How to Illuminate Text and Logos Using the Glowing Effects in After Effect

If you’re looking to make your visuals pop with an extra layer of brilliance, the glowing effects in Adobe After Effects are a fantastic tool. This effect is great for highlighting specific elements and creating a polished and professional look. Even if you’re new to After Effects, applying a glow is straightforward with the right steps.

In this guide, we'll walk you through each step needed to create stunning glowing effects in After Effects, from setting up your project to applying the right adjustments.

An overview of glowing effects in After Effect

Glowing effects in After Effects add light and emphasis to visual elements, creating a bright aura around text, shapes, or images. This effect is adjustable, with options to control intensity, color, and spread, which helps enhance specific elements within a composition. Commonly achieved using the Glow effect, it’s ideal for creating a vibrant, eye-catching look that draws viewer attention and is often used in title sequences, logos, or animated highlights.

5 effective tools to make glowing lines in After Effect

To create glowing lines in After Effects, there are several powerful tools to help you achieve the perfect look. Here are five effective options you can use to get started:

• Glow effect
• The real glow in After Effects is a built-in tool that applies a soft glow around your object or line. Adjusting parameters like threshold, radius, and intensity can give the glow a subtle or dramatic feel, which makes it versatile for text or shape animations.
• CC light rays
• CC Light Rays adds a radiant, spotlight effect from a designated source for creating glowing lines that appear to shine outward. Adjusting the source point and ray intensity can help you achieve dramatic lighting effects to add depth and impact.
• Stroke effect
• The Stroke effect is useful for applying color and glow to paths or shapes that let you trace specific lines with an added glow. Customizing the brush size and opacity makes this effect adaptable for both subtle and bold glowing lines in your compositions.
• Particle systems
• Particle systems enable you to create moving particles that give a glow effect to paths or lines. This tool is particularly effective for adding a dynamic, animated glow to lines that resemble sparkles, smoke, or trails to enhance movement and vibrancy.
• Shape layers
• Shape layers let you draw lines and apply glow effects directly, ideal for creating custom, glowing paths. By layering shapes and adjusting properties like opacity and blend modes, you can create complex glowing lines with precision and control.

How to make logos pop with outer glow in After Effect

To create glowing text with the "Outer Glow" effect in After Effects, you can use the built-in Layer Style settings to achieve a bright, eye-catching glow. This method enables you to create vivid neon-like text that stands out and is perfect for animated titles or stylish visual effects. You can adjust the glow intensities, colors, and blending modes to match your project’s theme. Below is a breakdown of the process.

Here’s a simple guide to applying After Effects glowing light around the logo:

Step
1. Import your Logo
2. Start by importing your logo file into After Effects and adding it to the timeline.
Step
3. Apply the outer glow effect
4. Go to the "Layer Tab" > "Layer Style" > "Outer Glow." Once you select it, the glow will appear around the text. Customize the "Size", "Spread", and "Opacity" in the "Outer Glow" options to get the right intensity and color for the effect.
Step
5. Adjust glow settings
6. Fine-tune the glow by adjusting the "Blend Mode," "Opacity," and "Noise" to enhance the look. Changing the color can also help to match your text to your project’s theme. Experiment with various settings to achieve a unique edge glow in After Effects.
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How to make glowing texts in After Effect

Creating glowing text in After Effects adds depth and realism to your designs. This effect mimics neon or illuminated signage and makes text appear as though it’s radiating light. Whether you're designing titles, intros, or animated text overlays, the glow effect adds depth and enhances visual appeal. With After Effects’ customizable settings, you can adjust the intensity, color, and animation of the glow to fit the mood of your project perfectly.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating glowing text in After Effects:

Step
1. Add text and apply drop shadow effect
2. Add your desired text using the "Type Tool", and align it to the center of the composition for a balanced layout. Then, go to "Effect" > "Perspective" > "Drop Shadow", select your glow color (like blue), and set the softness to 20 for a subtle glow.
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Step
4. Duplicate and enhance the effect
5. Duplicate the drop shadow via "Edit" > "Duplicate", then increase the softness to 80 on the duplicate to create a more intense glow.
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Step
7. Add glow and adjust settings
8. Apply "Effect" > "Stylize" > "Glow", set the glow intensity to 2, and use matching A and B colors. Duplicate the glow effect to raise the glow radius to 90 and set the global threshold to 75%.
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Step
10. Refine and animate with blur and wiggle

Apply CC radial blur from "Effect" > "Blur & Sharpen", setting it to "Centered Zoom" with an amount of 10. Use the wiggle(2, 5) expression on the amount property and paste it on the "Glow Radius" with a second value of 50 for flickering animation.



