Spent way too long trying to get a simple glow effect right

I was working on a space scene in Procreate and wanted a soft glow around a planet. I must have tried ten different layer combos and brush settings over three hours before it looked right. What's your go-to method for adding light effects without it looking fake?

3 comments

3 Comments

rileym942mo ago

@faith_thomas is right, layering light is like learning any skill, you build it up slow.

faith_thomas2mo ago

Honestly, I used to just crank up a soft brush on a new layer and call it a day. It always looked so flat and wrong. What changed for me was using two glow layers, one set to screen and a softer one set to add, with the brush flow turned way down. You have to build it up slowly, like you're actually painting with light.

willowh202mo ago

My friend Leo spent three whole months trying to get a magic sword to look right in his drawings. He was just using one big soft brush on a screen layer and it always looked like a cheap plastic toy. He finally tried the two layer method, screen and add, with the flow at like 15 percent. The difference was crazy, it went from a glowing stick to something that actually looked hot. He said it clicked that light isn't just a color you slap on, it's a texture you have to layer.