Neverside

Lighting Effects?

Hey everyone. Noobie poster over here, long time vet to photoshop, fairly intermediate with Illustrator. I'm learning the ins and outs and little tricks and tips, but I'm having a HELL of a time figuring out how people get blown out lighting effects like in the files below.

- I've asked my ILLUSTRATOR teacher how to do this. he had NO idea. [great teacher eh?]. I've tried playing around with the layer settings [Overlay, etc] and that didn't work. I did manage to get a sun to glow, using about 4 different layers all set to different colors of yellow, and all set to different Outer Glows. That SORT OF worked, but it left this giant glow behind it that interfered with other shapes for some reason.

I see this effect EVERYWHERE so there has got to be someway? iS this possbily something going on in photoshop and then brough over? I'm so stuck and frustrated with this one. If anyone can help me out, I would GREATLY apprecaite it!

Here are the images. Im not sure if they showed up? haha

http://www.groovesessions.net/art/lady.jpg

http://www.groovesessions.net/art/Spirits_by_apothix.jpg

i think the best way to do that in illustrator is to use the blend tool. just create a shape and then copy that shape and increase its size. set the larger shapes transparency to 0% and then blend the 2 shapes. this blend option is in object>blend>blend options this allows you to change the type of blend. just fool around with those options and then select make from object>blend>make this gives a nice gradient look

*edit* sry about that i totally mis interpreted what you were looking for. I think those lighting effects were created in photoshop using the diffuse filter or something of that nature. Mb try playing around with that.

Last edited by wturner, April 21st, 2005 11:33 AM (Edited 1 times)

mmm. yeah that may be. I have only been able to re-create that bright light look in Photoshop.

Any suggestions on the best way to bring something like that into Illustrator from photo shop while keeping it transparent so that I could place the bright light anywhere ???

Would I build it on a transparent background, then create the effect, and then .... ? That's sorta where I get stuck! lol. I guess I'll have to play around with that option and see if that's how people are achieving those bright light effects!

Save as a PSD, then do file > place in Illustrator? Moving from photoshop to Illustrator or the other way round is really not terribly complicated (intentionally).

you can also export it as an eps which is also another way to transfer between photoshop and illustrator. Mb just create what you want in illustrator than move it to photoshop to create the lighting effect... I think that would be the best way but thats me.

Or just open the psd in illustrator using Open... It asks you how you want to bring it in, as layers and text (if you have any), or one single image. Select the one that works best for your purposes.