[Eamon]

no problem good luck 🙂

ESP Team

[Eamon]

1. Create the shape of the neon sign first. Either by using an existant font or freehand draw it.
2. Double click the layer in the layer window. Be sure to double click to the right of the name someplace. This brings up the Style settings for that particular layer.
3. Adjust the layer’s fill opacity to 0%
4. Add a Bevel to the sign by clicking the checkbox. You want to make the shape look almost tubelike. By default your sign should look bubblish. Tweak the settings until it looks like a neon sign that is OFF.
5. Duplicate the layer (You can either click the layer and drag it onto the create new layer button in the layer window. Or you can just go to Layer -> Duplicate Layer..
6. You should remove all of the layer style settings at this point. Right click the layer style icon on the layer in the layer window (it looks like an F) and then go to Clear Layer Style.
7. Double click the layer again to bring up the Layer Style window.
8. Add a Color Overlay to the layer. Select the color you want the sign to be. I suggest using a bright primary color.
9. Add a Drop Shadow to the layer. By default it sets the layer settings to multiply. Switch this to either Normal or Color Dodge.

You should now have your on/off neon sign images. Save the file as a PSD and then import the file into After Effects as a composition. Open comp, set opacity keyframes for flicker effect then copy past flicker keyframes every couple seconds to taste.

That should get you up and running.

ESP Team