20 Fantastic Space Art Tutorials for Photoshop Users

When it comes to digital art, nothing is more awe-inspiring-- or unfortutely more intimidating-- than space-themed graphics. For the average person, the ability to create lush landscapes with beautiful nebulae, star dust, planets, and light effects may seem like a God-given talent at best or at worst, a long, difficult road filled with hours of frustration and hair-pulling.

If you're one of those people who's feeling discouraged about the presumed difficulty of creating space art, I have good news-- looks can be deceiving. Not only is it much easier to do than you think, even the most jaw-dropping, amazing artwork can be achieved by a beginner. That's not to say that it's a snap to create a masterpiece, but that provided you take the time to learn some fundamental concepts, master some important techniques, and get a feel for the workflow involved in creating space art, you can make decent looking artwork in no time.

With that being said, what's the best place you can turn to if you want to get started in digital space art creation? The internet, of course! Thanks to some great Photoshop masters, there are tons of tutorials and resources online that will teach you all you ever wanted or needed to know about creating space art. Below are what I consider the best ones, organized according to category and labeled according to skill level. Master these tutorials and before you know it, you'll be the space artist of your dreams.

TUTORIALS: STARFIELDS AND NEBULAE

Simple Stars- Beginner
The backbone of any space landscape is the starfield. This beginner's tutorial will show you one very quick and easy way to create one. Although the end result is pretty simple, it's a good primer to learning the basics of starfield creation.

Simple Starfield- Beginner
Like the "Simple Stars" tutorial, this is a basic approach to starfield creation, but using a slightly different method.

Creating an Interesting Starfield- Intermediate
In this tutorial, you're taught a more advanced way of creating a starfield, as well as how to use some commonplace filters and layer styles to populate it with nebulae.

Dramatic Nebulae-Expert
Rather than relying solely on filters, this tutorial teaches you how to create dramatic, cloudlike nebulae using brush tools. Warning-- it's definitely not for the faint-hearted, as it's quite detailed and relies heavily on traditional painting skills.

TUTORIALS: PLANETS

Planet and Space- Beginner
This is a primer showing you the basics of whipping up a basic landscape containing a starfield, planets, and nebulae. The finished artwork is pretty generic, but this is done purposely, as the point of the tutorial isn't to create a masterpiece, but to teach you the foundations of space art.

Photoshop Space and Planet Scene- Intermediate
Similar to the previous tutorial, this is more of a primer to create a space landscape, but it goes a step further with more details and color.

Planet- Beginner
Learn the basics of planet creation with this short but sweet tutorial aimed towards Photoshop beginners.

Make a Planet- Intermediate
In this lesson, you'll be taught how to make a Venus-like planet using brushes, filters, and layer styles.

Planet Tutorial- Intermediate
This is an intermediate tutorial similar to the previous one, this time teaching users how to create a beautiful blue-hued planet steeped in shadow and covered in a thin layer of atmosphere.

Gas Giant- Intermediate
As the name suggests, this tutorial demonstrates how to create a Jupiter-like planet with striped clouds and whorls.

Land Planet- Intermediate
Most tutorials seem keen on recreating planets that look very similar to Mars, Venus, and Neptune. Here is one of the few to create an Earth-like planet, complete with discernible land masses, water, and white, fluffy clouds.

Planet Rings- Intermediate
If you'd like to create Saturn-like planets, this tutorial will teach you how to make rings.

TUTORIALS: SUNS AND EXPLODING PLANETS

Sun- Beginner
Learn how to make the sun in all its glowing and sun-spotted glory with this handy tutorial.

Exploding Planet- Beginner
Render a planet about to explode with this tutorial using the 3D Transform tool and a few basic filters.

Exploding Planet 2- Beginner
Couldn't get enough of the previous "Exploding Planet" tutorial? Then learn how to do an even more impressive graphic of an exploding planet with this tutorial.

TUTORIALS: CELESTIAL BODIES

Asteroids- Intermediate
View this tutorial to learn how to make some realistic-looking asteroids in just a few steps.

Flaming Planetoid- Expert
As the name suggests, this tutorial will teach you how to create a comet-like object hurtling through space.

Galaxy- Intermediate
Create a highly detailed, beautiful galaxy with this tutorial.

TUTORIALS: LIGHTING EFFECT

Abstract Light- Beginner
This is a very basic, yet effective tutorial demonstrating how to create a burst of light rays.

Eclipse Effect- Expert
This outstanding tutorial will show you how to render a gorgeous lighting effect of a star emerging from behind a backlit planet.