Neon Shadow Effect

About

Neon Shadow Effect is a visual effect on TikTok and Instagram that creates a multi-colored neon outline over top of whatever you point the camera at. The filter went live on TikTok and Instagram in late October of 2020. Videos using the filter are largely collected under the hashtag #neonshadow.^[1]

Origin

On October 27th, 2020, TikToker neon.shadow.effect^[2] uploaded a series of videos demonstrating the Neon Shadow effect (examples shown below, left and right). These are some of the earliest known uses of the effect on the platform.

Spread

The filter grew in popularity over the next two weeks leading into November as TikTokers discovered new ways to use the filter. On November 3rd, 2020, YouTuber Jypsyvloggin uploaded a tutorial on how to access the effect to their YouTube page.^[3] On November 4th, TikToker niktakespics^[4] uploaded a video showing his tattoos off through the effect, garnering over 3.6 million views in 5 days (shown below, left). On November 6th, mayhemeagan^[5] uploaded a video demonstrating the effect on her dalmatian, garnering over 3.6 million views in 3 days (shown below, right).

On November 9th, TikTok created a promotional post for the Neon Shadow effect^[6] alongside adding the hashtag #NeonShadow to the trending page. As of the same date, videos under the hashtag #NeonShadow have garnered over 1 billion views.

Neon Shadow Art

One of the most popular uses of the filter has users apply it to videos of their artwork. On November 5th, 2020, TikToker euhoetus^[7] uploaded a video showing off his art through the effect, gaining over 190,000 views in 4 days (shown below, left). On the same day, nashvibes^[8] uploaded a video showcasing his art through the filter, gaining over 2.2 million views in the same span of time (shown below, right).

Neon Shadow Cars

Some TikTokers apply the filter to videos of their cars, particularly the dashboards. Two examples of this were uploaded on November 5th, 2020 from users speedy.350z^[9] and parradice392,^[10] garnering over 600,000 and 50,000 views respectively in 4 days (shown below, left and right).

Neon Shadow Tattoos

Another of the most popular uses for the effect sees TikTokers showcase their tattoos through it (examples shown below, left and right).^[11][12]

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References