Tiny Planet Effect in Photoshop - Simple Guide

In this tutorial, I will show you how to create the fascinating Tiny Planet Effect in Adobe Photoshop. This effect transforms ordinary cityscapes or landscape photos into small, spherical worlds that look fantastic and are perfect for creative projects or social media. All you need is a suitable image and a basic knowledge of Photoshop to achieve impressive results. Let's get started!

Key Takeaways

• To create the Tiny Planet Effect, I need an image of a city or landscape.
• The sky in the image is important to enhance the effect.
• Using an aerial photo can improve the transition in the image.
• The effect can be created using the "Polar Coordinates" filter in Photoshop.
• I can edit the transition and unwanted lines using various tools in Photoshop.

Step-by-Step Guide

First, open Photoshop and upload a suitable image that you want to use for your Tiny Planet Effect. In this example, I have chosen an image of a city.

The image should ideally have a beautiful sky in the background to make the effect stand out. Additionally, you will need another image of yourself or a person taken from an aerial perspective.

If you do not have a suitable image of yourself, you can search the internet for inspiration. There are many ways to get inspired by other creative works. Enter "Tiny Planet Effect" into your search engine and be inspired by the results.

Once you have selected your image, you can start creating the Tiny Planet Effect. First, press "Ctrl + T" to transform the image. Then right-click on the image and choose "Flip Vertical."

Confirm your choice by pressing the Enter key. Now comes the most important step: you need to apply the "Polar Coordinates" filter. To do this, go to the menu bar, click on "Filter," then on "Distort" filters, and select "Polar Coordinates."

In the window that appears, choose the "Rectangular to Polar" option. Click "OK" to apply the filter. Photoshop will calculate briefly, and voila, your Tiny Planet appears!

If the transition in the middle of your image is still visible, you need some refinement. Right-click on the layer of the city image and choose "Rasterize Layer" if you have not done so already.

Now select the Rectangular Marquee Tool on the left side and draw a rectangle over the area you want to edit to eliminate the unsightly line in the middle.

Right-click on the selection again and click "Fill." Choose "Content-Aware" here and confirm your choice with "OK." Now the line should look much better.

You can compare the result by viewing before and after. It makes a big difference! The line is no longer as distracting. If necessary, repeat the process until you are satisfied with the result.

To make further improvements, you can use the Spot Healing Brush or Clone Stamp tool. Select an area of the image using the Alt key and brush over the undesired strip.

A carefully placed photo of yourself can help to aesthetically disguise the transition. Make sure to be photographed from a similar perspective so that the image appears harmonious.

If there are still unwanted lines in the image, you can use a quick trick to remove them: Select the Lasso tool and create a selection around the bothersome areas.

After making the selection, right click and choose "Content-Aware Fill". Make sure that only the sky is selected in the preview to avoid unwanted objects.

After confirming these steps, your tiny world should be almost perfect! Depending on your taste, you can still add additional elements like sun, clouds, or other creative things to make your Tiny Planet more interesting.

Finally, I can only recommend experimenting with different effects and finding your own creative style. Have fun creating your own Tiny Planets!

Summary - Tiny Planet Effect in Photoshop

In this step-by-step guide, you have learned how to create the Tiny Planet Effect in Photoshop. From the necessary image material to applying the right filters to image editing tips, you have everything you need to create your own unique Tiny Planet.