A Glowing Orb in Photoshop

This tutorial was writting in Adobe Photoshop CS.
It's likely this can be pretty easily translated into your graphic program of choice provided it offers layers and a "blur" filter of some sort.

Create a new image dimensions 350x350. Use a dark color to fill in the background.
For the purpose of this tutorial I am using a dark blue. Add a new layer and draw a light colored circle. I used my elliptical tool and a pale blue.

Add a new layer and draw in a white highlight along the upper left quarter of the circle.
You can also play around and use a pale shade of a different complimentary color - but for now let's just use the white.

Now you want to go into your Guassian Blur filter and apply it at a 2.8 radius. This should give you a smooth highlight now. Adjust the radius to accomodate the size of your circle.

Now add a new layer and use a lighter midtone shade to add color to the lower right quarter like this. I liked a lower-midtone blue for this.

Again apply a Gaussian Blur at around 2.8 radius. You should have a smooth slightly darker light along the bottom of the orb now.

 

Now we will go in and recolor the outline of the orb to match the highlights. As you can see I just used a white outline at the top and a slightly lighter blue outline for the bottom.

Now on the same layer as the orb outline, use your wand tool to select the area inside the orb. Go into SELECTIONS and choose INVERSE. You should have marching ants like this now.
On a new layer, using a pale shade of the predominant color in your scene draw a ring around the outside of the orb like above. I used a very pale blue.

Now apply another Gaussian Blur, this time try another radius - around 7.5. You should have a nice soft glow now.

Add another ring around the orb, this time in yellow. Change the yellow layer to Overlay and Gaussian blur at around 5 radius.
Afterward Inverse your current selection and add a new layer right above the background layer.

On this new layer, using a teal green I added a broader "shadowlight" at the bottom of the orb.

Then apply a Gaussian blur at around 6.5 radius. You should have a very soft inner fog now.

Add a new layer, and draw in a broad white highlight. It should take up a large part of the upper-left hand side of the orb.

Apply another gaussian blur of around 6.5 radius to this highlight as well. You should really have a lovely inner glow going at this point.

Now add a new layer and draw out some thick squiggly lines coming from the orb (kind of like a sun)

Now apply a Gaussian blur of around 7.5 radius to that.

That's a pretty glowy orb =)
Now don't forget to place anything around this orb below the highlight (or if that is not possible, be sure to add a similar highlight as the light of the orb will make everything in it's little vicinity glow as well)

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