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This lesson demonstrates how to create a neon sign, you will find a font Here.
Unzip the file, and Copy and Paste it into Windows Fonts folder - lesson.
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
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Open a New document and set the following (White Background Contents) attributes.
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Now, press the Ctrl key of your keyboard, then tap the letter i. This inverts the colours, changing the white canvas to black.
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Activate the Rounded Rectangle Tool. 
Setting the following attributes into its Options bar.
Then drag out a rectangular shape, as shown below.
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Ensure the Shape 1 later remains active.
Then from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Rasterise then choose Shape.
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Activate the Magic Wand Tool. 
And click inside the white rectangle. 
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Now that the rectangle is isolated with a marquee, from the top menu, choose Edit then choose Stroke. In the subsequent Stroke dialogue box, set the following (Outside and 6 pixels) attributes - then click OK.
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Then press the Delete key of your keyboard. You have now created the outlined sign. Press Ctrl and D to remove the marquee.
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It is time to create the type, we will return to complete the rectangular sign later.
Activate the Horizontal Type Tool.
And set the following (Neon font) attributes. Clear the type box and enter 90 pt - or a size that fits inside your rectangle. Type Tool Lesson Here!
Then click the Commit tick on the Options Bar, and centralise the type using the Move Tool.
 
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Ensure the type layer is active.
Then from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Rasterise then choose Type.
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From the top menu, choose Edit then choose Free Transform. A vector transformation bounding box will surround your text. Now, drag the outer boxes to enlarge the type, so it attaches to the outer rectangle. You may need to adjust the deformation bounding box’s Width to fit. You do this by adjusting the Width tab on the Free Transformation Options Bar - slowly adjusting the % to produce a good fit. This can take a little practise!
When the type fits the rectangle, click the Commit transform tick - or press Return.
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Working with the type layer, click the following Add a layer style icon at the bottom of the Layers palette.
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Then click Inner Glow from the drop-down list.
Important!
Inner Glow settings entirely depend upon the type’s size and its width. Therefore, if yours differ to mine, you need to experiment with the Inner Glow settings. The important settings are Choke, Size, Range and Contour.
To access the gradient I am working with - click the Reset Gradients Screen Capture
Now, from the Inner Glow dialogue box, left-click the following Click to edit the gradient tab.
Then click the Orange, Yellow, Orange gradient. 
And in the subsequent Gradient Editor, grab the following Colour Stop, and drag it all the way to the left.
The gradient should now run from yellow to orange, as shown below.
Click OK to set the new (yellow to orange) gradient.
Now, (in the Inner Glow dialogue box), set the following attributes, remembering to change the Blend Mode to Normal, (the Contour is Gaussian), then click OK.
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To defuse the glow, from the top menu choose Filter then choose Blur then choose Gaussian Blur, and set a Radius of 0.5 pixels.
Omit this step if you prefer a brighter neon.
14/ Optional Outer Glow
Now (still working on the type layer), activate the Add a layer style f-fx icon, and this time choose Outer Glow. In the subsequent Outer Glow dialogue box, set the same Orange, Yellow, Orange gradient and set the following Outer Glow attributes. For a personal glow, experiment with Opacity, Spread, Size, Range and Contour!
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Now, activate the Shape 1 layer.
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And apply an Inner Glow to the rectangle, exactly as you did with the type in
Chapter 12. Note: I altered the Inner Glow settings to the following, the Contour remains Gaussian. Click OK. Remember, settings depend upon the width and size of the rectangle, therefore you must experiment.
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Whilst the rectangle is active, click the Add a layer style icon at the bottom of the Layers palette, and apply an Outer Glow exactly as you did with the Inner Glow. I am seeking a subtle outer glow, and chose the following Outer Glow settings - however, for a brighter, or wider, glow, play with the settings!
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Now, press the Ctrl key and left-click to highlight both the type and shape layers. Then click the following Link layers icon - found at the foot of the Layers palette.
You will notice that both layers display a chain link icon, as shown above.
19/ Optional
From the top menu, choose Edit then choose Transform then choose Perspective. A vector transformation box will surround your neon sign, and because the type and shape layers are locked together, you are able to edit both layers at the same time.
Grab the bottom right vector box, highlighted above, and drag it to the right, and downwards. This perspectively warps the neon image. When you have played with your image and are happy with the perspective, click the Commit transform tick.
20/ Changing the neon’s colour
It is very easy to change the colour of your neon. Click the following icon at the foot of the Layers palette.
And choose Hue/Saturation from the drop-down list. Now, grab the Hue slider and sliding it either to the left, or right, find a colour you like. You can increase the colour’s intensity by adjusting Saturation. However, I would leave the Lightness slider unaltered!
 
Tip
Whilst the layers remain un flattened, you are able to chance the colour. To do so, double-left-click the following Layer thumbnail rectangle.
And the Hue/Saturation dialogue box displays, enabling you to adjust the colours.
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When you are happy with your neon sign, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image.
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To remove the jaggedness caused by the perspective warp, activate the Blur Tool.
And with a small, soft brush, set a Strength of around 6%, and gently smooth the ragged areas that are noticeable around the corners.  
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Finally, crop the extraneous black background, then from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image. Congratulations you have created a neon sign, link here to save learn how to save it.
Night scene neon sign
I dragged a flattened neon sign onto a photograph of a night scene, and changed the neon layer’s Mode from Normal to Screen. With the Dropper Tool, I collected colour from the neon sign, and with the Brush Tool (Opacity 20), I painted an orange glow around the sign and a reflection onto the road and wall.
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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