Northern Lights Dancer
Part 1-Sky and Stars

Here I'll take you through a step by step tutorial of this picture using Adobe Photoshop 6.01 (you can Download the upgrade version of Photoshop at http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/update.html).

Click on image for the full version

Cloud Effect. Create a new layer on your layer panel and call it clouds. Select the the top half of the layer with the triangle tool and give it a cloud effect by filter/render/clouds (use the same colors as the background image). Use the eraser tool to remover sections of the cloud. Reduce the Ocacity so that it blends in with the background.

Pressing (Ctrl+F) will repeat the last filter effect that you used.

Creating Stars. I've found several different ways to create stars.
Creater a new layer and call it stars. Like in step 2, select 2/3 of the page with the square tool, fill it with black. Then go to filter/noise/add noise. settings at 11 then fill it with black again. Kool ah. After that select your Magic Wond and at the top make sure that the tolerance is set to 7. Then hit delete. Hit (Ctrl+D) which will deselect the stars.

Now go to Image/Adjust/Brightness+Contrast. Brightness +100 and contrast +50 or however bright you want your stars.

Final step. Making it look like the stars fade.
Eraser, pressure at100, the bottem part of the stars with paint brush tool (size of 200). Make sure you specify the size of the brush.
Note: by holding down shift while using any tool you will get a straight line.

Making bigger stars is up to you.

Lock all of these layers. check mark it.