Bonus tip: Make your text glow with the CapCut desktop video editor

If you want to create glowing text effects but prefer an easier tool, the CapCut desktop video editor is a great option. It features pre-designed text effects, including glow, which can be customized with a few clicks. You can tweak brightness, colors, and opacity to give your text the exact glow you envision. CapCut also supports easy animation, which makes it a great tool for quick, professional results without the steep learning curve.



Key features

• Glow text with AI font generator
• CapCut’s AI font generator helps create glowing text effects quickly to save time by automating font selection for professional-looking designs.
• Pre-made glowing text templates
• You can add text to the video on CapCut. It provides a variety of glowing text templates that allow quick customization and help users design eye-catching visuals without starting from scratch.
• Adjustable text glow intensity
• Users can fine-tune the intensity of glow and spread to fit their project's aesthetic to ensure the text stands out just the way they want.
• Choose from a range of fonts
• CapCut provides a large collection of fonts that give you the flexibility to match your text with the theme and style of your video content.

How to add glowing texts and logos to videos in CapCut

To make your text glow, download the CapCut desktop video editor using the button below. Then, proceed with the instructions to complete the software installation. After installation, sign up by creating an account with your Google, Facebook, or TikTok credentials.

Step
1. Upload the video
2. Open the Capcut desktop video editor and create a new project from the main interface. Then, click "Import" to upload the video from your device.
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Step
4. Add text and apply the glow effect
5. Navigate to the "Text" section and add text to your video. Then, on the right side, under the "Basic" section, scroll through the customizable options and click on "Glow" to create radiating text. Adjust the intensity and range to enhance the glow effect and position your text wherever you want in the video. You can also apply various text effects, add a text shadow, and customize the text by changing its color and font.
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Step
7. Add logo to videos
8. Aside from glowing text, if you want to add a glowing logo to your project, you can create your desired logo within CapCut. To create a logo, go to the top left toolbar and select "Sticker." Click on the "AI generated" option, then describe your logo and choose a style, with options like Cartoon, Stroke, 3D, Pixel, and Crayon. Next, click "Generate." CapCut will create four logo options for you to choose from. Simply drag your chosen logo and add it to your video. You can also download them to use them in your projects.
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Step
10. Export and share
11. After finalizing your project, click the "Export" button. Set options like quality, frame rate, and codec to achieve the best output. Then, save your project or share it directly on YouTube or TikTok.
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Conclusion

In conclusion, adding a deep glow in After Effects can bring dynamic and eye-catching elements that capture attention. Following the steps outlined in the above guide, you can easily create stunning glowing text that enhances your visual storytelling.

For users seeking an easier way to achieve glowing text, the CapCut desktop video editor provides a practical alternative. With AI-powered font generation, pre-made text templates, and adjustable glow settings, CapCut streamlines the creative process.

FAQs

1. How can I download glow effects for After Effects online?
2. You can download Adobe After Effects glow effects from online resources like Motion Array, Video Copilot, and Envato Elements. These sites provide free and premium glow effects that can be imported into After Effects to add extra polish to your projects. For an alternative, try the CapCut desktop video editor, which includes pre-built glowing text templates and customizable text effects that make creating glowing visuals quick and easy.
3. How to add glow-around objects in After Effects?
4. To add glow in After Effects, select the layer you want to apply it to, then go to "Effect" > "Stylize" > "Glow". Customize the glow settings, such as "Glow Radius" and "Glow Intensity," to control the glow around the edges of your chosen object. If you want to add glowing text to your video projects, you can use the CapCut desktop video editor. It provides various glowing text effects and text customization tools to help you create striking visuals without complexity.
5. How to control the intensity of the glow in Adobe After Effects?
6. Adjusting glow intensity in After Effects is done by selecting the glow effect on your layer and modifying the "Glow Intensity slider." You can also experiment with "Glow Radius" for broader effects or "Glow Colors" for varied tones. If you're looking for a simpler method, consider using the CapCut desktop video editor, which includes options for adjusting glow intensity, plus additional tools like text effects and an AI font generator to create glowing effects.