For the next steps we’re going to use Xara. If you don’t have Xara, you can do just about everything except the transparency in Draw. Some of our lightning bolts will be bigger and brighter than others. Experiment with different fills and outline colors. Generally an outline of about 1 Point that’s a shade or two darker than the bolt will soften the edge adding a more realistic diffused effect. The third example here uses a fountain fill from white to a rosy pink. The final example uses a Linear Transparency that fades into the direction of the origin.