Nature Effects: Aurora

Aurora borealis is a luminescence in the atmosphere. In ancient times flashes of cold fire were considered as words of gods, their fiery dance in the northern sky. The scientific explanation of appearing of these beautiful lights relates to the solar wind and Earth's magnetic field.

The aurora has different visual forms - stripes, rays, arcs, and twists through which we can see the stars. This atmospheric phenomenon, similar to long colorful curtains in the sky, may extend for thousands of kilometers from west to east. The lower edge of the aurora is usually sharp and clear, while the top edge is blurred. We always enjoy these spectacular shining views, continuously and rapidly changing, with the rich color spectrum.

Aurora Effect in AKVIS NatureArt

To define the location of the effect use the tools:

• Direction . Draw with the tool one or more base lines to choose the lower edge of the aurora. It's possible to rotate and move the lines, changing the position of the effect, with the Transform tool .
• Eraser . Click with the tool on any part of the line to remove it. You can change the tool's size in a pop-up window appearing with a right mouse click on the image.
  
  Base Lines and Effect Area
  

  
  

  
  

  
  Various Forms of the Aurora (with Deformation = 45)

Adjust the effect parameters in the Settings Panel:

• Colors. The color line with two sliders allows you to set colors of the aurora. The left edge of the line is responsible for the colors at the bottom of the glow, right - for the colors at the top.
  
  Red, Green and Blue Aurora

  
  Green and Blue Aurora
• Reverse Colors. The check-box reverses the order of colors.
  
  Normal Order of Colors

  
  Reversed Order of Colors
• Blend Mode. In the drop-down list, you can specify a method of mixing the image with the effect. The program provides 10 blend modes.
  
  Normal Mode

  
  Plus Mode

Glow Tab:

• Color Blending (0-100). The parameter changes the level of color blending. At low values there is a clear separation between the colors. Increase the parameter to smooth the transition and mix the colors.
  
  Color Blending = 7

  
  Color Blending = 90
• Lightness (0-100). The parameter defines the number of light tones.
  
  Lightness = 0

  
  Lightness = 90
• Opacity (0-100). The parameter regulates the transparency of the aurora and visibility of the background. At value = 100, the glow is opaque. At lower values, it becomes lighter and weaker.
  
  Opacity = 40

  
  Opacity = 75
• Glow Spots (0-100). The parameter adjusts the irregularity of brightness in different parts of the strip and adds bright and dark spots. At low values, the glow looks more uniform.
  
  Glow Spots = 0

  
  Glow Spots = 90
• Spot Size (10-100). The parameter changes the size of the bright areas in the glow.
  
  Spot Size = 25

  
  Spot Size = 60
• Blurring (0-100). The parameter lets stretching the glow spots in the horizontal direction making a uniform glowing strip.
  
  Blurring = 6

  
  Blurring = 60

Shape Tab:

• Height (10-100). The parameter sets the vertical size of the glow (in % of the image height).
  
  Height = 25

  
  Height = 75
• Uniformity (0-100). The parameter changes the uniformity of the aurora's structure. At low values, the surface is uneven. At high values, the glow looks smoother.
  
  Uniformity = 10

  
  Uniformity = 75
• Smooth Transition (10-100). The parameter adjusts the width of the transition zone at the edges of the effect area. The lower the value, the clearer the edges are.
  
  Smooth Transition = 15

  
  Smooth Transition = 80
• Deformation (0-100). The parameter adds random shifts and distortions to the aurora. Increasing the parameter can attenuate the glow or move it beyond the boundaries of the image.
  
  Deformation = 0

  
  Deformation = 65

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