Make a Vaporwave Sunset Billboard

Billboards are wide and short. Open Lopsy. When the New Document dialog appears, type 1800 for Width and 600 for Height, then click Create. That's a 3:1 canvas, close to a real roadside bulletin board.

Click Add Layer in the Layers panel and rename the new layer Sky by double-clicking its name. Pick the Gradient tool, then click Advanced… to open the Gradient Editor.

Click the gradient bar to add stops, and enter these hex values from left to right:

1. #120A3A (deep indigo)
2. #6A1D8F at about 45%
3. #FF3D8B at about 76%
4. #FFB36B (peach)

Click Done.

Drag from the top edge of the canvas straight down to about y = 400, where the horizon will sit. Hold Cmd while you drag to snap the angle to a perfect vertical.

Add a layer named Sun. With the Elliptical Marquee, drag a 420 px circle on the right-hand side of the canvas, from about (1040, 120) to (1460, 540).

Open the Gradient Editor again, delete one stop, and set the rest to #FFF59A, #FFA53D and #FF2E97. Drag a vertical gradient inside the selection. Only the circle is filled.

Press Cmd+D to deselect, then press M for the Rectangular Marquee. Drag a thin horizontal band across the lower half of the sun and press Delete. Repeat about seven times, making each band a little thicker and the gaps a little wider as you go down. That's the classic 80s sunset look.

Finally, open the Sun layer's Layer Effects (the sparkle icon) and turn on Outer Glow in #FF4FB0, Size 70.

Add a Floor layer. Marquee everything below y = 440 and fill it with a dark gradient from #3A0A5E to #07011A.

Add a Grid Lines layer. Pick the Brush with Size 3, Hardness 100 and color #FF4DF0. Draw straight lines fanning out from a vanishing point under the sun to the bottom edge. Then draw horizontal lines that get farther apart as they come toward the viewer.

Give the layer an Outer Glow in #FF2BD6, Size 14. For depth, use the Eraser at 45% opacity to soften the crowded lines at the horizon.

Add a Palm layer and set the color to #1A0432. Paint a slightly curved trunk with a Size 18 brush. For the fronds, raise Fade to about 150 so each stroke tapers to a point, then sweep arcs out and down from the top of the trunk.

Click Duplicate Layer, then click the copy's row. Marquee around the palm, press V for Move, and drag the copy to the other side of the sun. Drag a corner handle while holding Cmd to scale it down evenly, then press Enter to commit.

Select both palms and choose Layer → Group Layers. You can then move them together by selecting the group and dragging.

Add a Sign Board layer. Press U for the Shape tool, choose Polygon with Sides 4 and Corner Radius 26, set the Fill to #150430 and add a Stroke. Drag the board out on the left side of the canvas.

On a new layer above it, draw a simple flamingo with a Size 7 brush in #FFE6F7: an oval body, an S-curved neck, a hooked beak, and one straight leg with the other tucked up like a 4. Give it an Outer Glow in #FF1FB4, Size 26, and a thin pink Inner Glow. The pale core with a hot glow is what makes it read as neon tubing.

Press T for the Text tool. Choose the Mr Dafoe font, Size 200, color #FF4FA8. Click in empty sky and type Flamingo, then press Tab to commit.

In Layer Effects, add a white Stroke (Width 5) and a hard cyan Drop Shadow (#26D9FF, offset 9/9, Blur 0). The offset shadow is a signature synthwave detail.

Script titles look livelier with a slight upward tilt. Marquee around the headline, switch to Move, and drag a round rotation handle (just outside a corner) about 6° counterclockwise. Press Enter, then Cmd+D.

Drag the headline so it sits centered over the sun. Then type HOTEL in Bungee at Size 96 in white. In the Text panel, set Letter spacing to 36. Center it under the script.

Add a dark Drop Shadow (#2A0845, offset 7, Blur 0) and a cyan Outer Glow (#00E5FF). Solid white letters stay readable from a moving car in a way thin outlined type can't.

Japanese text is a staple of the style. Choose Dela Gothic One, Size 30, color #FFE36B, and click the Vertical text toggle (the stacked A over B) in the options bar. Click beside the sign and paste フラミンゴ・ホテル.

To change just the frame's color, select the Sign Board layer, press W for the Magic Wand, and click the frame. Set the foreground color to #FF4FD8 and choose Edit → Fill. Add an Outer Glow to the board and give the OPEN text a red Color Overlay and glow so it reads like a vacancy light.

Billboards need a short call to action. Marquee a strip across the bottom 52 px, fill it with near-black, and set the layer's opacity to about 80%.

Type a short tagline in Space Mono Bold at Size 34, color #FFE66D, with letter spacing 8. Click the top ruler to drop a vertical guide at x = 900, and center the text on it with the Move tool. Keep it to three items. Nobody reads six items at highway speed.

Press Cmd+A, then Cmd+Shift+C (Copy Merged) and Cmd+V, and name the layer VHS FX. Marquee just the floor, apply Filter → Chromatic Aberration at Amount 2, deselect, and apply Add Noise at 5 (Mono) for grain.

For an overall glow, repeat Copy Merged and Paste into a new Glow layer. Apply Gaussian Blur with Radius 14, set its blend mode to Screen, and drop its opacity to about 35%.

Choose File → Quick Export PNG to save the image, and File → Save Project to keep an editable .lopsy file with all your layers. For more glowing type, try Make a Neon Glow Text Effect.