Last week I was working on a project where I needed to create a sort of lightning effect like that Tesla Coil. I spent a couple of hours in Photoshop playing around with some filters to create the effect. So In this tutorial, I will show you how to create a Magic Crystal Ball with some nice light effects and textures happening.
Final Image Preview
Before we get started, let's take a look at the image we'll be creating. As always, the layered Photoshop file is available via our PSDTUTS Plus membership. Also, I've got some tutorials I'm working on that aren't about lighting effects that you'll see soon.
Step 1
Create a new document, I used 1900px by 1200px. Fill the background layer with black. Then with the Ellipse Tool (U) create a circle. You can fill it with a dark gray, but the color won't matter because we will apply a Layer Style to this object shortly.
Step 2
To add the Layer Style, go to Layer > Layer Style. First, select Inner Glow and use: white for the color, Color Dodge for the Blend Mode, and 70% for the opacity.
The second Layer Style will be Gradient Overlay, use Linear for the Style, and keep Normal for the Blend Mode. Now the colors will be #12232c and #313444. The last Layer Style will be Stroke, which should be set: 2px for the Size, 60% for the Opacity, and for the color use #a395cf. Feel free to change the colors and test new variations.
Step 3
Create another circle using the Ellipse Tool (U). The best thing is to create a Path with the ellipse tool. Adjust the shape the way you want. Then create a selection from the Path Palette. This circle will be the top reflection on the ball.
Step 4
Create a new layer and rename it to "reflection top." Then select the Gradient Tool (G). Use white for the color on both ends. Change the opacity though, one will be 100%, while the other will be 50%. Select Radial for the Style. Then create a radial gradient, as in the image below. For the Opacity use 70% Tip: Make sure that the 100% is the center of the gradient.
Step 5
Lets create a reflection at the bottom of the sphere. To do that, create a selection from the circle layer, which is the first one we already created. Create a new layer, and rename it to "Bottom reflection."
Select the Gradient Tool (G), and use the same settings as in the previous step. This time lets set the Opacity to 100% and 0%. Now create the gradient. Also, change the Layer's Opacity to 50%. Use the image below for reference. Tip: You can resize this layer to make it slightly smaller so you can move it 1 pixel up.
Step 6
Create a new layer, and rename it to "lights 1." Make sure you have black and white for the background and foreground colors. Then go to Filter > Render > Clouds. After, go to Filter > Sketch > Chrome. Use 3 for the Detail and 10 for the smoothness. Then rescale the layer, make it much smaller so the details will be smaller too.
Step 7
Create a marquee selection from the "ball layer," and go to Filter > Distort > Spherize. Use 100% for the Amount and Normal for the Mode. Then go to Filter > Brush Strokes > Sprayed Strokes. Use a Stroke length of 17 and Spray Radius of 7.
Step 8
Now lets add some color to the crystal ball. With the "lights 1" layer selected, go to Layer > Layer Style. Then change the Fill Opacity to 60%. After, select the Gradient Overlay, use the Violet, Green, and Orange preset for the colors. For the Gradient Style use Radial. Align the radial to the ball, so the orange will be the center of the gradient, and then go to the Violet.
Step 9
To create the lighting effects inside the ball we will use the Difference Clouds Filter. So create a new layer, and rename it to "rays." Then go to Filter > Render > Clouds. Then go to Filter > Render > Difference Clouds.
Next we rescale the layer to the same height as the ball. You may notice that with the difference clouds filter we have created the lightning, but they are black. Also, you can define the thickness of the lightning when you scale the layer.
Step 10
To change the color of the lightning from black to white is simple, go to Image > Adjustments > Invert. However, to get the effect right you will have to change the levels as well. So go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Use for the Input Levels 0, 1.00, and 70. Then change the Blend Mode to Color Dodge.
There are 2 more things to do here. First, we create a Layer Mask, so the lights will be only inside the ball. Then with the Eraser Tool (E), select a medium brush, a regular one, but with a hardness of 0% and 10% opacity. Then erase some parts of edges 1-4. Also, you can change the opacity of "Reflection Top" and "Reflection Bottom," so they will be more visible.
Step 11
To create more Rays, you can either duplicate the layer or repeat steps Steps 9 and 10. I duplicated it, but the best thing to do is to repeat the previous steps. Also, you can apply the Spherize Filter. Tip: Change the Opacity of the layers to give more depth to the effect.
