How to Create a Starfield in Photoshop
Light pollution makes it difficult to see stars in major cities. As a result, photographs of nighttime skies tend to be black, starless, and dull. Manually adding stars to a photograph or to a handmade graphic can be time-consuming. However, Adobe's digital graphics editing software, Photoshop, includes a few techniques that make adding a starfield to an image much more streamlined.
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Instructions
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1
Select the paint bucket tool and fill a layer with solid black.
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2
Choose the "Filters" drop-down tab and select "Noise" and then "Add Noise." Use the options "10%," "Gaussian," and "Monochromatic" for the best results.
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3
Go to the "Image" drop-down tab and select "Adjustments" then "Brightness & Contrast." Use default settings of -30 for brightness and +75 for contrast, and then adjust up and down from there for greater or fewer stars.
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4
Create a new layer by clicking the "New Layer" button at the bottom of the layers box. Repeat Steps 1 through 3, but use -100 for brightness and +50 for contrast. You may also adjust these values up and down to your liking.
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5
Select "Screen" as the blending mode for the top layer in the "Blend Mode" drop down menu. This will make the stars of both layers visible.
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6
Choose the "Eraser" tool and, using a fairly large brush (larger than 15 pixels), manually erase areas of the starfield. In the sky, stars are not uniformly distributed. Erasing areas of your image will help make the stars look more natural.
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7
Use the "Clone Stamp" tool to increase the density of stars in some areas. Right-click an area with stars in it to sample that area, then paint additional stars into your image. If it helps, use a photograph of the night sky to get an idea of how stars naturally look.
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Tips & Warnings
Your starfield, because it is custom made, will be different every time. There is no right way to create stars, and you may make your starfield as plentiful or barren as you choose.
