Make a Meteoric Composition with Stellar Light Effects

Abstract depiction of a glowing red object with streaks suggesting high-speed motion or an explosion, set against a starry background.

16 min. read
Trevin Shirey

VP of Marketing
Trevin serves as the VP of Marketing at WebFX. He has worked on over 450 marketing campaigns and has been building websites for over 25 years. His work has been featured by Search Engine Land, USA Today, Fast Company and Inc.

Preview

You may click on the image below to see the full scale of the image we will build.

Tutorial Resources

Stock Image: Microsoft SideWinder X8 Mouse
Stock Image: Dark Render

Step 1: Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

Our background will be pitch black with stars dotting it. There are many ways to create stars and you could make them using other software — even Photoshop — but the advantage of doing this in Cinema 4D is the speed in which you are able to create them.

Note: If you don’t want to do this part or if you don’t have access to Cinema 4D, that’s fine, it will not affect the rest of the tutorial. Just use a plain black background and skip to Step 3.

In Cinema 4D, create a sphere.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

In the right panel (Attributes tab), change the number of segments.

I set the number to 50, but feel free to experiment with this value.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

Next, add an Explosion modifier that will scatter the sphere.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

Drag and drop the Explosion modifier onto sphere.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

In the Attributes tab for the Explosion modifier, change the Strength. I set it to 77%, but again, feel free to experiment with this value.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

If you want more stars, just copy and paste and then rotate using the Rotate Tool to add randomness and variations in your stars. You can also change the perspective by pressing Alt + click, and then move the mouse to modify the angle.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

Time to render our stars; go to Render > Render Settings.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

Personally, I always do big renders because you can always reduce the size later.

Remember though that the bigger it is, the longer it will take to render depending on your computer’s capabilities. You can see the settings of my render below.

Create the Stars in Cinema 4D

To render, just press Shift + R.

Step 2: Open and Tweak the Stars in Photoshop

Now we need to move our stars into Photoshop. Open the rendered file in Photoshop.

Open and Tweak the Star Render in Photoshop

Let us make the stars more vivid by adding a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer.

You can add an adjustment layer in Photoshop by clicking on the layer you want to add it on, and then clicking on the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon (it looks like a circle which is half filled with black and half filled with white) at the bottom of the Layers Panel.

When you click the icon, you will be presented with a menu; just select the fill or adjustment layer you want to add — in this case, we want to select Brightness/Contrast.

We will be adding several adjustment layers throughout this tutorial, and the process for adding them will be the same as above.

Just experiment with the Brightness/Contrast value until you arrive at something that you like.

Open and Tweak the Star Render in Photoshop

Step 3: Add the Subject into Photoshop

I used the Microsoft SideWinder X8 Mouse as the subject of our scene, which you can find in many places if you use Google Image search or a popular e-store such as Amazon or Newegg.

Alternatively, just pick a product that you would like to feature; the steps will be similar regardless of what subject you pick.

Add the Subject into Photoshop

Step 4: Convert the Subject into Black and White

Add a Gradient Map adjustment layer on the mouse to convert it to grayscale by choosing Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Gradient Map (this is another way of adding an adjustment layer). You have to use a black to white gradient.

Convert the Subject into Black and White

Step 5: Darken the Edges

Now we darken the edges of our subject using the Burn Tool (O) with soft paint brush tip.

Set up the Burn Tool’s other options in the Options Bar such that:

Range: Midtones
Exposure: 50%
Protect Tones is unchecked

Darken the Edges

Step 6: Brighten Up the Mouse Buttons

Now we will make the buttons a bit brighter; use Dodge Tool (O) with a soft paint brush for this part. Set up the Dodge Tool’s other options such that:

Range: Highlights
Exposure: 30%
Protect Tones is unchecked

Note: Duplicate the layer with the mouse on it because you’ll need it later.

Brighten Up the Mouse Buttons

Step 7: Erase Parts of the Subject

Now we will erase a few parts of the mouse to make it blend better with the starry background. Use the Eraser Tool (E) with a soft brush tip for this with the options:

Mode: Brush
Opacity: 30%
Flow: 100%

Erase Parts of the Subject

Step 8: Create a Smoke Effect

Duplicate the layer with the mouse on it again. We will modify this layer to become sort of like smoke that seems to steam out off our mouse. Go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd + T), which will show you transform controls bordering the mouse.

