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Create Lightning in Photoshop

  1. Open the image you’re editing or make a new file. The example shown here uses an RGB 300 x 100 with a black background.
  2. Draw the lines in the position you want the lightning to be. Use a 1px paintbrush.
  3. Use the ‘Wind’ filter. Filter > Stylize > Wind. Select the method as ‘Wind’ and the direction ‘From the left’. Now repeat except change the direction to ‘From the right’
  4. Rotate the image 90 degrees. Click Image > Rotate Canvas > 90° CW. Repeat the previous step and rotate it 90° CCW.
  5. Move to Filter > Distort > Ripple, set the amount to 100%, and hit “OK”.
  6. Go to “Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation or press Ctrl + U”. At the bottom right corner, hit “Colorize”. Now adjust the “Hue” bar and the “Saturation” bar until you get a color you like.

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Thanks to wikiHow for this article, which is under a creative commons license.

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