Step 12
Here, we will create a layer to adjust the colors. We need to make the ball a bit darker. So just add a new layer, and create a marquee selection of the original ball. After, fill it with Black.
Add a Layer Style. Change the Fill Opacity to 0% and select Gradient Overlay. Use Multiply for the Blend Mode, 90% Opacity, and set it to Linear. For the colors use Black and a dark gray. Tip: This layer will be beneath the other light layers.
Step 13
Lets create a nice texture in the ball. Create a new layer on top of the others, but beneath the "Reflection Bottom and Top layers." Rename it to "texture."
Now go Filter > Render > Clouds. Then resize the layer, and make it a bit bigger than the ball. Finally, go to Filter > Distort >Wave. For the Number of Generators use 5, the Wavelength use Min. 10 Max 320, Amplitude Min 5 Max 35, and the rest keep the same.
Step 14
Go to Filter > Brush Strokes > Spatter. Use a Spray Radius 15 and Smoothness 2. Next we create a marquee selection from the "ball" layer, and go to Filter > Distort > Spherize again. Use 100% for the amount.
Step 15
Let's adjust the layer next. Change the Blend Mode to Screen, the opacity to 50%, and the fill opacity to 50% as well. If you don't want to show the texture that much, just reduce the opacity.
Step 16
Select the Ellipse Tool (U). Then click on Shape Layers. This will create a layer in the shape of the foreground color. Now create an ellipse, as in the image below. After, go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. Then use 90 pixels for the Radius. This layer will be the spot of light for the ball.
Tip: This layer has to be beneath all the other layers, even the "ball" layer.
Step 17
Now lets create another ellipse, as we did in the previous step. This time let's use black. Also, instead of creating a light spot, let's create a shadow.
Step 18
Next we add a glow light at the top of the ball. Again, repeat step 16, but for the Gaussian Blur use Radius of 70 pixels. Notice that this layer will be on top of the others.
Step 19
Let's adjust the colors. Create a Gradient Fill layer. To do that, go to Layer > New Fill Layer > Gradient. For the colors use #223158 and #b8641c. For the style use Radial, and set the angle 115º. After, change the Blend Mode to Overlay.
Tip: You can position the gradient by clicking and holding the mouse button. Also, move the mouse while the Gradient Fill dialog box window is open.
Step 20
Create a new layer on top of the others. Then fill it with black, and go to Filter > Render > Lens Flare. Use 60% Brightness and 50-300mm Zoom.
Adjust the levels of this layer. Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Then change the Input Levels to 7, 1, and 210. Now change the Blend Mode to Screen, and rescale the layer, use the image below as a reference.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we learned a light effect that is created by using the clouds and difference clouds filter. You can add more layers to create different effects inside the ball, or duplicate some layers to create more reflections, like the Caustic effect I created on the final image.
You could use the Spherize filter. Also, you can change the Gradient Overlay colors in one layer only, and change the other colors separately, thereby creating a totally new effect. It's all about playing now; Have fun!
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User Comments
( ADD YOURS )Raziel June 21st
First :p
Very nice tut as always.
Keep up the good work
Nick June 21st
First!
Great Tut!
Ralph June 21st
Beautiful!!! I Love the smoke effect i will try this one is freakking awesome…. Thanks a lot.
Callum Martin June 21st
Great tutorial again! Thanks!!
Andrew Pryde June 21st
Nice, Thanks allot! It looks really good although it looks quite complex :S
Andrew
Dante June 21st
I like it very much. THANK YOU.
pica June 21st
thats a pretty cool effect, the flashes are awesome
though i think it looks a bit too… you know… too mystical … too much violet
but it’s a tutorial, so i would definitely make the colors a little less “different”, more out of one family
Carlos June 21st
Not bad, there are some aspects I like and some I don’t like. Still a good tutorial nonethelss.
Nate June 21st
Awesome tut. Thanks Fabio.
Cmoore June 21st
Gotta say it - I’m not liking it as much as I do most of your stuff, Fabio. It doesn’t look like the flashes are really on the inside; I don’t know, like it’s too clear. I was expecting a bit more in the fog department, I guess. It’s more than I could have done, granted, but just not on par with your other stuff.
Danny June 21st
It’s so beautiful! Thanks
megafonzie June 21st
awesome tut, man, I’m working with it right now!
