Craft a 3D scene with Photoshop CS6 Extended

06 To add some background, create a new layer at the bottom and apply a gradient to it. Fill the whole layer with black, select the upper part of it and apply a red gradient.

07 Now repeat step 02. Convert the layer to a 3D object by clicking on 3D Postcard. Merge it with the 3D layer we’ve been working with and move the 3D object behind the objects we’ve already create. You can look at the 3D navigator to see where the objects are in the 3D space. I’ve rotated it a bit.

08 To make the scene more interesting, we’ll create yet another 3D object – this time a ring. Create a new layer and select Ring from the Mesh From Preset menu on the 3D panel. Merge it with your main 3D layer and move it until you have placed it around the sphere. This can be very tricky so be patient. You can also scale your ring by using the handles over it – I clicked on the blue cube handle to scale it down a little.

09 Go to the Properties panel, select the ‘Plastic Glossy (Blue)’ material, change the diffuse colour to #de0000, the specular to #23ffd8, shine to 85% and bump, reflection and roughness to 0. Now hit render to see what you’ve got.

10 Time to give it some glow – I love glow. Ctrl/right-click on your 3D layer, go to the blending options and turn on Outer Glow. Change the blend mode to Linear Dodge (Add) and opacity to 75%, give it a nice big size and select #FF0000 as the colour. Turn on Inner Glow too, change the blend mode to Lighter Color, opacity to 50%, colour to #FF0274 and slide up the size until the colour covers most of the layer.