New scalable vector graphic design done with Inkscape. Inkscape is a free and open-source alternative to Adobe's Illustrator.
Started off downloading a free font called Learning Curve.
I made some slight changes to the captital S to make it reflect my own handwriting. Also tweaked the spacing a bit before converting it to a vector path:
Customizing The Font:
Neon Color: Interpolation,Stroke, and Blur.
Creating the neon text design is relatively simple. You pick your neon color, and duplicate is as white. Then you interpolate between the two with 2 steps of text, and apply a thicker outline stroke that steps down for each color. Then you apply blur to the neon color at it's highest, and slightly lower on each of the other two while leaving white without a blur:
The Background:
For the background the key function is to create it as your neon color also, but then add a radial gradient of black on the outer edges and somewhere around 30% surrounding your text.
I ended up using a photograph of a brick wall that I took years ago, and adding that into the mix as a mask.
I spent a lot more time creating the non-lit version because I plan to sort of animate this with sound and effects in Kdenlive. It's just trial and error layering gradients about the pink and the brick mask.
If I wanted to take it even further I could have added the gas-tubes that join the letters in a real neon-sign, but for this case I don't think it was really necessary.
I'm pretty happy about the way it turned out though, let me know your thoughts.