Photoshop layer styles help you add effects (e.g. drop shadows and strokes) in a non-destructive way. To achieve them, you need to understand what each setting does and how you can combine them. To that end, read this complete tutorial to learn about the Outer Glow setting and how to use it to make text glow in Photoshop.
Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel, with this video by Monika Zagrobelna on how to make text glow in Photoshop:
Or to learn how to create a similar neon light text effect, try this tutorial:
What You'll Learn in This Photoshop Glow Tutorial
How to add a glow effect in Photoshop:
- The Uses for a Photoshop Outer Glow
- How to Use the Layer Style Dialog Box
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Blend Mode Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Opacity Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Noise Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Color and Gradient Settings
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Technique Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Spread Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Size Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Contour Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Range Setting
- Photoshop Outer Glow: Jitter Setting
- How to Save and Load the Default Settings
- Grab a Free Glow Effect Photoshop Layer Style
The Uses for an Outer Glow in Photoshop
When you hear the name "Outer Glow", you might automatically assume that this glow effect is limited to just that, a Photoshop Outer Glow. The truth is that there is much more you can do with it.
On top of creating a glowing effect in Photoshop, Outer Glow can also be used to create faux drop shadows, as well as adding outer strokes to your designs.
Below, you will see an example of how an Outer Glow can not only make an object look as if it is emitting light, but also create a shadow effect. Keep in mind that only the Photoshop Outer Glow settings were changed between the two different looks.
How to Use the Layer Style Dialog Box
It's quite easy to make glowing text in Photoshop. Let's look at how to add glow to text with a Photoshop glow effect. We'll start with the Layer Style dialog box. The Outer Glow dialog box is shown below. A few new settings are displayed here that we have not seen before, like Technique, Range, and Jitter.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Blend Mode Setting
The Blend Mode allows you to set the blending mode for your Outer Glow in Photoshop. If you are looking to create a Photoshop glow effect, Linear Dodge (Add) and Screen are good modes to use. If you want to create an "outer shadow" type effect, Linear Burn or Multiply work well. If you are trying to create an outer stroke (which we will get into in more detail below) then Normal is fine.
In the following example, you can see that Linear Dodge (Add) will create a more extreme Photoshop glow effect, while Screen will affect the Outer Glow in a slightly subtler way.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Opacity Setting
The Opacity slider allows you to specify how transparent your Outer Glow in Photoshop will be. A setting of 0% is completely see-through, while 100% will help you create a completely opaque text glow.
In the following Photoshop glow effect example, you can see that the Photoshop glowing text on the left has a subtle glowing effect, while the one on the right is much more pronounced. Check them out to see what Photoshop glow effect you prefer for your text.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Noise Setting
The Noise slider is the same within Outer Glow as in Drop Shadow and Inner Shadow. Increasing the Noise slider will add a bit of noise to your Outer Glow, allowing you to create a type of "glowing dust" effect.
In the following outer glow Photoshop example, increasing the amount of Noise takes us from a smooth Outer Glow to a "glowing particle" effect in Photoshop.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Color and Gradient Settings
Wondering how to change the color of an outer glow in Photoshop? When the corresponding radio button is selected, the Color block allows us to change the color of the Outer Glow, while the same goes for the Gradient radio button. With Gradient selected, you are not limited to a single color, which can help you create very intricate and abstract glowing effects.
In the following example, setting a single color will give a predictable Outer Glow Photoshop effect, while experimenting with different gradients can help us achieve unique effects, like the slight rainbow glow you might see in soap bubbles. That's how to change the color of an Outer Glow in Photoshop.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Technique Setting
The Technique dropdown box gives us two different options to make text glow in Photoshop: Softer and Precise. Softer gives us an Outer Glow that is more organic and natural-looking, while Precise fits the shape of the glow more tightly to the original shape of the layer.
In the following Photoshop glow effect example, you can see the difference between the more organic-looking Softer setting and the Precise outer glow technique below.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Spread Setting
The Spread slider changes the falloff of the Outer Glow in a linear fashion, or in other words, how gradually it fades out at the edges.
For a typical Outer Glow, you will normally want to leave this at 0%, but for more intense glows you should increase it, and for outer strokes with hard edges you can set it all the way to 100%.
In the following Photoshop glow effect example, increasing the spread percentage from 0% to 50% gives the Outer Glow a harder edge.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Size Setting
The Size slider is pretty self-explanatory. It allows you to increase the size of the Outer Glow in 1 px increments. The higher the Size value is, the bigger the Outer Glow in Photoshop becomes.
In the following outer glow Photoshop example, since the Size of the glow on the left is 2 px, it gives us a more contained glowing effect. Increasing the glow Size to 9 px makes the glowing text in Photoshop seem more radioactive.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Contour Setting
The Contour shapes allow you to change the falloff of the Outer Glow in a non-linear fashion. By choosing different curve profiles, you can get the glow to fade out in different ways. It's another basic piece of knowledge on how to make a glow effect in Photoshop.
This is really useful when you are trying to achieve special glow or abstract effects.
