This Photoshop tutorial can make everyone who wants to know how to create lightning in a bottle and you will be very surprised to learn how it is quickly and easy.
Final Image
Step 1
Before starting this tutorial go thru Google Images to find some appropriate picture of bottle to work with. Open up the picture and start with our tutorial.
Use the Pen Tool to create shape around bottle reflection as shown on my screenshot below:
After that open Paths Palette and click on Load path as a selection button on the palette bottom.
Press Ctrl+J to duplicate selected area. Then apply Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation to add some electric hue to the reflection.
Remove selection with Ctrl+D.
Now move to the next step. I would like to add glow from the bottle. Create a new layer and use Pen Tool again to create shape similar to bottle shape like on the picture below:
Open up Paths Palette again and click Load path as a selection button on the bottom and fill selection with color of #383cc6.
Go back to Layers palette. Remove selection with Select > Deselect (or press Ctrl+D). Then duplicate layer with Ctrl+J and apply Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur for copied layer:
See the result below:
Go to layer under and use Select > Load Selection to select this layer.
Then we can delete this layer, we don’t need it more. Go to copied blurred copy and press Delete button to clear selected area on this layer.
Time to add the lightning in a bottle. Create a new layer again, then use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to create selection as on my picture below:
Press D button to set up foreground and background colors as black and white. After that use the Gradient Tool to fill selection with black to white gradient.
Then apply Filter > Render > Difference Clouds:
Remove selection with Ctrl+D and invert colors by using Image > Adjustments > Invert:
Then apply Image > Adjustments > Levels to change brightness and contrast for the future lightning.
To finish off the tutorial I would like to change color of lightning. We can do this by using Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation with next parameters:
And We’re Done!
After that change blending mode to Screen for current layer. That is it for now. We are done with our tutorial.