Christian Mejia June 21st
Small problem. Maybe I am missing something but on part 6
“Step 6
Create a new layer, and rename it to “lights 1.” Make sure you have black and white for the background and foreground colors. Then go to Filter > Render > Clouds. After, go to Filter > Sketch > Chrome. Use 3 for the Detail and 10 for the smoothness. Then rescale the layer, make it much smaller so the details will be smaller too.”
“Filter > Sketch > Chrome” is grayed out and I can’t move on from this step. Any suggestions?
Laura June 21st
Science-Fiction! Very Cool! Thanks!
Nat June 21st
Great tutorial, I just completed it.
Although I don’t like the sudden opacity of the top reflection. I find that giving it a Gaussian blur of just a few pixels helps it look a bit more realistic. Then again, a mystical glowing ball with orange, green, and blue clouds isn’t supposed to be that realistic.
giackop June 21st
so cool.. useful!!
Ali June 21st
Nice tutorial, a little more messing around and I can see this thing looking much better:]
Has.n June 21st
Really guuuuuuuuud i was waiting for that!! THX
FrankCrank June 21st
Amazing!! need I say more??
Thanks.
Amanda June 21st
Nice tutorial! My steps 16-19 seemed to turn out a bit weird, but I’ll just play around to adjust! Thanks!
Jake June 21st
‘“Filter > Sketch > Chrome†is grayed out and I can’t move on from this step’
are alot of options greyed out? if so your probably in CMYK mode.
Alvaro June 21st
Nice result, I was starting a tut about creating this kind of effect, this time you were faster dude. congrats!
Bogus June 21st
horrible tutorial, this has been done in 1998, nothing new nothing special. This is actually uglier.
Christian Mejia June 21st
@Jake… Thanks I actually realized that once I hit the submit button (I felt stupid for a minute). I was able to finish the tut once I switched to RGB mode! Now if I can only figure out how to create the caustic effect. I working on it.
bbdoll June 21st
magic ball!! niceee
Ruben June 21st
Nice techniques over there, thanks for sharing, Fabio!
Toxel.com June 21st
Great tutorial! Thanks
jerry June 21st
this is incredibly USELESS !!!!!!
Andrew Curtis June 21st
Brilliant. The only thing I would change is that the upper orange part is too sudden. I would blend it in by using a layer and a gradient.
kamel June 21st
omg fuck off fabio….
please put more time into ur tutorial and stop giving us a shity one…..
wtf do you really think!?
and i know u guys wont approve this, but just felt like to say it…
ZaFaR June 21st
Nice techniques over there, thanks for sharing, Fabio!
crazyhunk June 21st
this is awesome….
thanx a lot…
Raph June 21st
A few interesting techniques indeed… but the final result looks horrible!
cam June 21st
fabio keep up the good work big guy!
Pat Weiss June 21st
its different and could be found over deviantart but its okay…just for beginners…
Johan June 21st
Why not
Thanks Fabio!
RIjalul Fikri June 21st
Can’t say much about this, I don’t know where to apply this kind of effect, btw, still a nice tutorial you have there
keep up the good work
D. Carreira June 21st
Nice tutorial!
David Carreira
Diesel June 21st
Thankyou for this tut. I never knew the techniques behind the crystal ball, and it helped a lot.
As this is obviously a tutorial and the techniques are the key, I decided I would change the look of it at the end and create a more interesting floor.
Here is my work>
BLACKLIGHT CRYSTAL BALL > http://flickr.com/photos/thinkingdiesel/2596730219/
FIREBALL CRYSTAL BALL > http://flickr.com/photos/thinkingdiesel/2596729777/in/photostream/
Fixd Music
SEO June 21st
Its another useful tuts.. Thanks!
styxzdesigns June 21st
I love it! People should stop whining that the tutorials arent good here. I think its one of the best sites for tutorials about photoshop! <3
Ben Griffiths June 21st
Interesting tutorial, thanks
amin hidayat June 22nd
awesome prize
Lamin Barrow June 22nd
Killer tut Fabio. keep em coming.
lawrence June 22nd
who is you accomplished?
great work too!!
thanks !!
hey where is collis and Fabio!?
locjan June 22nd
thanks its awesome. nice megic crystal ball
Brazen June 23rd
while I love the tuts here on this site, this one seems a bit rushed and at times hard to follow. If I was a beginner I would have given up on it.
