22 22 DIGITAL CAMERA DIGITAL CAMERA^ OCTOBER 2019 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com
he chances are we’re probably
not going to make it to space
in our lifetime to photograph
some undiscovered planets!
But you can still come up
with your own! This planet, believe it or
not, has been made from children’s
playdough and Photoshop trickery!
I used shop-bought playdough, but you
can make it yourself using warm water, salt,
flour and food colouring. I mixed three colours
together (and no, I didn’t tell the kids who
messed up their playdough!), then rolled
it out into a rough square. Don’t mix the
playdough too much, but rather look for
swirly patterns as you fold it. Once you are
happy, take a photo from a bird’s eye view
next to a large window for nice soft light.T
A world of
your own
Charlie Marshall uses
playdough and Photoshop
to create her own planet4 | PHOTOSHOP1
Make a circle
Open your image (or use mine on
the disc if you don’t want to shoot
your own). With the Elliptical Marquee Tool,
hold down Shift and draw a circle that fits
inside the boundaries of the playdough. Press
Ctrl/Cmd+C to copy the pixels in the circle,
add a new layer, and then press Ctrl/Cmd+V to
paste into a new layer. Add another layer, but
this time fill it with black (Edit > Fill... select
Black). Move this layer below the circle layer
you just made,
so the circle sits
in the middle.
(Reposition
to middle if
necessary.)2
Add a gradient
To give your planet a shadow, add
a new layer and go to the Gradient
Tool, selecting the Foreground To Transparent
option. Make black your foreground colour.
Draw a line from the bottom-right corner
towards the top-
left corner, and
release. If need be,
use the Move Tool
to get in position.
Now add a Layer
Mask and, using
a brush at around
50% Opacity,
sculpt and create
the 3D look.3
Add
some
stars
Once you’re happy
with the planet’s
shadow, press Ctrl/
Cmd+Alt+Shift+E to
merge all the layers
together into a new layer. Go to the Brush Tool.
Make sure White is selected as the foreground
colour at 100% opacity, and click small
brush dots around the planet. (Vary the dots
between 10 and 30 pixels in size.) Finally, add
a new layer, go to Edit > Fill... and select 50%
Gray. Change the Blending Mode to Overlay
and use the Burn Tool to soften the edge of
the planet, then make any final tweaks.