SkunkyArt | brackman71 — Planet Tutorial

Create a complex texture (I used 5 passes of filter\render\difference_clouds)

Using the planet shape (ctrl-click on the layer thumbnail), cut out the same size circle as the planet.

Cut that and Paste Into a new layer. This is the 'raw' cloud layer, it will be a black-and-white pattern.

Next, we need to make it a transparent layer, with only the clouds (white parts) left. To do this, select only the white parts of that texture. (select\color_range and pick the brightest part... set the fuzziness to 200 and hit OK)

You need to fill (using the paint bucket) this selection with white, on a new layer. This will create a transparent cloud layer with black being clear, and white being the clouds. Should look like Figure 8.

This is a flat layer. We need to make it spherical like the planet. (filter\distort\spherize)

We then need to create the shadow layer. Duplicate the cloud layer. Lock the transparency of the layer (checkerboard icon on top of layers tab). Invert (image\adjust\invert or ctrl-i) to make this copy black. This is your cloud SHADOW layer. Make sure it is below the clouds on the layer panel.

To make the cloud shadows appear under the clouds, you can't simply do a drop shadow, as it will look wrong on the far side of the planet. Think about it... looking at a planet, 'down' is towards the center of the planet, or in this case the center of the circle describing the planet. Instead of drop shadow, shrink the cloud shadow layer to about 99% of its original size, centered on the planet's center. (Press ctrl-t for free transform, then start to drag a corner... while still dragging, hold down shift to make the transform stay circular, and hold down alt to make the transform stay centered.) The end result will look like Figure 11.

Finally, we need to shade the clouds to match the planet. Use the same lighting as you did on the planet... only this time apply it to the cloud layer. (filter\render\lighting_effects)