How to Make a Lightsaber in a Photo

Giving an ordinary sword a lightsaber-like glow can make a fun dramatic image.

Lightsabers are fun effects to add to photos to give your image a Star Wars feel. Fortunately, with today's quality image editors, making a lightsaber is a fairly straightforward process that can be done by users of all skill levels. To make your own lightsaber effect, you will need a decent image editor, such as Adobe Photoshop, GIMP or Corel PaintShop Photo Pro.

Instructions

1. Open your image editor and load the image you intend to manipulate. Make sure the layers palette is open by selecting "Window > Layers" from the menu at the top of the screen.

2. Add two new layers by clicking on the "New Layer" button of the Layers palette. Name the first "color" and the second "white." Select the "color" layer.

3. Click the airbrush tool and choose a feathered brush that's about 50 percent bigger than the sword you are painting over. Choose whatever color you want for your lightsaber and draw a smooth line over the length of the sword. This will be the outside of the effect.

4. Select the "white" layer and choose a feathered brush smaller than the previous one that's anywhere from 10 percent to 25 percent bigger than the sword image. Set the color to white. Draw a straight line down the middle of the line of color.

5. Hold "Shift" to select both the "white" and "color" layers. From the triangle at the top right of the layers palette, select "Merge Layers." This merges your two lightsaber layers.

6. Choose "Filter > Render > Lens Flare" from the menu. Choose the lens type "105mm Prime" and position the flare where the energy blade meets the handle. Ensure the "preview" box is checked and try different brightness levels to increase or decrease the effect of the lens flare. Click OK.

7. Save your work.

References

• Bricks in Motion: Making Lightsabers in Photoshop