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This is the final image that we’ll be creating:
Open up a new document (600X500px) and create a new layer called ‘stars’. Then fill your whole canvas with black.
Then go to filter>noise>add noise. Set amount to 10%, distribution to ‘gaussian’, and tick ‘monochromatic’.
Now to make the noise effect left intense, and the ‘stars’ more pronounced go to image>adjustments>brightness/contrast. Reduce your brightness to -30 and increase your contrast to +50.
Paste in a desert landscape into the bottom of your canvas.
Use a medium sized soft eraser brush to erase away the sky part of your landscape, just leaving your rocky landscape. Then go to image>adjustments>hue/saturation. Reduce your saturation to -90 and your lightness to -20.
Paste in a photo of the moon into the bottom of your canvas. I cut out the photo from its original background using my circular marquee selection tool. Duplicate your moon layer and set the duplicate to ‘hard light’, then merge down (option+e), so that you have a single moon layer.
Now go to blending options for your moon layer and apply a pink color overlay (blend mode: overlay).
Now apply a white outer glow blending option to your moon layer.
Now go to your layers palette and option+click on your moon layer. This should select your moon shape. Then create a new layer called ‘moon gradient’ and drag a white to transparent gradient downwards. This should give the impression of light coming from behind the moon.
Now apply a gradient overlay (white to black), and a bevel effect. Settings for both of these effects are below.
Now go to filter>render>lens flare and apply a lens flare to your stars layer. This should appear beneath your moon layer.
Now draw out a triangle on a new top layer using your lasso tool. Fill it with a medium to light gray.
Now duplicate your layer and go to edit>transform>distort. Distort your duplicate so that your two triangles form a pyramid shape. Then go to image>adjustments>brightness/contrast and increase your brightness to +30. Then merge the two layers together.
Now duplicate your pyramid shape multiple times, altering the size and rotation of each duplicate to create a random effect.
Now reduce the opacity of some of the pyramid layers. Try to give an impression of depth by giving the small pyramid layers a lower opacity, implying that they are further away.
Now use your line tool to draw white lines between each of your pyramids. Then rasterize each line layer (layer>rasterize>layer) and merge all of your line layers together.
Reduce your merged lines layer’s opacity to 40% and then use a soft eraser brush at 30% opacity to erase away random parts of your lines.
Now grab your original moon photo and paste it into your image on a new top layer called ‘small moon’. Go to image>adjustments>desaturate to grayscale your moon, and then resize the moon to be very small (smaller than your pyramids). Duplicate this layer and dot tiny moons around your image. Then reduce the opacity of each of these small moon layers just as you did with your pyramid layers. Finally merge all of your small moon layers together.
I decide that I want to see darker shadows on my large moon, just to give more intensity to the overall piece. To do this I option+click on my moon layer in my layers palette and then create a new layer called ‘moon shadows’. I create a radial gradient inside my selection, ranging from transparent to black. Then I reduce this layer’s opacity to 75%.
Paste in a concrete texture as a new top layer. Then make sure that all of your pyramid layers are merged into one. Option click on this merged layer in your layers palette to select all of your pyramid shapes. Then select your concrete layer and go to layer>add layer mask>reveal selection. This will mean that you concrete texture is only visible where it overlaps your pyramids. Set your concrete texture layers blend mode to ‘linear burn’ and reduce it’s opacity to 50%. This should have given your pyramids a subtle concrete texture.
Now create a new layer called ‘light spots’. Use your radial gradient tool to create spots of light (ranging from white to transparent), that fit to your white lines. I reduced my layer’s opacity to 60% to make the lighting effect more subtle.
Now create a new layer called ‘color overlay’. Use a large, soft paintbrush and paint over your image with greens and pinks. Then change your layer’s blend mode to ‘soft light’. This should give your image a subtle coloring effect.
Now type out some retro text in the center of your canvas. Apply a bevel effect (settings shown below), and make your letters various shades of gray/white. Finally, reduce your text layer’s opacity to 70%.
To finish up, duplicate your text layer. Remove your bevel effect on the bottom layer of your two text layers, and instead apply a gradient overlay effect, ranging from pink to green.
Create a new top layer called ‘blurred lines’ and use your line tool to draw multiple lines over your text. To draw the lines at a perfect 45 degree angle simply hold shift as you draw them. Make sure that all of your lines are on a single layer, and then rasterize this layer and apply a gradient overlay ranging from green to pink.
Now apply a motion blur to your lines layer (angle 45 degrees, strength: 35). Then to make the effect more obvious duplicate this layer twice and merge all of these layers into one.
I really hope that you enjoyed this tutorial, and as always would really appreciate your comments.
Tom is the founder of PSDFAN. He loves writing tutorials, learning more about design and interacting with the community. On a more interesting note he can also play guitar hero drunk with his teeth.
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Beautiful tut tom!
Tweeting it now!
Woow amazing tut. keep up the great work as always! Thanks Tom.
Thanks a lot guys, appreciate the kind words.
Wow, Nice Tut !
Thanks Enk!
nice tutorial I like.. thanks..
Nice effect and colors
Thanks, I’m glad you liked it.
great tut! funny, i never thought before that monument valley would make for a nice space setting. It works so well though. Thanks
I really like this one, some great effects. Good work!
I really like this one, some great effects. Good work, many thanks
I like this one very much!!
I’m not soooo good in Photoshop,but I practice so much to do great things like that!
Thanks for the tut..i try to do it.- haha.-
Kisses and congratulations for the GREAT web site!!
Danii
GREAT!!
congrats!!!
I have to be honest, I’m not a huge fan of the final result, but the concept is brilliant, and the tutorial is equally good and easy to follow.. Thank you for sharing!
Wery nice tut!
Hey… It looks like there is an issue with the layout with the page. For some motive the textual content block is working in to the edge. I do not know if it is just me or are others reporting the exact same point? Just desired to allow you to know in situation you have been updating the web site.
Do you mean the layout of the actual blog? I haven’t heard any such issues from anyone, and we’ve tested on multiple browsers. Could you be a little more specific please?
the tut is really awesome but i m nt getting d lens flare option in d render(filter) option..cn u plz giv me a link where i cn download it fr free
nice?i like it very mush