Ozroth June 23rd
Nice, simplistic tut (although kinda awkward to follow in places) with a nice effect at the end. I like it.
And to those of you saying how none of the stuff in this tutorial is new to you and it’s all old, why the hell are you looking at a Tutorial site if you know it already? I’d like to see you do better…
Keep up the simplicity Fabio, it’s what us Photoshop newbies need!
goldenthunder June 23rd
Not bad, different than others I have seen! Thanks!
Frank June 23rd
Dude, I must say that this one is confusing. I followed the instructions step by step. Mine pretty much looks like the screenshots up until step 12-13. I think you did something there that didn’t get translated into the tutorial. I can’t figure it out.
Htoo Tay Zar June 23rd
Nice Result, I like the way of using fliters. thanks
MaRmAR June 23rd
Lower light on the orb looks unreal. It’s physically impossible to have such as light on orb near the shadow.
Shaw June 23rd
Not bad, although it would look alot better if you had the galaxy inside of the orb with a few stars etc and take out the lightning
Josephine June 23rd
Hi I am new to this website. Awesome tut~! Looking for your next tut thanks
nader June 23rd
WWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW
very Nice.
Chris Spooner June 23rd
It amazes me what can be accomplished from using the built in filters in Photoshop!
Great result.
Bobcat June 23rd
Absolutely fantastic tut. Gotta love this site and all the extremely cool tips and tricks.
Cheers!
Sean C. June 24th
Photoshop is such an amazing tool!
Sean June 24th
Tons of my options are greyed out but I’m in rgb mode…I can’t color dodge or screen or most things to any layer. ANyone have any ideas?
pakaerf June 24th
I love this site, but I’ve got to say that this tutorial left quite a few little things out. I couldn’t get the color to shine through when I got the lightning (it was just white). I think that for some cool filters and lighting effects, a little help in the communications department could have turned this decent tutorial into something really worth while.
aravind June 24th
oh! this is awsome!!
thankx fabio..
MD June 25th
Looks awesome! can’t wait to try that!
The Floating frog June 25th
Beautiful ****
yy June 26th
so cool, I like it!
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Anonymous June 27th
Nice result, very badly written. Got a headache from this, I’m stuck on step 3.
Very frustrating.
styl3r June 27th
awesome tutorial!! i love it!!
Ric June 28th
Incredibly frustrating, yet again.
The outcome looks great, but it’s impossible to follow!
Explodyhead June 29th
I tried this tut using CS3 and it looks like the author skipped quite a bit.
lordcajen June 29th
Excellent tutorial! A++ - the details are amazing. this is gonna take tons of hours for me to perfect. kudos!
Salwa June 29th
this is just what i was looking for. thanks for the tut!
SaungHnget June 30th
That is very good.I enjoy!
sanju June 30th
Awesome tutorial,,, Keep it up
Sanju June 30th
Nice one
jason July 1st
please spend more time refining your steps and explanation of your procedure. i got a quarter of the way into this and realized that what i was reading made no sense. then comparing my image to the current image in the tutorial i ended up calling the whole thing a lost cause.
several of your steps are out of order and some are missing small details. you need to work on your execution of tutorial writing.
Dranixolf July 2nd
This is an awesome tut. just like most from this site!
but like many many people are saying there seems to be some stuff missing…
on step 8 I can’t seem to get the top layer to look as soft as this one… mine look WAY harsher
BTE Photography- Sandra Rangel July 3rd
Not to shabby,…. Perfect perfect
~Sandra Rangel
BTE Photography
http://www.myspce.com/behindtheeyephotography
Christina July 3rd
By step 3, mine looks significantly different. I went through step 4 before deciding that it’s not me — it’s the tutorial. You have to be missing some vital steps here…
DanielG July 3rd
I agree with jason and dranixolf….i got half way through it and it doesnt look good at all its like you’re holdin out on some important steps maybe blending modes..ill try to make this good but i would like to finish this tutorial successfully
13.GuE July 4th
Super-Very-mega-Combo nice tutorial!
kaz July 10th
you got to spet 3, I cant get past step 1 to step 2, add layer style is greyed out for me and I hate to give up so soon!
Nini July 10th
This is a nice effect, but the tutorial was difficult to follow. There were several notes about opacity (the cloud layers in particular, but others as well) that were left out, as well as notes about layer order and other things I’m probably missing. It took a lot of playing around to get my image to look anything like the final image. This tutorial ought to be rewritten to include all the necessary steps for the final image. That would include the steps to create the caustic reflections shown in the preview image, since “duplicate some layers” is not a step.
