This is a mix of other planet tutorials, but it has its uniqueness in how the map is created, and the lights on the night side of the planet. Hopefully you think it's a cool effect as well.
The end product here should look like this:
Okay, this is a tutorial to make a Terra planet (like earth) with lights. If you so desire, you can look at other space scape tutorials for things like nebulae or a star but this will only focus on making the actual planet. Okay, start with a black background and add noise.
Now, in a new layer, make a linear gradient with a blue and white (it doesn't really matter what shade of blue)
Easy enough so far. Now render > clouds: Choose your own roughness and scale, but you should set the blend mode to screen
This part requires a bit of work. Now you want to use the paint bucket at about 5-12%. Start in the middle with green, then work your way to the edges from green >different green > blue >different blue > white blue > white. You can make this pattern more or less simple with any colors that you want. You should end up close to this
This part may or may not take a long time for you. using Shape 3D you want to kind of eclipse your planet. You will have to mess with the x/y/z coordinates yourself, but this is what I used for the lighting (see image)and set the anti alias(AA) to 5.
http://i1113.photobu...rra%20tut/5.jpg
Now that we are finished with that, you need to make 3 new layers. 1 below your planet, 2 above. Select the area outside your planet with the magic wand tool
And in the layer above it, fill white on the outside of where the planet is and vice versa on the layer below. use a Gaussian blur (radius around 15) on both *while they are deselected*
After you have blurred them to satisfaction, select the outside of the planet again (in the planet layer) and delete the large amount of white in the layer above your planet.
Now, in the empty layer at the top you are going to make clouds (in black and white) make them however you want, and switch the blend mode to screen. Then in the layer properties, switch the blend mode to screen.
Now, use a linear gradient half clear, half black and make the clear side on the day side, dark side on the night side (which is covered in clouds, now) and merge it on top of the clouds.
Now, for the lights. this is pretty simple. in the darkest part (not the grey area) use the lasso tool and pretty much scribble with it until it looks satisfyingly messy. Then add noise inside the selected area at 0 saturation, 100 intesity and 4 coverage. Then [ctr+F] one or two times without deselecting.
Now, in the grey area do the same thing, but without using [ctr+F]
Now, you are done (unless you want to add things from other space scape tuts.) and when you deselect, hopefully it will look something like this:
Edited by noahintergalactic, 28 January 2012 - 08:23 PM.
