The Lightning effect creates lightning bolts and other electrical visuals, including a Jacob’s Ladder result (as seen in old horror movies) between two specified points in a layer. This effect is automatically animated without keyframes or expressions.

This effect works with 8-bpc color.

Start Point, End Point

Where the lightning begins and ends.

Segments

The number of segments that form the main lightning bolt. Higher values produce more detail but reduce the smoothness of motion.

Amplitude

The size of undulations in the lightning bolt as a percentage of the layer width.

Detail Level, Detail Amplitude

How much detail is added to the lightning bolt and any branches. For Detail Level, typical values are between 2 and 3. For Detail Amplitude, a typical value is 0.3. Higher values for either control are best for still images but tend to obscure animation.

Branching

The amount of branching (forking) that appears at the ends of bolt segments. A value of 0 produces no branching; a value of 1.0 produces branching at every segment.

Rebranching

The amount of branching from branches. Higher values produce treelike lightning bolts.

Branch Angle

The angle between a branch and the main lightning bolt.

Branch Seg. Length

The length of each branch segment as a fraction of the average length of the segments in the lightning bolt.

Branch Segments

The maximum number of segments for each branch. To produce long branches, specify higher values for both Branch Seg. Length and Branch Segments.

Branch Width

The average width of each branch as a fraction of the width of the lightning bolt.

Speed

How fast the lightning bolt undulates.

Stability

How closely the lightning follows the line defined by the start and end points. Lower values keep the lightning bolt close to the line; higher values create significant bouncing. Use Stability with Pull Force to simulate a Jacob’s Ladder effect and cause the lightning bolt to snap back to a position along the start line after it has been pulled in the Pull Force direction. A Stability value that is too low doesn’t allow the lightning to be stretched into an arc before it snaps back; a value that is too high lets the lightning bolt bounce around.

Fixed Endpoint

Determines whether the end point of the lightning bolt remains fixed in place. If this control isn’t selected, the end of the bolt undulates around the end point.

Width, Width Variation

The width of the main lightning bolt and how much the width of different segments can vary. Width changes are randomized. A value of 0 produces no width changes; a value of 1 produces the maximum width changes.

Core Width

The width of the inner glow, as specified by the Inside Color value. Core Width is relative to the total width of the lightning bolt.

Outside Color, Inside Color

The colors used for the lightning bolt’s outer and inner glows. Because the Lightning effect adds these colors on top of existing colors in the composition, primary colors often produce the best results. Bright colors often become much lighter, sometimes becoming white, depending on the brightness of colors beneath.

Pull Force, Pull Direction

The strength and direction of a force that pulls the lightning bolt. Use the Pull Force value with the Stability value to create a Jacob’s Ladder appearance.

Random Seed

An input value for the random noise generator that is the basis of the Lightning effect. If the random movement of the lightning interferes with another image or layer, enter a new value for Random Seed until you find one that works for you.

Blending Mode

The blending mode to use to composite the lightning on top of the original layer. These blending modes work identically to the ones in the Timeline panel.

Rerun At Each Frame

Regenerates the lightning at each frame. To make the lightning behave the same way at the same frame every time you run it, don’t select this option. Selecting this option increases rendering time.