial apart from the previous part because the method I used in the second episode only works well with geometric shapes and the results look bad on more complex shapes, so that this neon effect can still be used on more complex shapes I created it in another way.
Without further ado let's open the Adobe Illustrator.
Create Background as Color Base
Create new document with RGB color mode and as usual for the first step is making a background as the Base Color.With the Rectangle Tool, create a square based on the size of the artboard, apply gradient color with Gradient Tool or open the Gradient Panel and click the Gradient Annotator.
For the color I have prepared by making this colors. I'm just going to make a gradient with three colors but you can make a gradient of more than 3 colors.
Color Palette with Hex Color Code
These three colors will determine the color of the neon that we will make. By the way, these three colors are dark blue, dark orange, and dark pink. So we will have the neon colors go blue, orange, and pink.
Add these three colors to swatches panel and make it in one group. In that way, we can use it easily in the gradient panel.
3 Colors On Swatches Panel
Back to the artboard. Reselect the rectangle that was made and open the Gradient Panel. because we have prepared three colors on the Swatches to make a gradient, so we also have to prepare 3 Color Stops on the Gradient Annotator.
As default we already have 2 color stops, so we only need to add one more in the middle. Hover your cursor between 2 existing Color Stops until the 'Plus Sign' on the cursor appears and just click on it.
Give these color stop with color that we have prepared in Swatches Panel.
Gradient Panel With 3 Color Stop
Now we are done with the background. while this background is still selected, go to the Object Menu > Lock > Selection to lock this rectangle.
Create the neon text
Now, is the time to create neon text.The first step to make the text is using a simple and bold rounded font is highly recommended. In this Adobe Illustrator Tutorial, I only have the Arial Rounded MT Bold font. But it's better if you have a font that is bolder and has no angles.
Neon Text with Arial Rounded MT Bold Font
Set the Fill to none and change the Stroke to white so we can see it clearly.
Actually this font still has some corners but it doesn't matter we can fix it later.
Corner Detail Of the Arial Rounded MT Bold Font
So to be able to create a neon effect for more complex shapes such as text, we will use Brush in Adobe Illustrator.
First, I'll fix some sharp corners first, because in the real world we know that neon lights don't have sharp corners.
Go to the Object Menu and select Expand to expand this “Neon” text. Select all corners which have the same angle using Direct Selection Tool, click and drag the corner widget that appears when you select the anchor point. Adjust it, until the sharp corners are rounded.
Use Corner Widget To Create Round Corner
Select the rest of the corners which have the same angle, like the deepest corner of the letter E and adjust the roundness too.
Text Without No Sharp Corner
Another Part:
Create a Brush
Now it's time to make the brush.But wait a minute, I almost forgot something. this is important.
We have to make all of these letter not in one group by make all these objects into one separate path including the two circles that make up the letter O. So that the Color Dodge doesn't read it as a single object but a separate object. Because Color Dodge doesn't blend an overlapping objects which are in one group. Color Dodge only reads it as one object even though it contains many objects.
Ungrouped Text In Separate Path
Now we go back to making the neon.
To make the brush we only need two rectangles.
Create the first box using the Rectangle Tool. Activate the Rectangle Tool on the Toolbar and click wherever you want in the artboard to place it. fill the width and height by 20x20 pixels.
Create the second rectangle with the same width, but for the height just make it in 1 pixel.
Square and Small Rectangle With Rectangle Panel
After these two rectangles have been created, Select them and change and align them with Align Tool in control panel overview or in the Align Panel.
Give the big rectangle with black color and the small one with white color then blend them with the Blend Tool.
The Blended 2 Rectangles
To make it as a Brush we have to open the Brushes Panel or in the Window Menu.
Select this blended object that we created to be used as a brush and click the new brush button.
The Brush Panel (New Brush Button)
Or in another way you can drag this blended object it into the Brushes panel. If we create a new brush then the New Brush Panel open. On that New Brush Panel change the brush type to Art Brush, and click ok.
New Brush Panel
After we click the Ok button then the Art Brush Option Panel will pop up
On this Art Brush Option Panel, we can give it a name so you can easily recognize it. Make sure the brush scale options are at Stretch To Fit Stroke Length. For the direction just choose one of these two horizontal directions because it doesn't really matter for this brush and the most important thing with this brush is make sure that The Overlap is set to "Do Not Adjust Corners And Laps".
Why is this so important?. because we need this brush to follow the object line perfectly, because if we choose "Adjust Corners And Folds To Prevent Overlaps" then we will get the messy result. So it's very important to choose this "Do Not Adjust Corners And Laps". leave everything else by default and click ok.
The Setup of Art Brush Option Panel
Brush On The Control Panel Over View And Brush On Brush Panel
And this is it, our neon brush has been applied to the object.
Neon Text With Neon Brush
Now we just need to change the blending mode to color dodge to get the neon effect.
Realistic Neon Text Effect In Adobe Illustrator
The advantage of this method compared to the method in the previous tutorial How To Create Realistic Neon Light Effect In Adobe Illustrator Tutorial Part. 2 is that we can easily adjust the size of the neon just by adjusting the size of the stroke.
Increase The Stroke Weight to 8 pixel
What do you think about this one?. Now you can try it and experiment with any shape but remember it has a rounded.
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