I’ve never been unhappy with a tutorial on this site before, so I’m rather disappointed with this one.
Jayjay402 July 15th
Hi, looks like an awesome tut, but on steps 3 & 4, your circle looks almost black, yet in step 2, you said to apply a gradient overlay to it, it looks like your telling us to do that, but you’ve not done it yourself, =S
Also, you need to give screen shots of the layers and stuff more, there isn’t one screen shot of the layers in this tut, Would really appreciate it if this was re-written with a lot more detail and info.
John July 17th
1 of the worst tuts i have read :o(((
if your gonna do something dude …do it correct or dont it at all
peace John
John July 17th
things are cool until step 6 ..after that …you must have left out some details out
peace John
Trevor July 18th
Ok I don’t mean to rain on any one’s parade but I can’t follow this tutorial at all.
But I could just me but I thought tutorials are supposed to help the new guys to Photoshop (me) learn how to use the different effects in Photoshop.
On the lighter side it’s a really cool Globe.
Trevor July 18th
Rewrite it please.
Matt July 19th
looked amazing, I got up to step 8 before i got really confused. If you can make this again explaining all the steps and send me an email mabye? or call it a v2 or whatever. like right at step 8 the photo you took shows the clud and stuff gone, the opacity is also very light (like 5% or something :S) its a shame I couldnt finish this
perini July 19th
Well, I do appreciate the effort, but like many have said..
It would be nice if you could refine this tut: add more detail explaining how you used each tool on a specific layer, screenshot your layers palette showing your organization (cause thats what’s lacking)… don’t overlook what seems remedial and simple to you, most likely there’s someone out there scratching there head or pulling out their hair (like me) cause they’re confused and can’t get passed step 2.
I’m a newbie and I thought this would be a cool tut to practice, but its kinda complicated- due to lack of organization. But I don’t want to give up just yet.. so please refine.
thanks anyway
Mansoor July 24th
Wow.
2morrowMan August 8th
Noob level…
datta August 12th
It’s one thing to be a great artist, but quite another to be a competent tutor. Practice on that before turning out tutorials. Please — for I feel that you have much to give.
Hiperkarma August 16th
awesome, thanks
Gabst September 20th
From step 9 to 10, it skips the part on HOW to actually make the lightning in it….
Anyways Nice tutorial, if only I could get further…
qpp September 28th
awesome tutorial dude…but how to create the caustic reflection shown in the final image?
Elisabeth October 4th
The end result is gorgeous, but the tutorial is very badly written. I got to step 4, and couldn’t get any farther. There are some steps left out - my image looked very different from the one above after I applied the layer styles. Also, there should be more step-by-step explanations for those of us who are new at Photoshop.
Very disappointed in this tutorial!!
Mikee October 12th
This tutorial has many VERY IMPORTANT INCOMPLETE DETAILS
Ex. At the step 8 It wasn’t stated about the its blend mode, I just saw on the picture what was the blend mode of it’s layer style.
A TUTORIAL MUST HAVE COMPLETE DETAILS!!
Rasilon October 20th
This tutorial is really incomplete. You leave out too many details. If one follows your instructions to the letter, by Step #6 they will be way off course. It’s not worth joining this site if your training is so incomplete.
Elisabeth October 20th
Could somebody please explain the missing steps in this tutorial? I’m pretty new to Photoshop, and I found this tutorial very difficult to follow.
Ponta October 23rd
I just don’t understand how you can get it to look that cool. The way you use the light is amazing! Fabio is the man
cdeq October 28th
i’m from Mongolia. I’m photoshop master ,
Love November 5th
Nice, Thanks allot! It looks really good
http://photoshoppers.rabbit-forum.net November 16th
Aweome, I didnt think of the actual ”lightning” effect with the clouds when i saw the end result, thought it had been done different.
I definetely gonna add this one to some projects
Percy November 22nd
Hola denuevo, trate de realizar el tutorial pero no pude, podria alguien ayduarme? se lo agardeceria muchisimo, PORFAVORR!!!
gad November 30th
Very nice looking results. Poor explanation of how to get those results. That makes an otherwise beautiful picture into a poor tutorial. Dude should take the time to correct the mistakes and unclear instructions.
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