FILTERiT 5: Live Neon

[ Index ] [ Live Effects in General ]

Live Neon creates a series of neon-like colors along a path. The object's stroke is replaced with the Live Neon effect, and the fill is discarded. Live Neon uses the object's fill color (highlight) and stroke color (base) to produce the effect.

Original object can be edited, and the effect will automatically update.
This effect is compatible with Illustrator’s “Action.”

NOTE: Depending on your PC, when selecting “Illustrator > View > GPU Preview” it may take a long time for drawing. In that case, change to “Illustrator > View > Preview on CPU.” You can turn on/off GPU Performance from Illustrator’s Preferences.

Example:

From sample file live_neon_01.ai
  1. Create a new document (set Units as Points) from “Illustrator > File > New…” menu.
  2. Select “Illustrator > Window > FILTERiT5 > Live Neon” menu. “FILTERiT5: Live Neon” panel will open.
  3. Type “FILTERiT5” and create text object on the document’s artboard. Set font style to Bold, font size as 72 pt, Fill Color to White, and Stroke Weight to 6 pt.
    The width of Neon is specified by Stroke Weight of Object. The gradient is done by Stroke Color and Fill Color of Object.
  4. Select the text object.
  5. From the panel menu (located on the upper right corner), select “Default Settings.”
  6. Click “Apply” button on the panel.
  7. Create a rectangle path behind the text object and set the fill color to black.
  8. Change text object on the artboard.
  9. Change settings on the panel by referring to the following paragraph.

Setting items:

Tracks
Tracks determines the number of highlight-colored bands that will appear within the Live Neon effect. The value can range from 1 to 1000.

Gradient Arc
The blend between the base and highlight colors for each band is set with the Gradient Arc slider. The three preset buttons are -100%, 0%, and 100%. At 0%, the two colors are blended smoothly; at -100%, the highlight color sharply tapers to the base color; at 100%, the bands of highlight color take precedence, blending more gradually to the base color.

Contrast
Contrast determines the ratio between the highlight and base colors. The value can range from 0% to 1000%. The higher the value, the more prominent the highlight color is relationship to the base color. Contrast values below 100% increase the amount of the base color visible through the highlight color.

Auto Stroke Styling [Recommended]
Use 'Cap: Round' 'Corner: Round Joint' as the style of the Stroke. Due to the nature of this effect, selecting this checkbox is recommended.

Auto Steps and Manual Steps
Live Neon allows you to specify the number of steps in the effect's blend by selecting Manual Steps. You can also allow Live Neon to determine the blending rate by choosing low, medium, or high Auto Steps.

TIP: The number of intermediary objects generated with the steps settings determines not only the smoothness of the blend, but also the complexity of the resulting gradient. Auto Steps (High) can generate hundreds of intermediary steps, resulting in a very complex gradient.

Offset
Offsetting Live Neon will appear to shift the effect within the stroke. The Offset percentage is in relationship to the width of the stroke; Angle determines the direction.

Light Emitting (Group Box)
Add luminescent band around Neon. The Width and Gradient Arc can be specified, and the color will be the same as neon.
“Width” controls the width of the luminescent band around the size of Neon (Stroke Width).
“Gradient Arc” specifies gradation curve for luminescent band by setting gradual mixture ratio between base color (Stroke Color) and transparency. There are 3 icons for set of curves : -100% (reversed arc), 0% (straight line), 100% (arc). Otherwise, it will be proportionally distributed the gradation curve.
“Contrast“ controls density difference of luminescent band graduation.

TIP: To make neon stands out, set “Contrast” to the small value or make adjustment depending on Gradient Arc and the background.

Shadow
The Shadow option is used to create lighting effects. You can choose the darkness of the shadow (Tint), the distance (Offset, from 0 to 4000 points, or the equivalent in the unit of measure specified in the Preferences), and the direction in which the shadow will fall (Light Angle).

Live Update
Updating the Artboard while you work can result in slow screen redraw times, especially when Live Neon is creating a high number of steps. Unchecking this option leaves the selected object unchanged until you click the Apply button. When checked, Live Update will automatically apply the Live Neon settings as you make changes.

Expand/Release/Apply
The Expand button creates individual objects from each of the intermediary steps created by Live Neon. The objects will be grouped. The Release button removes the Live Neon effect. The Apply button applies the current settings to selected objects.

Panel Menu
The Panel menu is accessed by clicking the icon in the upper right corner of the panel.
You can reset the panel setting to 'Default Settings' or name the current settings and save as the preset menu.
For how to use the preset menu, please refer to 'Preset Menu.’