How to make a nebula in Photoshop
Step 3Go to the Filter > Render > Lens Flare...
(like this)-----> There are three things you can play with here:
Your picture should look something like this:
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Step 8 (working with gradients)Remember, you can change this gradient as many times as you want later. Even after your whole picture is done, you can go back and change the gradient easily.
To change the color of your gradient, click in the box next to Gradient. (like the picture below) This will open a popup like the one to the right. -----> This is called the Gradient Editor. |
Now look at the colorful bar in the middle of the window.
UNDER this are some small squares. These are called Stops. They control the color of your gradient: what color, how much color, where color is... This is how stops work:
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To change the color of a Stop, either double click on the Stop
OR Click on a Stop, and click the box next to the word Color at the bottom. This will make the color picker appear, (like the picture below) and you can change colors around. Once you have chosen all the colors in your gradient, click OK in the Gradient Editor window. (This window ----->) |
Step 10Now that you have picked your gradient's color, you can chose which type of gradient you will have. As you change things, you can see what they look like instantly in your picture.
First, click on the menu next to the work Style: and the options below will appear. For this nebula, Linear or Radial will work best.
Next, try clicking in the circle next to the word Angle: and see what happens. You can also try changing the Scale or checking the Reverse box. Once you like what you have picked, click okay. Your picture should have a gradient, though it may not look at all like the one below. |
Step 11Now we will work with something called Blending Modes. These change the way one layer interacts with the layers below it.
First, make sure you are on your gradient layer. (like the picture to the right) Now click on the box that says Normal, this will open a drop down menu (like the one below). Choose Overlay. Now your picture will look like this:
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Step 14See how the stars are all colored though? We will fix this by clipping the color layers to the nebula.
When you hold down the Option key and put your mouse over the line between two layers, it changes into a box like the picture below: While it looks like this, click on the line and it will clip the layer to the one beneath it.
Hold the Option key and click on the line between the Gradient layer and Cloud layer. Like the picture to the top right. Now hold the Option key and click on the line between the Cloud layer and the nebula layer. It will look like the picture below. |
Step 15 (one last thing)This space picture is going to get crazy with so many layers, so we will keep things organized with Groups.
At the bottom of your Layers panel, click on the icon that looks like a folder. This will make a new Group, like the picture to the lower right. Double-click on Group 1, and change the name to nebula. (see picture below) Now, click on your gradient layer. Hold down the Shift key, and click on your lens flare layer.
This will select all of those layers. They will be highlighted in blue, like the picture below. Now click and drag any of those layers into the group. It will look like the picture below. See how the layers have moved right?
Finally, if you click on the small triangle to the left of your group name, it will collapse the group. This will help you to keep your layers organized.
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