Fire Studios

This tutorial will you how to create a nice glow effect as well make it appear as if the glow is wrapping around an object.

Step 1

To begin this effect we'll need an object to wrap around, start by opening some image. I'll be using a picture of "The Cult" off of Deviant Art. Select your pen tool and have it set to "paths" (press "p" on the keyboard).

Step 2

Now take the pen tool and in a new layer create curves going around the object you want to wrap. In my instance it will be the guitar. If you don't know how to use the pen tool, I suggest you read some tutorials on that because it is one of the most useful tools in Photoshop.

Step 3

Grab the Brush Tool (press "b" on the keyboard) and select a hard(solid) round brush with a size of about 6px (depending on the size of your picture) and set the color to white. Switch back over to the Pen Tool and right click (Mac: ctrl+click) and select "stroke line". Check the "simulate pressure" box and press OK.

If you don't like your result, press CRTL+Z and adjust your path. When your happy with your results, right click (Mac: CTRL+click) and select "Delete Path".

Step 4

Open the Layer Style Pallet for your stroked line layer and apply the below settings. This is only for my image, play around with the blend mode and color to achieve different effects.

You should end you with something like the following.

Step 5

Next we're going to alter the complete color structure of the image. Go to Image >> Adjustments >> Curves (or CTRL+M). Now select the main color of the color you used for the glow (in my case blue). Click and drag on the graph until you get a result you like.

Here's my image thus far.

Step 6

To create the wrapping effect, we need to create a layer mask on the glow layer (Layer >> Layer Mask >> Reveal All). Now select the Polygonal Lasso Tool and create an over a part of the glow you wish to hide. After closing the selection, grab the Paint Bucket Tool and ,in the layer mask, fill the selection with black. This will hide that area of the glow from view. Repeat until the wrap is complete.

Conclusion

I really like this simple effect, it helps bring depth and excitement to a picture, and with only a few alterations to the Layer Style, a whole new effect can be created, so go experiment! This tutorial took me 45 minutes to type and 3 minutes for you to achieve the same the same effect.