In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to create a lightning brush in Photoshop! We’ll start off by creating a new Photoshop document, and then we’ll create a custom brush. Once we have our brush, we’ll use it to paint some lightning!
To begin, open up Photoshop and create a new document. For the purposes of this tutorial, I’m going to use an 8×8 inch document. Once you have your document open, create a new layer by clicking on the “Create a new layer” icon at the bottom of the Layers panel.
With your new layer selected, grab the Rectangular Marquee Tool from the Tools panel. Draw a small rectangle somewhere in the center of your document. Once you have your rectangle selected, press Alt+Backspace (Windows) or Option+Delete (Mac) to fill the selection with black.
Next, we’re going to create our lightning brush. To do this, select the Rectangular Marquee Tool again and draw another small rectangle next to the first one. Again, press Alt+Backspace (Windows) or Option+Delete (Mac) to fill this selection with black.
Now that we have two black rectangles side-by-side, go ahead and select both of them by holding down the Shift key and clicking on each rectangle with your mouse. With both rectangles selected, press Ctrl+J (Windows) or Command+J (Mac) to cut them out and place them on their own layer.
Next, we need to add some noise to our lightning brush. To do this, go up to the Filter menu at the top of the screen and choose Noise > Add Noise.
This will bring up the Add Noise dialog box. Enter an amount of 400% for the Amount option and make sure that both the Gaussian and Monochromatic options are checked before clicking OK.
At this point, our lightning brush is almost complete! All that’s left to do is edit the levels so that it’s more contrasty.
To do this, go up to the Image menu at the top of the screen and choose Adjustments > Levels. This will bring up Photoshop’s Levels dialog box.
In the Levels dialog box, drag the leftmost slider inward until it’s at about 25% and then click OK. Your lightning brush is now complete!
To use your new lightning brush, simply select it from the Brushes panel and paint away!
Creating a custom lightning brush in Photoshop is easy and only requires a few simple steps! With your new brush, you can add some realistic-looking lightning effects to your photos or designs.
