Lightning Effects

Lightning Effect

1. Start with a new picture around 600 x 600 px
2. Select the gradient tool (you should have the default black foreground and white background colors)
3. Starting from the left side, left click and drag a line to the right
   At this point you should have a picture filled with a gradient: black on the left, gray in the middle, and white on the right
4. Filter > Render > Difference Clouds
5. Hold down CTRL + I aka Invert the picture
6. Image > Adjustments > Levels: Drage the black arrow in the middle towards the right until you have black/dark parts taking up most of the picture, then drag the gray arrow in the middle also towards the right until you have a nice white line
7. Create a new layer and name it 1
8. Select the Gradient Tool
9. Left click anywhere in the picture and drag whichever way you want
10. Filter > Render > Difference Clouds
11. Hold down CTRL + I to Invert
12. Image > Adjustments > Levels: Adjust it like before/above (step 6)
13. Change the Blend Mode to Screen on layer 1
14. **EXTRA STEPS** If you want to add color to your lightning bolts follow the steps below
15. Merge your two layers together
16. Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation: Check Colorize in the menu and play with the settings until you get your desired color