The tutorial about creating a nebula needed some stars, and I promised to give you this part too. Well, I don’t want to keep you waiting, so today I decided to show you how to create a basic star field. It may not be something outstanding, but it’s a good foundation for a lot of projects involving stars/space/planets, so here we go…

Creating a Simple Star Field

1. Create a new document, you can use any settings you want, but check mine below as a reference.
Creating a Simple Star Field
2. Add a new layer and fill it with black. I called it “Distant Stars“.

Creating a Simple Star Field

3. Now, go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise.

Creating a Simple Star Field

3. Use the settings below for the Noise filter.

Creating a Simple Star Field

4. Now, duplicate the existing layer and press Ctrl+L to adjust the Levels of the star field.

Creating a Simple Star Field

5. Select blending mode as Overlay and merge down this new layer.

6. Add another layer, and use the Clouds filter on it(fill it with black if you get a warning).

Creating a Simple Star Field

6. Set blending mode for this layer to Color Dodge.

Creating a Simple Star Field

7. Adjust the levels again, until you are happy with the result. This is it!

Creating a Simple Star Field