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This lesson demonstrates how to create a star field.
My lesson Here demonstrates how to create a planet.
Undo and Navigation Steps
Two ways of undoing steps are from the top menu, Edit then Step Backwards. Alternatively, click a previous snapshot in the History Palette.
Navigate (zoom in and pan) your image using the Navigator Palette,
or the Zoom Tool. 
Activate The Hand Tool by tapping the Spacebar, keeping the Spacebar pressed, pan your image in the usual way. 
1/
Open a New document and set the following attributes. If you are planning to print this, set a Resolution of 300 Pixels/inch.
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Press your keyboard’s D key - this set the default Black and White Foreground and Background colours. Then press Alt then press your Backspace key. Your canvas will now be filled with solid black.
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From the top menu, choose Filter then choose Noise then choose Add Noise. In the subsequent Add Noise dialogue box, set the following attributes, then click OK.
Next time, for a personal star coverage - experiment with the Amount setting.
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Press Ctrl then L. In the subsequent Levels dialogue box, change just the following attributes, then click OK.
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Now, right-click your layer, and choose Duplicate Layer from the drop-down list. Working on the duplicated layer, from the top menu, choose Filter then choose Blur then choose Gaussian Blur. Set a Gaussian Blur Radius of 0.8, then click OK. Then change the duplicated layer’s Blend Mode from Normal, to Vivid Light. Alternatively, experiment with different Blend Modes.
 
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Create a new layer by dragging the duplicated layer over the following Create a new layer icon, and name the layer Clouds.
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Now, change the Background to a dark grey colour. 
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Then from the top menu, choose Filter then choose Render then choose Clouds, and change it’s Blend Mode to Screen.
 
Tip
If you don’t like the way the clouds have rendered, Step Backwards, and reapply them.
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Activate the Clouds layer, then fade the cloud’s density by reducing the
Opacity.
 
10/ Change the cloud colours - optional
To change the cloud colours, press Ctrl then U. In the subsequent Hue and Saturation dialogue box, click a dot into the Colourise box, and adjust the Saturation slider until you find a colour you like.
11/ Remove parts of the clouds - optional
To erase part of the clouds, activate the Eraser Tool.
Working on the Clouds layer, (using a Soft Round Brush, with an Opacity of around 40%), carefully thin out the clouds.
12/ More stars - white or coloured
To create individual stars, create a new layer at the top of your layer stack.
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Now, activate the Brush Tool, and set the Foreground to White - or the colour you want your stars to be. Then with a small, round/hard brush (1 or 2 pixels), randomly apply stars, making them slightly larger in places, to create a sense of depth. Tip: Fade your new stars with a Gaussian Blur filter, if you wish.
14/ Remove stars
To remove stars, activate the original (black) layer. 
Set the Foreground to Black, activate the Brush Tool, and with a small round brush, paint over the stars you wish to delete. Because the Foreground is set to black, you are disguising the stars by painting them black.
Play around with the settings I have mentioned - especially Blend Bodes and Noise Amount, and create a personalised star field.
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To finish, from the top menu, choose Layer then choose Flatten Image, then save your work
Wendi E M Scarth. Top of Page - Home.
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