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Gibbo18 — A Guide to Glow
Published: 2006-06-21 19:21:06 +0000 UTC; Views: 15018; Favourites: 219; Downloads: 1997
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Description
Well uh, as the title says... this particular tutorial is designed specifically to try and help those who want to get a good glow effect going. It was done using Paintshop, but the concepts used in it can easily be translated into Photoshop... the only differences between the two being that Photoshop might have different names for each tool.It'll definitely help if you're already quite experienced with how to do CGing (shading/highlights), and know how to make good use of layers... so this tut could probably be considered as aiming at an intermediate level.
Let me know if you find this useful! : D
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Comments: 102
It only downloads the picture from a file. There is no link to the full image that opens it in a new tab anymore on deviantart
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Please update it so I can download and view it in a bigger setting
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Thank you! I have yet to attempt this, but I am quite positive that this will really help! Thanks for your time & effort!
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Sure thing, glad you find it useful
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Amazing tutorial. Thank you! I used it here: [link]
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Looks good, well I'm glad it helped yah! 8]
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Yis, yis it did. Problem is, my critics and friends say the source of my glow is to flat. Any idea what's wrong there?
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Not really sure what they mean by that and which part they're referring to... would need clarification before I can help with suggestions
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Well, they say that the very center of his "spell", the light source, is flat. That it doesnt apear to be three dimensional.
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Aah, ok I'm with you now. One thing I probably didn't make clear in my tut was that I was able to make all the glowing layers on top of my character's hand due to that open hand (facing toward the viewer) being a somewhat 'flat' source of light.
I'd suggest in your case experimenting with the use of multiple layers in front of and behind your character's ice/crystal spell. What would help in your situation would be to make the brightest part of your glow effect a little less intense, it will help give a feeling of depth if the viewer can see the ice/crystal formations more clearly, with nooks/crannies/crevices and other details that indicate that it's not a flat object. Also perhaps try to shape the source of the glow effect (the brightest part) to the detail of the ice/crystal.
The best example from my gallery I can think of to provide is this image: [link] ... Here you can see multiple 'electrical' light-sources both in front of and behind the character, and while they are bright you can still make out the shapes of his hands and the battery on his back.
One last tip I can give for your pic is don't over-extend the resulting light on your character's body. I see that parts of his body like the boots, arms etc. have a bright line of light on them that extend past the actual body part and seem to hang in the air. Doing this also gives the impression of the effect being 2D, or pasted on, so make sure that these latent lines of light stay within the boundaries of your lineart (again, use the pic provided as an example)... there are some exceptions to this though, for example if the actual character is a source of light (e.g. this image: [link] ) or there is a strong light-source behind the character (e.g. this image: [link] )
I find it best if you're ever in doubt about how light affects things to first picture your character in a 3D environment and visualise how light sources you've created might affect that character, then use the real world around you as a quick reference... for example if you're using your computer at night try holding your hand close to the screen with fingers facing upwards and splayed out, and notice how the light from the screen plays along the edges of your fingers.
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ahhahah!
All valid points, thank you!
I'll keep this in mind on my next project. I'd go back and redo it, but I went and compressed the file already, dumb move on my part.
Thankya for the advice, much apreciated.
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Thank you so very much for this tutorial, I swearched the web for hours trying to find a good couple tips on how to create glowing affect for my self teaching, and this was by the far the best reference.
This: [link] is my work, the first piece i've ever done with the glowing affect, and wouldn't have been so without yer post.
Thank you again!
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Sure thang, I'm glad that despite its age it is still proving useful to folks! Looks like the effect came out well for yah 8]
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This is great! 
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Thanks, and I imagine the principles of it can be applied to Photoshop, but I have discovered that with Photoshop there is a much easier way of creating a glow effect using a built-in effect... perhaps try a combination of what I've used in this tut, and the advice provided by this one: [link]
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Ah, I see. Thank you! The reason I was asking is because my Photoshop is kinda old
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Thank you very much for making this tutorial.. ^_^ I was able to use it to help me with a piece that I'd been having trouble with on my own.. ^_^
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Well, glad tah be of service!
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Thanks, I should really make a new tutorial some time though : T
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Great tutorial, this will help me along well. Thanks
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No prob, glad to be of service!
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...I love you.
I've been looking for something like this but instead of a hand I'm gonna try and do this to an entire sketch. like... The person glows. Lol, thanks a lot.
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Heh, fair enough... could be interesting! Do you use Paintshop or Photoshop though?
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Paintshop Pro 9, You think it'd work?
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Well, it IS designed as a Paintshop Pro tutorial! I was just checkin' to see if you use Photoshop, because that's got a built-in character-aura effect : T
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...It does?! *looks* I was trying to find it but I can't xD
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This oughta help yah then, for Photoshop: [link]
Cheap, but effective!
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love this i'm attempting it on my new doll ^^
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I hope it helps yah there : D
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thanks alot. You've made my art super-tacular! Thanks alot bud.
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Awesome tut, man! It always seems so simple when someone else spells it out in baby steps for you.... but when you try and figure it out for yourself...
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Well, buggering about with something is always one way of learnin' how to do it... but if this helps folks tah get there easier, then it's all good!
Thanks dude : T
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Looks like something I should have a go at sometime. Faved so I can find it again. I'll add feedback after using it. ^_^
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I look forward to hearing if it helps yeh, thanks!
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Very nice. Loved working with this! ^_^
Gave just the effect I wanted. When I post it, I'll be sure to link to this. I would've anyway but still... I'll add my recomendations.
You've set out the tutorial brilliantly. It's easy to follow and quite simplistic. I haven't done quite so much of the flame effect on my peice but I'm sure I could've if I'd needed to. One small suggestion is that you make the settings for the brushes slightly more clear so that the reader doesn't have to scan the paragraphs every time they loose the measurements. (Which I managed to do several times ^_^')
Other than that it's great! It's nice to see a Paint Shop Pro tutoial instead of a Photoshop tutorial. They're becoming quite rare.
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Well I'm very glad to hear all of it, it's great to get feedback on these tutorials... makes all the effort worthwhile!
I'll try tah make things a bit clearer with the next tut
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[link]
The result of your tutorial on my artwork. Doesn't quite match up to your quality of artwork but hopefully I'll improve. ^_~
Good to know you're open to suggestions too! Not everyone is! ^_^
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Aye, one of the best ways to improve yourself is to be open to people's crits... sometimes they won't be particularly useful (you do get the odd person pointing out minor flaws just for the hell of it), but often you can learn from other artists!
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Hmm, I think I know the answer, but would it be possible to do a textured(?) glow like this?
[link]
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