Space Lighting Effects in 10 Steps - Photoshop Tutorial
Abduzeedo means abducted in portuguese, the spelling is not exactly that, it should be abduzido. But the whole idea for the Abduzeedo's design is the space. I'm really fan of playing with this subject because we are sort of free to create whatever we want, and using Photoshop that really means everything.
So in this Photoshop tutorial I will show you how to create a space scene with some nice Lighting Effects in 10 Steps.
Step 1
Create a new document, I'm using my computer screen's resolution (1440x900 pixels) so I can use it as a wallpaper later. Add a new Layer and fill it with any color then go to Layer>Layer Styles> Gradient Overlay. You can add a gradient layer as well, I simply prefer the Layer Styles.
Step 2 - Retro Colors
Create a new layer and fill it with white, then go to Filter>Render>Lighting Effects. Change the style to RGB lights. Use Negative 60 for the Intensity, Narrow 96 for the focus, and for the other options keep the same.
Step 3
Lets add some blur, go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur. Use 80 pixels for the Radius. The last thing here will be change the Blend Mode to Overlay. Doing that the RGB color will be hardly visible but later on with the other layers it will work ;)
Step 4 - Creating Stars
Creating Stars in Photoshop is something really easy. Create a new layer, fill it with black, and change the Blend Mode to Screen. After that go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Use 10% for the Amount, Gaussian for the Distribution and select Monochromatic. You will have a layer full of noise, then to create the start just change the levels of the layer, go to Image>Adjustment>Levels. For the Input Levels use 65, 1.00, 99. Doing that you will increase the black so just the bigger dots will appear, also you will increase the white, making the dots that appear brighter.
Step 5 - Nebula
Now that we have the stars and the colors and some colors lets create the Nebula. To do that create a new layer and go to Filter>Render>Clouds. Make sure that your color were black and white for the background and foreground. Then just add some Layer Styles to do that go to Layer>Layer Style. First over the Blending Options, change the Blend Mode to Overlay. After that select Gradient Overlay. use Overlay for the Blend Mode and for the colors use a Cyan, Green, Yellow, and Red. Also change the Angle to 130º and the Scale to 49%.
Step 6 - Lens flare
First, lets create a new layer and fill it with black, however, this time, add this layer in front of the background and beneath the other layers: (Stars and Nebula). Now go to Filter>Render>Lens Flare. This effect might be the most overused ever, like some people even say that using it you wil turn your design in an amateur piece. For me it's a nice filter and, if you use it right, it will give a nice touch to your image. For the settings use 100% Brightness and use 105mm Prime for the Lens Type.
Step 7 - Rays of Light
Now lets create the "A" of ray of lights. So create a new layer in front of the Lens Flare. Then select the Rectangular Marquee Tool (M) and create a rectangular selection like half of the height of the document. Use the image below for reference. After that select the Brush Tool (B). We will use a very big brush, 800px diameter and hardness 0%. Select white for the color and with just like a a bit of the brush inside the marquee (red circle) give a few clicks on the mouse button.
Step 8
Now it's just about duplicating, resizing and rotating. The tip here is convert the original ray of light layer to Smart Objects, so you will be able to resize and rotate in a non-destructive way. After you create the "A", change the blend mode of the elements to Screen and use 80% opacity.
Step 9 - Adjustments
Now lets just adjust some opacities, change the the RGB light opacity to 80% and you can move the gradient overlay to test different color combinations as well.
Conclusion
In this tutorial we've learned how to create a very cool light effect that we often see is some of the NoPattern designs. Of course this tutorial was just an example and now you can improve it and apply it to your needs.
Click on the image to View full size
Download the PSD File
Click here to download the Photoshop file for this tutorial
About author
My name is Fabio Sasso, I'm a graphic/web designer from Porto Alegre, Brazil and I'm the founder of Abduzeedo. I hope we can share lots of information, tips, and ideas through abduzeedo.
Thanks a lot for the comments... I will do a video tutorial showing how to create this effect... the lens flare is with a black background, sorry it was my mistake. If you have any questions send me an email.
Best ;)
Step 7 onwards is not so clear, any chance you could break it down further?
umm no one is answering the question about the filter>render>lighting effects.. someone please help me! when i go to filter>render it wont let me click on lighting effects. its not an option. what am i doing wrong!?
nice tutorial
jasmine celion
cool-hotstuff.blogspot.com
Thank You.
thx a lot :-)
here's my first try http://flickr.com/photos/monike_pop/2762984738/
This is very really nice tutorial, I like the color combination on this one. Thank you for sharing this tutorial.
"Step 6 - Lens flare
First, lets create a new layer and fill it with white" I think it is"fill it with black". Anyway, it's a cool tutorial!
How can i flat the image...and keep the leves you used in the "star" layer? 'cause when I want to flat the image, dont keep the same details.
By the way EXCELENT PAGE, and awsome work you do man..!!
axx
Dominican Republic Graphic Designer.
Awesome! Luv it!
Great tutorial, your colors are amazing
thanks for sharing
step 6
"First, lets create a new layer and fill it with white"
fill with black!
this is cool man! a few tweaks on the layer styles and suddenly your getting a new look! love it!
keep it up!
