Lightning bolts and laser beams

[SoLiTuDe]

...what software are you using?

[threehundredbpmshredder]

I'm using maya. Is maya the best for special effects like lasers and lightning bolts?

[jussing]

You can make laser bolts and lighning and other "magical glow things" in any pretty much any app. With lightning and laser it might be best to keep it 2D though, unless you for some reason need full 3D integration. Try After Effects, it's fast for simple glow things.

As for "how to do it", use any artistic skill you have to create the shape and animation of your object. Make a white core, plus a colored ADDITIVE glow around it. It's pretty simple. Do a prototype on a still in Photoshop before you move on to your real clip.

If you can't do it in Photoshop, you can't do it in any other app.
When you can do it in Photoshop, you can replicate the effect in almost any app.

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