![]() ![]() If you’d like to improve on it further, I’d suggest using a similar method to our shadow creation to create a atmospheric “halo” around the planet, setting up layer masks to get finer control over the nebula, and adjusting color saturations for a more cohesive look. Set color, size, and placement options as desired and click OK.Īnd now we’ve got a passable space scene created in just a few minutes. Then click Filters -> Light and Shadow -> Supernova. First create a new transparent layer called nova. To top off our image, we’ll use Gimp’s Supernova filter. Now just set the opacity on your nebula layer to the level you like from the Layers window. To make it look a little smoother, choose Filters -> Blur -> Motion Blur and set to an appropriate level for a smooth, cloudish look, probably at least 20. Select Randomize and hit OK.Ĭolors can be adjusted by opening Colors -> Color Balance. Now pick Filters -> Render -> Clouds -> Plasma. It will be big, so shrink it down with the Scale tool (Shift+T) to the size you like and place with the Move tool.įor a nebula effect, start by creating a new transparent “nebula” layer. Back in the star field canvas from the first section, choose File > Open as Layer and pick your planet file. Make sure you do not use JPG as it will not properly handle the transparency. Now save your planet image as planet.png. ![]() To drag our big black blurry shadow in to place, click the Move tool (or hit M) and drag the shadow wherever it looks good. I’m using a 2000×2000 texture, so with my image the blur had to be set to 500 to achieve the desired effect. Next, click Filters -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur. Use the bucket tool to fill this selection in with solid black.Ĭlick Layer -> Scale Layer and increase the shadow layer to about 150% of its current size. Drag a box from one corner of your image to the other, creating a circle roughly the same size as the planet. Then pick the Fuzzy Select tool (or hit U on the keyboard), click any white space, and hit the delete key.įor our shadow, create a new layer above the planet, and choose the Ellipse Tool (or hit E on the keyboard). To remove the white space, first right-click your planet layer and choose Add Alpha Channel. Some image types may leave a white background like in the example above. ![]() Choose Set Surroundings to Background Color and click OK. To make it look properly spherical, click Filters -> Light And Shadow -> Apply Lens. Just click the Crop tool (Shift+C) and drag a square box around the area you want to keep. Open your new texture in Gimp and use the Crop tool to make it an even square shape. Since we’ll be warping the texture with a lens to make it look better on a sphere, it’s very important you find a large, high resolution image even for a small planet. Creating a Planetįirst we’ll want a good looking high-resolution texture. Save and minimize the star field canvas for now, because we’ll be creating a new image for the planet. Set Flare Intensity to somewhere between. To improve the stars’ appearance, click Filters -> Light and Shadow -> Sparkle. In the first text box, enter a number from from about 220 to 240 to get a medium density star field. To thin out the dots, set your image zoom to 100%, then choose Colors -> Levels. We can always add in color later if desired. To remove color from the stars simply click Colors -> Desaturate -> OK. On the canvas window, go to Filters -> Noise -> Hurl. Under Advanced Options, choose Fill With: Foreground Color (black). At the minimum, you will want your image size to be your desktop resolution, such as 1024×768 or 1440×900. We will, of course, want to start with a layer of stars. ![]()
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