Great as usual fabio, I'll try this for sure
cool site and tutorial, thanks!!
see my result on http://www.bevi-star.ch/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/bevi-star.j...
i can't do the "filter>render>lighting effects"
it says "Could not complete the Lighting Effects Command because a requested property value could not be found."
someone help me?
Simply amazing...as a programmer trying to play around with Photoshop for quite some time, this is the first time EVER that I'm really impressed with the resulting effect from a tutorial. Great post, not only a great effect but also very easy to follow even for newbie designers like me. By the way, 90% of the quality tutorials I see around the internet today, come from this very site. It's really good to see brazilian design rocking the world :)
Abraços, e obrigado pelo grande trabalho que vocês tem feito!
i think theres something wrong with step 6
i solved it allready
hey great tutorial man
but i have a quistion
for some reason i cant you the Filter>Render>Lighting Effects.
maybe you know why??
thaks in advance
My result: http://maladapraia.deviantart.com/art/Tech-Cube-on-Space-89471630
Very nice tutorial!!!!
In step 6 the layer should be filled with black instead of white ;) Thanks for the great tutorial
wooooah i love it!! But i moved the stars to the front so there white and not coloured. Great tutorial, cheers! :D
[url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/15518052@N00/2590798361/[/url]
Thanks for the tutorial on this I created something different!
Hi, this is a great lesson about some special effects and about the interpretation of filters, you are the great!
This is my work:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlitosway85/2591275212/
Thanks
gr8 tutorial m8. Thanx 4 sharing.
i got a small but very smart tip...unless someone already mentioned it above... you hit on smart objects in step 8 but in step 6, when you create the black layer, covert it to a smart object, then do the lens flare. Doing this will allow you to reposition and alter the brightness and lens type as well as an independent blend mode (just like you can within layer styles). Its non-destructive and totally awesome to easily see where the lens flare looks the best.
by the way, this is an awesome tutorial, and i had no clue how to make stars before... thanks!!!
i figured it out!
to reposition the gradient layer style you click and drag where you want it to go when the layer style menu is open. (in cs3 it literally says "Click and drag to reposition gradient" at the top of the window) i was sweating that one out for a long time!
hah, great tutorial btw, it was fun and your directions are superb!
I'm also having a hard time with step 1 :)
I have my layer style set up like you do but I don't know how to chance where the center of the gradient is.
thanks
what if i want to print this image? it is RGB...can i do this effect in CMYK?
good job fabio,but after cloud effect i could't understand properly the point..........
can u please tel me how can u convert cloud filter effect to light efect(layer
v)...............
please help me,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
uhm... I couldn't make the lighting effect. It's not possible to click on it! :P
help? xD
Really easy and good effect.
I did: http://i.nreklam.com/nreklam-celebrity-wallpaper-pack/
Thanks abduzeedo. ;)
how did you put de radial gradient on the top of the image with de layer styles??? i always got it on center of document. sorry for my english.
this is awesome.. had the same issue with step 6 but eventually worked things up a bit differently. love it
yea you do use the cloud filter allot but every time its worth it.
Very very nice, I had an issue with step 6 also. When I filled with white it was wrong, but a black fill did the job very nicely.
Loved it
wonderful! terrible tutorial! thanks :)
LOL, Yeah clouds is my favorite filter... I've even asked the Pixelmator guys to add that filter to Pixelmator. Lets hope.... But it's indeed a very useful filter ;)
Love the tutorial, as always! I have to laugh, though - you sure do love the "Clouds" filter! ;)
Oh, I forgot the fill part on that step, I've changed the text and it was just fill the layer with white.
Thanks again ;) and feel free to show the results on the comments, like with the![]()
tag.
Wooow a really amazing tutorial, good job Fabio!
Brilliant Fabio!! i will try it right now
great tut!
...
er, but I seem to have a lame issue at step 6 (lens flare)...
would anyone be so kind as to provide the layer order w/ blending mode?
sorry!
;-))
my version on Flickr: http://flickr.com/photos/kylesteeddesign/2552054788/
abduzeedo
amazing tut...but step 6 you say create a new layer but what the color should be fill it... white or black!!?
I'll be trying this out. Nice one, Fabio.
I love the designs and tutorials based on lighting and the space it fills! great work!
The best explayned tutorial ever. im am basicaly a beginer and i love your work. keep it up. thanks again
nice tut. Keep up the good work!
wow, so cool, but would you, or anyone. Know how to make the first effect in the gimp? if not could someone provide a high quality png of the first rgb lights image?
Nice tutorial, Thanks!
YES! I was waiting for this! :D Excellent :P
Thank you!
U make my 'design life' easier.
:)
@Andrea Pelizzardi thanks a lot, I've corrected that mistake....
Thank you all for the commments ;)
Bueno, pues nada, desde latinoamerica te digo, este blog se ha convertido en mi biblia para diseñar, felicitaciones.
That just says that I love this blog and it has become into my design byble. thanks.
There's an error.
<<<
Step 3
Lets add some blur, go to Filter>Render>Gaussian Blur.
>>>
To go to Gaussian Blur, you must: Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur
Nice tutorial.
Nice lens flare !
Awesome! There are so many good lessons in this!
looks cool!
Thanks for the tutorial :D
Cool tut!! Thanx for sharing
Post new comment