In this tutorial I will be showing you how to create a very simple laser beam effect in Photoshop.  This is a beginner level tutorial and all the steps are straightforward and easy.

Tutorial Details

Type: syfy
Software: Photoshop
Difficulty: Beginner

Step 1

To get started we need to create a new document and set the size to 864 * 864 in RGB color mode with a 72 dpi.  After you have created the document, fill the background with black color.

Step 2

Create a new layer and name it “White Line”, then use the Rectangular Marquee Tool to select a line and fill it in with white color.

select your white Line layer and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set the Radius to 1.0 pixels.

Step 3

Now create a new layer named “glow” and place it underneath your white line layer. Then do the same thing you did in step 2 but this time make the line twice as big and change its color to #5cf2fd.

Select your glow layer and go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur and set the angle to -49 and the distance to 32 pixels.

Step 4

Go back to your “white line” layer and set the blend mode to Overlay.

Step 5

Grab your Brush Tool (B), and set the size to 2 px. Then go to Shape Dynamics and set the Size Jitter to 100%, Roundness Jitter to 100% and Minimum Roundness to 1%.

Next select the Scattering and set the Scatter to 1000%, Count to 1% and Count Jitter to 100%.

Now that you have your brush set up create a new layer and paint a line that wraps around your laser beam.

Extra Steps

These next few steps are optional.

If you want to change the color of the laser beam just select each layer and go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, select the colorize option and use the Hue, saturation and  Lightness options to change the color of the laser beam.

Also you can add a small glow to the beam by selecting the layer style and adding a outer glow.

Examples

Here are a few projects that I have used the laser beam effect with.

Here are a few projects that I have used the laser beam effect with.

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