In addition, the "Anti-aliased" checkbox allows you to improve the quality of the shadow with a very slight drop in performance. The performance hit is negligible, so we recommend always keeping the box checked.
In the following Photoshop glow example, changing the Contour to a "sine wave" shape results in an Outer Glow with more character, which allows us to add special effects to our images.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Range Setting
Adjusting the Range is similar to changing the Spread. It allows you to control the falloff of your Outer Glow in almost the same way.
A lower setting gives us a harder glow, while a higher setting gives us a softer one.
In the following outer glow Photoshop example, you can see how changing the Range affects the softness of the Outer Glow.
Photoshop Outer Glow: Jitter Setting
While Range is similar to Spread, Jitter is similar to Noise. Noise creates transparency of adjacent pixels using a Normal blend mode, while Jitter adds noise by adjusting the lightness of adjacent pixels in a way that is similar to Overlay.
It is easier to see the difference in action.
In the following glowing effect Photoshop example, the one on the left is achieved using the Noise slider, while the one on the right uses the Jitter slider. If you don't see a difference, don't worry. The difference is very subtle most of the time, often so much so that it doesn't matter which you use.
How to Save and Load the Default Settings
You can save and load default settings for each effect in the Layer Styles dialog box. When you click Make Default, Photoshop will store whatever settings are currently active as the new default settings for that effect.
When you click Reset to Default, Photoshop will then load whatever settings were last saved. This allows you to experiment and simply reload the custom default settings if you want to start over.
Grab a Free Glow Effect Photoshop Layer Style
Until next time, this free, exclusive layer style and accompanying PSD file will keep the flame of love for layer styles burning bright and help you get better acquainted with Outer Glow.
Congratulations! You Know How to Make Text Glow in Photoshop
We've explored all the layer style settings to learn how to make text glow with Photoshop Glow Effect. Now it's your turn to play to create amazing glow effect Photoshop designs! With Outer Glow in Photoshop, there's a lot you can achieve.
While this tutorial focuses on text, you can also add glow to an image with the easy tools provided by this software. Theres so much to learn about Photoshop, the possibilities are endless!
5 Top Glow Effect Photoshop Actions
Now you're an expert using the outer glow Photoshop settings. Still looking for glowing effects for Photoshop? Here are some premium glow effect Photoshop add-ons from Envato Elements to create professional-looking Photoshop glow effects quickly and easily:
1. Glow in the Dark Photoshop Actions (ATN)
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Now that you know how to make text glow in Photoshop, try to add glow to an image. Add stunning glow-in-the-dark effects to your photo using these Photoshop actions.
The effects are non-destructive, easy to apply, and fully adjustable. They work on PC and Mac and include full instructions.
2. Fearless Photoshop Action (ATN)
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Wondering how to make something glow in Photoshop quickly? Check out the Fearless Photoshop Action. You simply fill in your subject with a color and play the action!
There's even a full video tutorial to help you. The glow in Photoshop action has been tested and works on Photoshop CS4, CS5, CS6, CC, CC 2015.5, and CC 2017+.
3. Neon Layer Styles (ASL, PSD)
This set contains over 70 layer styles in five categories (Regular, Bright, Soft, Colored, Colored Bright), as well as six sample scenes and 15 backgrounds. Use them for a professional and realistic neon effect. It's a fast way to add glow to an image.
4. Sparklers Animation Photoshop Action (ABR, ATN)
Did you know that it's possible to create an animated glow in Photoshop? Learn how to add a glowing effect in Photoshop for animations. This action will add magical sparkles to any lines you draw. You can save the effect as a still image or as a GIF animation.
5. Sparkle Photoshop Action (ATN)
An action can be a great way to learn how to make something glow in Photoshop.
How does the Sparkle Photoshop Action work? You simply brush over the area you want to turn into sparkles and play the action. The color that you brush will become the color of the sparkle glow in Photoshop.
Discover More Photoshop Tutorials and Resources
Now you know how to make a glow effect in Photoshop. Check out more Photoshop tutorials to master this Adobe app.
If you want to learn more about adding glow effects to your images, try these tutorials:
How to Create a Neon Glow in the Dark Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop
How to Add a Glowing Photo Effect to a Portrait in Photoshop
How to Create a Glowing Winter Night Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop
How to Create a Realistic Neon Light Text Effect in Adobe Photoshop
How to Create a Glowing Fireflies Photo Manipulation in Adobe Photoshop
How to Create a Dreamy Glow Effect Photo Manipulation in Photoshop
How to Create a Dreamy Glow Effect Photoshop Action
26 Best Glow Effects in Photoshop (Actions and Text Effects)
How to Add a Glow Effect in Photoshop
Free Sparkle and Glitter Effect Tutorials (Text Effects, Overlays, Photo Effects!)
60+ Awesome Graphic Styles and Appearance Panel Tutorials on Tuts+
30+ Best New Photoshop Actions & Photo Effects (Updated for 2024)
50+ Best Free Photoshop Actions of 2024
24 Best Photo Art Effects in Photoshop (Artistic PSD Actions)
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