Exploding Planet

This tutorial will show you in detailed step by step how to create a exploding planet. This tutorial may seem like its long, its not really that long, just that I including alot of screenshots for accuracy..

Start a new document 500x500 and fill the background with black. Then create a new layer. now go to Filter » Render » 3D Transform. On the "3D Transform" box, select the ROUND shape tool . and draw a shape on the canvas, look at my image below. Then use the trackball tool and rotate your shape so you get something like below Now click on the OPTIONS button (from above screenshot), change the Resolution and Anti-aliasing both to HIGH. Click ok, then click ok again to exit the 3D transform mode. Now you should have something like mine.

Now duplicate the 3D shape layer. (Right click on the layer and select Duplicate Layer). Now hide the top layer. Then go to Layer » Merge Visible ------ »

Now to create the ray of light effect, do the following steps. (we will not be working on the background layer, leave the top layer alone for now). 1. Go to Filter » Distort » Polar Co-ordinates: Set: Polar to Rectangular. 2. Image » Rotate Canvas » 90CW. 3. Filter » Stylize » Wind: Method: Wind. Direction: From the right 4. Image » Rotate Canvas » 90CCW 5. Filter » Distort » Polar Co-ordinates: Set Rectangular to Polar. Now you should have something like this.

Now go to Filter » Distort » Ocean Ripple. Ripple Size: 15. Ripple Maginitude: 6  Now use the eliptical marquee tool to make a selection of the image like I have below. (just inside the circle). Now go to Select » Inverse. then Select » Feather, and enter 5 Now go to Filter » Blur » Radial Blur, and set the following: Now you should have this:

Now go to: Filter » Sharpen » Unsharp Mask. and set: Amount: 500%. Radius: 5. Threshold: 35

Now make a selection like in the previous step (the step before the last), Inverse, Feather by 10. and then Radial Blur.

Now, we will work on the top layer. Click on the eye to un-hide it, and click on it to make it the working layer. Now go to Filter » Blur » Radial Blur. and just reapply the previous settings. Now go to Filter » Distort » Ocean Ripple: Set the Ripple size to 15, and Magintude to 20. Now set this layer's blending mode to: Difference. You should now have this:

Now click on the new Adjustment layer icon to create a new "Color Balance" layer. Now, for each of the options " Shadows, midtones and highlights, just move your color sliders to adjust the colors, play around and you can get some really cool colors. Alternatively, you can use the Hue/Saturation option instead.

Instead of setting the blending mode of the top layer to difference, play around with different modes to get different effects. Heres a few variations: Blending mode: Normal Blending mode: Linear Burn: To find out how the above one was made, download the PSD file, its easy. NOTE: theres a little illusion with the above image, try to just look at one spot on the planet, and keep your eye on there, and you will see that its moving.