How to Get a Lightning Strike Effect in Photoshop

Adobe Photoshop has many effects that can turn an average photo into a digital work of art. One of these many effects is the lighting strike effect. Once created this effect can effectively shock the typical digital photos to life. Read on to learn how to get a lightning strike effect in Photoshop.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Download and Install the Lightning Brush Set

1. Start the download for the "Lightning Brush Tool for Photoshop." See the resources section for a direct link.
2. Click on the link to start the download of the lightning brush set. A dialogue box will appear once the download is ready. Choose the "Save" option and select the desktop as the save location.
3. Unzip the downloaded lightning brush set. To unzip double-click on the file. Once the file is unzipped, choose "Extract" from the menu of the unzip software. Extract the file to the desktop.
4. Locate the appropriate folder in Photoshop that will the transfer folder for the brush tool set. Double click on the "My Computer" icon on the desktop in Windows. Click on the local C: drive and open the program files directory. Locate the folder labeled "Adobe" or "Photoshop" and open it. Select the "Photoshop CS2" folder and open the "Presets" folder contained within. Choose the brush folder and leave this window open.
5. Transfer the brush tool set. With both the desktop and the Photoshop window from the previous step visible, drag and drop or cut and paste the .abr file with "Lightning brush" in the title from the desktop to the brush folder in Photoshop.
6. Open Photoshop to check that the brush effect loaded correctly. Select the brush tool option from the right panel. Choose the drop-down menu at the bottom next to the brush selector on the main menu. On the top right hand corner of the dialogue box will be a right arrow button, select that option and the menu display will have an option the reads "Lightning Brush." Select this option.

Apply the Lightning Effect to a Photo

7. Create a new image in Photoshop. Select file from the menu option and choose "New." Set the background color to black and the foreground color to white.
8. Use the lightning brush tool to make the lightning effect on the image. Choose "Layer" from the main menu of Photoshop. Select the brush tool from the right panel and then click on the down arrow next to the brush on the main menu. Select the appropriate lightning brush tool. It is best to experiment until the correct look is achieved.
9. Import the image into "ImageReady." Simply select the button at the bottom of the right panel.
10. Open the animation menu once ImageReady is loaded. Click "Window" from the menu and select the "Animation" option.
11. Duplicate the image four times. In the first and third images make the layer with the lightning invisible. To accomplish this click on the eyeball icon next to the layer menu.
12. Use the tween tool to create a smooth transition. Choose the first frame and hold down the Ctrl key while selecting the second frame. Select the "Tween" option from the animation menu. Set the tween to five to six frames.
13. Select the third and the fourth frames and repeat the previous step but make the tween three frames.
14. Save the image effect file. This file can now be used to create this effect on any digital photo.

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