Step 1

Create a new document which is 1000 pixels wide and 500 pixels high at a resolution of 300 pixels/inch, with a name of "Home."

Step 2

We’ll be using some texture for our planet. You can get the diffuse texture from planetpixelemporium.com. Download the "color map" image from the site and place it as a new layer into your document. Rename this layer as "Earth."

Step 3

Now go to 3D > New Shape From Layer > Sphere. This will wrap the layer around a sphere and this is going to be the base layer of our planet illustration.

Step 4

The "Earth" layer is now a 3D layer and a cube icon is displayed in the Layers Palette. You can interact with a 3D model in a 3D layer in Photoshop. You can rotate and move the model or change the position of the camera in 3D space using the 3D tools in the Toolbox.

Step 5

Grab the 3D Rotation Tool, click on the canvas, hold and drag to rotate the sphere and adjust it as you wish. Holding down the Alt or Shift keys will restrict the rotation axis.

Step 6

The edges of the sphere look aliased at the moment. First we’re going to fix it. Go to the Layers palette and double-click the little cube icon in the "Earth" layer to bring up the 3D Palette. Here you can make several adjustments to the 3D layer. Make sure the "Scene" is selected in the upper list and set Anti-Alias to Best. This will fix the edges.

Step 7

Now click on the Global Ambient Color box and set the color to R:100, G:100, B:100 and hit OK. This will change the ambient color to a brighter one.

Step 8

We’ll now add a bump map to our planet. First download the "bump map" from planetpixelemporium.com and save the image to your desktop. Now go to the 3D Palette. Go to Sphere_Material and click the Edit the Bump Texture button and chose Load Texture. Select the file you have just downloaded. The "earthbump1k.jpg" file is a grayscale file and the lighter areas in this image will be bumped in our 3D sphere. We also want our planet to be glossy, so set the Glossiness to 100%.

Step 9

In the 3D Palette you’ll see that there are three lights. These are the default Photoshop scene lights. Now we’ll change their types, colors and positions. First select the "Infinite Light 1" and change it’s Color to R:150, G:150, and B:150. Now select the "Infinite Light 2" and set it’s type to Point so that we can change it’s position. Change it’s Color to r:180, G:180, and B:180.

You can change the position of the light in the 3D scene using the Slide the Light and Drag the Light Tools in the 3D Palette. Position the gloss effect on the sphere using these tools. Now select "Infinite Light 3," set it’s type to Point as well and set it’s Color to R:130, G:130, and B:130.