Inkscape

Create Neon effects in text

Asked by Shobuz99

I need to know the steps to take to create a 'neon' sign effect out of text or letters,
and one that will also allow me to 'freehand' draw a continuous "neon" line and terminate it with an arrow.
I want to make a logo that is a neon sign with a pointing arrow at the bottom of the letters part of it.
Can you help me?
I honestly have not tried this yet, with Inkscape.
I had minimal success with GIMP; but it doesn't give me the sharp resolution
that I need to use the 'neon' sign as a logo for an CD cover design.

Thank you very much.
Please reply to this email if you wish: <email address hidden>

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su_v (suv-lp) said : 		#1

Does this example in the manual help?
<http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL_v16/html/Filters-ComplexExamples.html#Filters-Examples-Neon>

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Shobuz99 (shobuz99) said : 		#2

This is partly solved, by your answer.
The part that you didn't answer: "that will also allow me to 'freehand' draw a continuous "neon" line and terminate it with an arrow."
I was able to find the neon feature in the "bevel' submenu.
It works great with text; but I couldn't figure out how to use a brush to draw the same neon effect, that i got with the text.
Do you know what the steps are to do this?

Thank you
Shobuz99

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su_v (suv-lp) said : 		#3

> that will also allow me to 'freehand' draw a continuous
> "neon" line and terminate it with an arrow.

What about
1) draw a path with the pen (bézier) tool or pencil (freehand) tool,
2) adjust the stroke color and width in 'Fill & Stroke…' dialog
3) choose an arrow as end marker in 'Fill&Stroke > Stroke Style'
3a) optionally apply 'Extensions > Modify Path > Color Markers to Match Stroke'
4) apply the 'Neon' effect to the path

Note that the SVG effect won't prevent you from editing the path (using e.g. the node tool) as vector object.

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Shobuz99 (shobuz99) said : 		#4

Thank you ~suv, for the details.
I took a shot at it and am still having some problems.
My problem is that when I draw a path using either the pencil or the pen, etc.
I can't seem to fatten the straight line evenly. It angles to a point instead of a solid straight line.
I guess I'm just not used to using this software yet.
I need to forget what I know about Photoshop, Paintshop Pro, and GIMP.

I will keep trying but I am very frustrated at this point.

Thank you for your patience.

Shobuz99

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Best su_v (suv-lp) said : 		#5

> I can't seem to fatten the straight line evenly. It
> angles to a point instead of a solid straight line.

Check the options on the tool controls bar right above the canvas for each of the tool:
- Make sure you haven't selected one of 'Triangle In|Out' as shape (use 'None' instead).
- While learning how the tools work, I would recommend to use them in the default mode: don't use 'Spiros' in the beginning, instead stick with the default 'Create regular bézier paths' (You can play with Spiro swirls later ;) ).

More detailed information about using the pencil and pen tool to create paths can be found in the manual:
<http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL_v16/html/Paths-Creating.html>

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Shobuz99 (shobuz99) said : 		#6

Thank you very much. I have a finished product that i think will work great!
My problems stemmed from my misunderstanding of several little things;
i.e., I had to mark the fill as opaque, even though I didn't set it to invisible.
I also had trouble with layer interference, i.e., after creating the text "EVOLVER" in layer 1,
I drew a line (layer 2) that was angled down from the bottom of first letter 'E' and once I had added
the arrow and used the "Extensions --> Modify path --> Color markers to match stroke" option,
I tried to then set the "Fiters--> Bevels --> Neon effect".
When I did that, the "Neon" effect, disappeared from the text "EVOLVER"!!!
I discovered that if I moved the text away from the line/arrow I had just drawn,
that the "Neon" effect was restored. I decided to make this all on one layer, anyway.
One thing I was not able to figure out was the "Drop Shadow" color setting while in "Filters --> Shadows & Glows".
I could never find the setting to change the "Drop Shadow" color to something I preferred.
I solved that by simply creating separate images of the line/arrow and coloring one 'blue' for the shadow
and the other 'neon pink' to go over the top of it. I did this for the text as well.
I'm thinking that is the "hard way" to do it; but I couldn't figure out how to select a color for the "Drop Shadow".
Anyway, I've finished it and I do appreciate ALL the help you gave me.
BTW.. this design is for a CD cover of the newest Human Beinz CD, titled "EVOLVER". We will be releasing it very soon.
Best to you
Rick White (vocals/percussion)
The Human Beinz