1. Start with a new, empty, Bryce scene. Select the default, wireframe ground plane and delete it, then turn off the Underground Wireframe toggle. This creates virtually limitless 3D space in your Bryce world.

2. To create the feeling of looking out into the cold vacuum of outer space, we're going to build our model inside of a giant sphere primitive from the Create Palette.

Click on the Sphere primitive in your Create Palette.

Change to Top view in the Views palette.

In your Edit palette, click and drag on the Resize XYZ icon (be sure you've got your sphere selected). Be certain to drag from the center of this icon, so as to resize your object equally along all axes. Alternately, you may option-drag/alt-drag on a corner point of the sphere's bounding box for the same result.

Resize the sphere until it overtakes the camera, and the camera is situated in the approximate center of the enlarged sphere.

In the Attributes dialog box, assign the sphere a color and give it a family name. For purposes of this tutorial, we will refer to the sphere as "main sphere."

3. This sphere needs a material that is both transparent and reflective, so as to allow light from the sun to show through it, yet create ethereal, outer space patterns.

With the main sphere selected, open the Bryce 4 Materials Library from the Edit palette and select either the "Romantic Sunset" preset from the Clouds & Fogs library, or "Mr. Bubble" from the Waters & Liquids library.

4. In the Views palette, return to Camera View.

Select the Sky Presets Library from the Sky & Fog palette. Choose either "False Dawn" (my personal favorite) or "Starfield" from the preset library. I used Starfield for this tutorial because it has no haze, eliminating the illusion of a horizon (if you choose "False Dawn", reduce the haze to zero for the same result).

Place the sun anywhere you like within your work window. You may want to move it out of view for your nebula, but for this tutorial, I've placed my sun so that I can see its effects through the material on the main sphere. I can change my mind, of course, as I build my nebula.

5. Double-click on the Sun Position control to enter the Sky Lab. Here, you can add stars and comets if you wish, or even add a halo (or two!) for the sun.

6. Return to Camera View in the Sky & Fog palette. Under the Custom Sky preview icon, change the solar halo color.

I've used black for this image. Try other colors to see if you like the effects. Be aware that different materials on the main sphere will affect the way the light and the sun behave in your scene. Experiment with the sun color, the halo color and the materials on the main sphere to get just the right effect for your scene.

7. To make novas (the cosmic bursts of dying stars) for a nebula, I use radial lights that reflect off the surface of the main sphere. These lights will also greatly increase the amount of light in the image; there are ways to reduce excessive light in a scene, which I will address shortly. For now, we'll concentrate on making those novas.