Beautiful Space Environments

This tutorial will teach you how to make a reflective/metal planet with a nebulous clouds surrounding it. It can also be used to make shiny orbs or buttons. This is a lengthy tutorial so make sure to download the reference PSD file at the bottom of the page for reference.

Step 1 - The Base

Open up a new document in Photoshop and size it 500x500 pixels. Fill the background with a dark grey.

Step 2 - Custom Gradient

Create a new layer and name it "planet." Pick the gradient tool and go into the gradient editor. With "White" as your foreground and "Black" as your background, bring the white slider to 75%. Click on "OK" to continue.

Step 3a - Create the Planet

With your new gradient picked, create a circular selection in the middle of your "planet" layer. Fill it with the gradient dragging from the middle to the outer edge.

Step3b - Planet Shade

Create a new layer and name it "Shade." Load the planet selection by pressing "Ctrl + Click" on the "Planet" layer. Using the arrow keys or selection tool, move the empty selection straight up almost half way then fill it with black. (You should have a black circle covering half of your planet with a selection around it. Now, using the arrow keys, move the selection upwards one more time about 15-20 pixels or so, then hit "Delete" on your keyboard. This should delete most of the black circle, leaving a black, sideways moon shape as seen in the example above.

Deselect (ctrl+d), then with the "Shade" layer still active, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. I picked a setting of "12," but you can blur it as much as you like. After you blur the layer, with the "Shade" layer still active, "Ctrl + Click" on the "Planet" layer to load its selection. Then go to Select > Inverse to invert the selection. Hit "Delete" on your keyboard to clear the excessive shade around your planet.

Step 4a - Planet Color and Shadow

Create a new layer above the "Shade" layer and name it "Planet Color." Pick the brush tool, and size it to the same size as your planet with 0% hardness. At this time, decide on a two color combination. I will use a light blue (RGB: 0, 191, 243) and light pink (RGB: 236, 0, 140). Load the selection from your "planet" layer, set the "Planet Color" blending mode to "Overlay," then begin coloring your planet.

Step4b - Planet Color and Shadow

With the selection still intact, create a layer behind the "Planet" layer and name it "Planet Shadow." With the "Planet Shadow" layer active, fill the selection with black. Deselect, then go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Give it a minimal setting, I used "4." This creates your planet's shadow.

Step 5a - Planet Atmosphere

Create a new layer on top of all the others and name it "Planet Atmosphere." Reset your foreground and background to "Black" and "White," then go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Once the clouds are created, go to Filter > Sketch > Chrome and set it to your hearts content.

Step5b - Planet Atmosphere

Load the selection from the planet layer once again and invert the selection (Ctrl + Shift+ I). Hit delete to delete the excess clouds. Set the layer blending mode of your "Planet Atmosphere" layer to "Overlay" and lower the opacity to tone down the effect.

Step 6a - Clouds

At this time, fill your "background" layer with "black." Next, create a layer above the background layer and name it "Clouds." With "Black" and "White" as your foreground and background, go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Create a new layer above your "Clouds" layer and name it "Cloud Color." Set the blending mode to "Overlay" and begin to color the clouds using the two colors that you picked for your planet. Make sure your coloring associates with the reflective color pattern that you gave your Planet.

Step 6b - Clouds

After coloring, switch back to the "Clouds" layer, and start erasing with a big and soft brush to tone the effect down. After that, create a new layer above the "Cloud Color" layer and name it "Vignette." With "Black" as your foreground, using a big soft brush, paint around the edges of your canvas to create a Vignette.

Step 7 - Planet Glow

Make the "Planet" layer active. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Outer Glow. Change the glow color to "White" and the blending mode to "Overlay." The other settings are yours to play with. I like to add a little noise to get a more atmospheric effect, as well as keeping the opacity down so the effect isn't so overwhelming. Experiment with these settings.

Step 8a - Stars

Create a new layer over your background layer and name it "Stars." Pick the gradient tool with a "Foreground to Transparent" setting. Pick "White" as your foreground color and drag from the center to the edge of your canvas. Change the blend mode to "Dissolve" and lower the opacity way down to about 1-2%. Use the eraser tool to erase any unwanted stars.

Step 8b - Stars Glow

Create a new layer under the "Stars" layer, then with the "Stars" layer active, press "Ctrl + E" to merge that layer down into the new layer. This allows you to work with the "Stars" layer under a "Normal" blending mode. Next go to Layer > Layer Style > Outer Glow, and give your stars a small white glow.

Step 9a - Planet Ring

Create a new layer over everything else and name it "Ring." Using the Elliptical Selection tool, create an oval selection then go to Select > Transform Selection. Then rotate and size the selection like so.

Step9b - Planet Ring

Fill the selection with "White," then using the arrow keys, move the selection to the left and hit "Delete" to make a ring.

Step 10 - Ring Glow

Once again, with the "Ring" layer selected, to go Layer > Layer Style > Outer Glow and style it how you like. I continued the pattern with a "White" glow, blending mode set to "overlay," and a little Noise. Duplicate that layer and set the blending mode of the glow to "Color Dodge" to make the ring more intense. Play around with the glow settings for each layer to achieve hot spots on the ring, and use the eraser tool on the top layer to tone down anything that's too bright.

Final/Tips

Add some text and you're done. If you want a more intense effect, use the "Color Dodge" Blending mode instead of "Overlay." I messed around with some of my layers and layer styles to clean the image up a little, so experiment with this effect to achieve results to your liking.