| Lab: Make a Planet |
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Follow these instructions to make the above scene.
The key to making a realistic looking planet is to find a detailed looking texture online. istockphoto.com is a great resource for cheap but professional looking photos.
Once you find one, load it into Photoshop. |
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The first thing to do is to double click the texture layer and rename it to "Planet".
Next we want to add a outer space background, so add a background layer, name it "bg", arrange the layer to the bottom and fill it with black.
Edit > Fill
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Then we want to give our planet a 3D look. To achieve this, Right Click on Windows or Option + Click on a Mac, on the "Planet" layer thumbnail and select "Select Pixels."
Next go to Filter > Distort > Spherize and boost the Amount to 100%. Then click OK to apply the filter. |
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Now it's time to add even more diemention by adding casting a large shadow on the dark side of the planet.
To do this, select a big, soft brush, with the foreground color set to black. Then create a new layer on top and name it "Shadow". Click a couple times near the bottom right corner to give it a shadow.
Finally, Control + Click on the "Planet" layer thumbnail to select the planet. Next, click on the "Shadow" layer and click the "Add Layer Mask" icon on the bottom of the layers pallet. You might not notice anything, but now we can add a glow that will go around the planet and not be interupted by the shadow. |
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Now it's time to give our Planet a glow. So, Right-Click on the "Planet" layer and choose "Blending Options".
Make the following changes shown in the three panels below... |
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Go to Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation and set the Saturation to -100.
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Next, I chose to add a bit of bluish green into the image to make it look like our own planet, just a bit.
Go to Image > Adjustments > Photo Filter and select Underwater and set the Density to 50% |
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Finally we will create an aura around in the space section. Here's where I suggest just keep playing around until you get the effect you like. It's best to just bring your planet to a new document so you don't mess up the original file.
Create a new document and fill it with black. Edit > Fill
Drag and drop the "Planet" and "Shadow" layers to the newly created document. It's probably easiest to select both layers and put them into a folder.
The aura effect can be achieved by selecting a foreground color, I chose blue, and a background color of white.
Then, in a new layer, go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Name this layer "Aura" and bring it to one layer above the Background layer. Also give this a layer mode of "Vivid Light" as seen below. |
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Then create a new layer "Gradient" and put it one behind "Aura". Use the same foreground color you just used to draw a Gradient of Foreground to Transparent. Lower the opacity to maybe around 30% or until it looks cool enough for you.
Finally, duplicate your planets, vary the size and color. Create semitransparent white dots in the background for stars and you can come up with something like this or better! |
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Feel free to email me what you come up with as a jpg and I'll post it to the gallery page.
Hope you enjoy!
Send feedback to designer@joegeringer.com |
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