How to add a glow to a Custom shape in Photoshop tutorial Beginner's Guide

By Andrew Buckle, Video Tutorial Creator / Designer

Updated : 2021

how to add a glow to custom shapes in Photoshop

How to add a glow to a custom shape in Photoshop. How to add a nice glow / glowing effect to behind a shape in Photoshop ?? Probably countless ways and tools that can be used.

You can use gradients to add a glow by adding a gradient behind the shape with white. You can use the camera raw filter to add a radial filter glow behind the custom shape in Photoshop. You can use the lighting filter to add a glow to the custom shape. You can add glow styles via the layer styles in Photoshop. This tutorial shows a number of methods of adding glows to the custom shapes in Photoshop

Go to the gradient tool in Photoshop toolbar
Click the gradient dropdown / presets picker
Set a stop in white on the far left
Set a stop in pink or red to the far right
Set gradient style to radial
Create a gradient extended beyond the image
Select custom shape tool
Select shape from presets picker
Apply shape

Using Camera raw filter as a great way to add a quick glow behind any shape design

camera glow and adding glow to Photoshop custom shape

Camera raw filter can be used to create a quick glow. Go to the background layer and then go to the filter menu and camera raw filter and select the radial filter (along the top bar of options for the filter) and click in the center(or behind where the item is) and drag outward to the edge of the document / preview

Set the feather option to 100 or so for the color and then set the exposure to and then tweak the temperature and tint settings as required.

Apply a red shape layer on pink background
Go to the background layer
Filter menu
Camera raw filter
Go to the radial filter (in camera raw filter)
Set color to the white
Set exposure of the radial filter to the max (or as required)
Feather set to 100%
Feather inside
Draw out a radial filter from the center to the edge
Click OK
Layer menu
Flatten

Use the lighting filter as another way to add a glow to any shapes in Photoshop

Go to the background layer and filter menu and render and lighting. Move the center of the lighting effect to behind the shape. If there are more than one or so lights you may wish to set the filter back to the default via the presets in the filter. You can then scale width and the hotspot angle to give more of less of a glow behind the shape

Create shape as a layer
Go to the background layer
Set the background color by an edit / fill or gradient etc
Filter menu in Photoshop
Render
Lighting Effects
Set to a preset via the presets dropdown
Select soft omni
Move the center of the point behind the shape
Change the intensity of the glow etc
Change gloss etc
OK

Of course, all kinds of variant lighting effects can be created depending on the background etc and the type of light etc

Glow style - use the layer styles panel to add glows to custom shapes etc in Photoshop

Select the artwork and then go to the layer menu and layer style and then select the outer glow option. Set the spread to 0. Set the size as large as possible. You can select the contour setting to create different glows but the basic default contour is generally fine for the glow.

You can find many different glow items on the site in our styles set

Edit menu and fill color background (pink etc)
Create a shape using the custom shape tool
Layer menu
Layer style
Outer glow
Set color option to white
Set spread to 0
Set size to large
Change the contour to create all kinds of different glows with the shape
OK

Using gradients to add a glow to any selected custom shape - gradients for many unique glow designs

gradient glow to Photoshop custom shapes

Select the shape (as a layer) and then go to the background layer and set the gradient first stop to white and set the last stop in the gradient to the color of the background or a dark color then set the type of the gradient to the radial and then set the origin point behind the art and then drag out to the edge of the document. You can also create a similar glow using gradient themed plugins available on the web as well as on this site

Edit menu and fill color background (pink etc)
Create a shape using the custom shape tool
Layer menu in Photoshop
Layer style
Outer glow style
Set color option to gradient
Click on gradient picker
Set a gradient to white (opacity stop 100%) far left and white (opacity stop 0%) at the far right
OK
Set spread to zero
Set size to the max
Change the contour to create all kinds of different glows with the shape
OK

Additional ideas for adding glows to custom shapes in Photoshop

gradient glow behind and above with shape in Photoshop You can apply the above once but you can also apply them more than once. You can use them in different colors or perhaps combine the effect with filters to add even more weird and wonderful distortions and warping to the generated light effect.

Or perhaps distort the underlying layer (unlock it first) to create a glow that is going off at an angle and not added straight behind the selected object.

Or perhaps add the glow and then turn it into a smart object and duplicate that layer and re-position and blend (such as using blending modes and opacity) to combine the generated lights.

Or place the gradient in different positions such as above instead of just behind