Right-click inside the borders of the transform controls, and then choose Warp in the menu that appears. Warp the mouse so that its front is pointing diagonally downwards.

Create a Smoke Effect

Go to Filter > Distort > Wave. At this stage, it all depends on the shape of the object and the resolution of graphics you used, so you have to play with the values until you get something that you are happy with.

Create a Smoke Effect

Next, blend this smoke effect layer with the original mouse layer.

You can do this using the Eraser Tool (E) and erasing parts of it so that it looks like it is seamless with the mouse.

Create a Smoke Effect

Step 9: Create a Light Source Under the Subject

We will add a simple light source under the mouse. We will just use the Brush Tool (B) with a soft white brush tip. Use the following options for the Brush Tool:

Mode: Normal
Opacity: 10%
Flow: 100%

Create a new layer that is below all of the mouse layers. On this new layer, just click once or twice to apply the brush stroke beneath our subject.

Create a Light Source under the Subject

Step 10: Create “Wiggly Worm” Shapes

We will create a sort of wiggly worm shape in this step. We will use this shape to create the light streaks emanating from our meteoric mouse.

Start by creating a series of shapes in the middle of our piece using your Brush Tool and a flat brush tip.

Create "Wiggly Worm" Shapes

Transform your brush strokes to make them tall and skinny using Free Transform (Ctrl/Cmd + T) — pull up and push in.

Create "Wiggly Worm" Shapes

Next, angle it diagonally by again using Free Transform.

Create "Wiggly Worm" Shapes

Now we want to give our shape a curve using Warp Transform.

Just Press Ctrl/Cmd + T to enter Free Transform mode again, right-click inside the transform control box, and choose Warp in the menu. Use the Warp transform controls to give the shape a curve in the middle.

Create "Wiggly Worm" Shapes

We will again use the Filter > Distort > Wave filter to finish our wiggly worm shape. Play around with the settings of the Wave filter so that the lines are not too thick.

Create "Wiggly Worm" Shapes

Step 11: Make Meteor Friction Lights

When a meteor speeds downwards because of gravitational pull, friction is caused around it, which in turn creates sparks.

We will give our subject this fiery light effect.

Use the Filter > Motion Blur filter on our wiggly worm shapes, angling the motion blur so that it is consistent with the direction that our mouse is heading.

Friction Lights

To add more light streaks, just duplicate this layer.

Friction Lights

Let us make some darker lights. Just duplicate the meteor lights layer and use Image > Adjustments > Invert to change the color of the copy.

Friction Lights

Step 12: Manual Painting of Lights

We will need to paint in some light streaks manually using the Brush Tool with a soft brush tip and these options:

Mode: Normal
Opacity: 10%
Flow: 100%
Color: #464646

Create a new layer for our manual brush strokes, setting the layer’s Blend Mode to Linear Dodge after you are done painting.

Manual Painting of Lights

Step 13: Fine-Tune the Scene with Adjustment Layers

On the first Gradient Map adjustment layer we created earlier, I added another Gradient Map adjustment layer using the Yellow, Violet, Orange, Blue gradient preset. I then set the adjustment layer’s Blend Mode to Linear Dodge and lowered the Opacity to 50%. This gives us some light intensity adjustments.

Fine-Tune the Scene with Adjustment Layers

Then I added a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer under the Gradient Map adjustment layer that we just created.

Fine-Tune the Scene with Adjustment Layers

And then, create another Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer, but this time, it should be on top of all three adjustment layers. On this adjustment layer, I added a layer mask and filled with black color.

I used the Brush Tool (B) with a white soft brush and painted parts of the light streaks that I wanted to be brighter.

Fine-Tune the Scene with Adjustment Layers

Step 15: Apply a Custom Render

I used a custom-made render (which you can download from the Tutorial Resources listings) to enhance the scene.

Apply a Custom Render

Add the dark render into your work then go to Edit > Transform > Warp to modify the render to your liking. Duplicate this layer as many times as you want.

Apply a Custom Render

Add a Brightness/Contrast adjustment layer on top of the renders to intensify the lights.

Apply a Custom Render

Step 16: Applying Colors and Color Adjustments

We now need to add colors to our piece.

Start by creating a new layer. Use the Brush Tool to paint red brush strokes (#fe0000) onto parts of the meteor mouse.