For the space background i wanted to approach it so it could be animated in the future, therefore giving me the forethought to put everything on a separate layer. I wanted to include some kind of nebula, spiral galaxy and a few planets to really allow for depth.

As i do with most things i work on, i jumped straight into photoshop and began to create something. The first designs i came up with were very generic and very colourless. As we discussed, this was the desired goal, but i really wasn't happy with the outcome.

The brushes i used to create the background ended up looking too much like fireworks for me to actually think it gave the piece any credibility. Although this was the desired "wishy washy" effect we discussed, i don't really feel it actually works as a piece. I wanted to include some more specific and set up designs. With that i went to work on more planetary bodies and tried to work out where a galaxy might fit.

I worked to create a few ideas that may fit into a bigger image such as the planet and a few varying coloured stars. This gave me the inspiration to try and create something i had never attempted before and create a spiral galaxy. In order to create depth i used clouds and multiple difference cloud layers, adding a spiral filter and warping it to the desired length to create the shape. Adding a dark yellow to replace the white, duplicating it and adding a linear dodge layer gave the glowing effect.

Duplicating the later again and adding a lighter blue really gives the galaxy depth. I then used a layer mask to get rid of a few areas that i thought should be showing through in order to really add depth.

The final step in it's creation was to add a nucleus of stars that seemed to give the galaxy a more real feel. I scattered a standard photoshop brush with very low hardness in order to make it feel complete.

Alongside the galaxy i really thought it needed something contrasting to the light, vibrant blue. Using some brushes i made a few months ago, utilising oil spillages as brush preset sources, i created a distant nebula in a dark, vibrant orange. I think adding this to the background really helps with a sense of perspective and expanse to the image.

In front of this i added some very small planetary bodies, enabling me to show even more depth and the vastness in which is has been created.

Adding more planets in the foreground not only helps to show depth, but adding all these things on separate layers will help with the animating later on.

Using the starts i worked with earlier, i created a few more that could really bring the image together. I also used some texture brushes to create a glassy dust effect both in front of and behind all the elements, this again allows for depth to be established in such a vast image.

As we discussed in pre production, the moon would be sitting at the bottom. But as this was being drawn up by Jess, i thought it probably best to crop out the bottom of my image slightly to allow for a more close knit area to work within and add a little more varying dust colours to really tie the final image together.

I think overall with all these elements in place, this image will fit nicely with the animation we are trying to create.