Creating Starburst Glints of Light in Photoshop

Step 1

First thing we need to do is create a new document. I set my background to black so that I can see the white glint that we will prepare.

Create a new layer and choose the line tool (Hidden under the rectangle shape tool in the toolbox)

Choose 2 pixels and the draw pixel option from the options bar

Step 2

Set white as your foreground color and draw a short dash (A) Hold the Shift key to constrain the rotation to a horizontal line

Choose Filter>Blur>Motion Blur as shown in (B). Add enough distance to get a nice tapered look. Make sure the angle matches the angle of the line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Step 3

Duplicate the Layer with the dash on it

Press Ctrl (Windows) /Cmd (Mac) +T for free transform

Rotate the dash while holding down shift to constrain the rotation

 

 

 

 

 

Step 4

Choose both dash Layers and press Ctrl/Cmd+E to merge them (On version CS and earlier, choose the top layer and press Ctrl/Cmd+E to merge with the layer beneath) Careful not to merge with background

Duplicate the merged dash layer (Ctrl/Cmd+J)

Press Ctrl/Cmd+T for free transform Rotate 45 deg, grab a corner point and scale toward the center to make the new star smaller (hold down alt/option+shift to scale from center and constrain)

 

 

 

Step 5

You now have your starburst and you may be happy right here. For those of you who want to add a lens flare to the starburst continue...

Create a new Layer

Grab the elliptical marquee tool (circular selection tool)

Create a selection over the starburst

 

 

Step 6

Choose Edit>Stroke

Choose a 1 pixel white stroke

Deselect

Choose Filter>Blue>Gaussian Blur to soften the effect

 

Click ok and we're all done!

 

 

 

 

Step 7

Merge the layers together to use on your illustrations and photos.

Note: You can save them as a smart object in Photoshop CS2 and CS3.

Another option is to make a custom brush: Flatten the whole thing, choose Ctrl/Cmd+I to inverse and then make a selection around the starburst. Choose Edit>Define Custom Brush.

This is just one of the effects included on my Photoshop Secrets: Special FX video.

Enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Colin Smith is a best-selling author, trainer, and award-winning new-media designer who has caused a stir in the design community with his stunning photorealistic illustrations composed entirely in Photoshop. He is founder of the world’s most popular Photoshop resource site, PhotoshopCAFE.com, which boasts over three million visitors.
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