Step 1) New Document
Create a new document. 500px by 500px with a transparent background should work nicely for this tut.
Step 2) The Basics of the Circle
Select the Circular Marquee tool from the Tools menu. At the top, select Style: Fixed Size. Set the width to about 256px by 256px.
Click the canvas. Keep the mouse button held down to move the circle around. Release the mouse button when you have it where you want it.
Step 3) The Gradient for the Base
Select the Gradient tool and create a gradient with these specifications:
Fill the circular selection with this new gradient.
Step 4) A Simple “Highlight” Effect
Now, create a new layer. Select it and click the thumbnail of the first layer while holding down the Ctrl key. (BUT MAKE SURE THAT LAYER 2 IS STILL SELECTED!)
This will create the standard “Marching Ants” effect around the circle. This is your selection.
Now, select the Circular Marquee tool again, but this time set the mode to “Intersect with selection.”
Set the Style to “Normal”
Now, draw a circular selection over the blue circle as shown below.
That will create the space for our highlight. A good highlight gradient is shown below. Create it now.
Once you have your gradient created, fill your selection with it – starting from the top.
Step 5) Giving the Circle Life – Color Dodging
At this point, I like to do a little Color Dodging in the center of the blue circle. To do this, select Layer 1 and then select the Color Dodge tool. Set its range to “Highlights” with a size of about 150-200px. You can adjust this to get the effect you want.
Color dodge the blue circle by clicking and moving the mouse slightly. Be careful not to overdo it.
Step 6) Background (optional)
At this point, you can add a background (or anytime really) and change your orb to match it. The settings below work well on a black background.
Here is one possible outcome. This is our orb with the settings above placed against a background that is the subject of another tutorial…
MS: GDT
