Neon Tube

[Willy]

Uploaded with ImageShack.us preview =D


1. start out with a blank canvas, I would recommend a large size when you are just learning.

2. I forget this a lot and it makes it harder, but doesn't affect final product. Change your palate color to something that will show up on black.

3. Take and make a path that you like, and then stroke path with a 2 pixel wide brush stroke.

4. Make a new layer, and then select that layer and stroke path again but this time with a 6 pixel wide path with a neon blue type color, or something else that is neon like.

5. Then select the 6 pixel wide path with, alpha to selection on that layer, and the Filters, Blurs, Gaussian Blur, and then use a setting near 10 and 10 I think... doing from memory sorry, but use whatever you think makes it look good.

6. Save your file, and upload it to your favorite Image Hosting site, and post it here for us to see.

Good Luck, will be making more tutorials when I think of more useful things

[ofnuts]

Fun stuff... the two pix line is a bit hard for modern neons, especially if you need a wider tube.
So I adapted your method a bit, with three layers of decreasing color saturation (for the line thickness with other dimensions, draw a quarter of a circle and make measurements on it, or remember your trig).

   

See the XCF attached for the full story

Now time to think about a new sig

   

[Willy]

Dude that is pretty cool, this was really just meant to show people how it can be done, and leave it pretty open so that they can do whatever they want to... So glad to know that it helped you out =D

[Ronando]

Ok, I give up, I cant do it

[ofnuts]

You can also use my neon script: http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-pat...s/scripts/

Basically you define a gradient for the colors (from darkest part of tube to lightest), draw a "path" with the Path tool, and then you'll find a Decorate/Neon in the right-click menu in the Paths dialog. A more complete doc will be available soon.

[missmacabresass]

ok...so any tips on how i can improve this without scripts or plugins or anything...?

[missmacabresass]

oh wow looks a lot crappier on here

[ofnuts]

EEEEH has a lot of aliasing, but I'm at loss imagining how you achieve that And as far as I know there are no gray neons. A white neon would have a only a very thin darker border.

The red neon has wrong colors... the center of the neon, where is is most luminous, should have little saturation but a high luminosity, and the border, with the same hue, more saturation and less luminosity. If the neon is originally a path, you stroke it at least twice: once with a wide a brush (just slightly fuzzy) with the border color, and once with a slightly narrower (but a lot fuzzier) brush with the center color.

You have also invented the light source that casts its own shadow

[missmacabresass]

lol, ya like that dont ya! haha. i wasnt really going for neon with the lettering, i wanted the red to kinda bounce off of it...apparently a fail there...all right, so im off to do just a basic tube, i lost my self a bit while playing with the square. thanks for the tips, ill post again with a better or worse(if that is possible...) result.

[missmacabresass]

ok well a little better, the next will be spot on, hopefully...!

[ofnuts]

Much better... but the glow should be wider, and either symmetrical or visibly shifted (reflection)

[missmacabresass]

thanks a bunch, ill re try tonight. thanks for the tips.

[Willy]

Omg my Tutorial is getting use
Looking good there Missmacabresass

[missmacabresass]

aww shucks, thanks. and thanks a ton for the tutorial.

[Willy]

No Problem