1) Create a new image by clicking File > New. Set options as follows: Size: 300W x 300H pixels, Resolution: 72, Raster Background, Uncheck the transparent box and click the colored box and choose black as your color. Click OK.

2) Click the Freehand Selection Tool. Set tool options as follows: Selection type: Freehand, Mode: Replace, Feather: 0, Smoothing: 6, Anti-Alias is checked. Now click and drag the cursor and draw a shape on the black background. It sorta looks like an odd star. Here is a screen shot:

3) Flood fill your shape with white. Click the flood fill tool and choose white from the materials palette.

4) Save your selection to alpha channel since you will need it later. If you screw up you can always just flood fill the graphic with black and load the selection and start again. To save to alpha channel, click Selections > Load/Save Selection > Save Selection to Alpha Channel. Click OK.

5) Deselect the shape. Click Ctrl + D. Now to add a blur. Click Adjust > Blur > Gaussian Blur and set Radius to 15.

6) You need the selection we saved. Click Selections > Load/Save Selections > Load Selection from Alpha Channel. Click OK. You should she your selection. It does not line up to our blurred image but thats ok.

7) Contract your selection. Click Selections > Modify > Contract. Contract by 10. You may need to contract a little more or less depending on the size of your graphic. You only want some of the blurred edge to show from under this selection.

8) Flood fill your selection with light gray. I used #E9E7E7 Click the flood fill tool. Make sure you have selected #E9E7E7 on the materials palette. Click in your selection and flood fill it.

9) We need to make a smaller selection. Click Selections > Modify > Contract by 30. We are only trying to select a little bit from the center.

10) Flood fill this smaller selection with a different light gray. I used #C0C0C0. Here is a screenshot of where you should be:

11) Now for the fun part! First deselect the center by clicking Ctrl + D or Selections > Select None. Click the smudge brush by clicking and selecting Smudge. Set options by the following screen shot:

Smudge Brush Screen Shot

12) Starting in the center, make long swooping brushes outward. Here is mine after making a few strokes so you can get an idea of what to do.

We are blending the gray, white and black colors together. When we colorize the end result it will give a nice 3d look. Finish smudging the vortex all the way around. Here is my graphic after I've smudged it. Now on to the warp tool.

13) Click on the Warp Brush and set options as in the screen shot.

Warp Brush Screen Shot

Now make long swooping brushes outward but only about 5 or 6 all the way around give or take a few. It's a big sized brush and you don't need many strokes.

14) The warp brush should still be the active tool. We are going to change the warp mode from expand to push which is the arrow icon next to expand. Here is a screen shot of the options for the push warp brush.

Warp Brush Screen Shot #2

Make long swooping brush strokes outward as you did in the other steps. Go all the way around the vortex. I like to drag out an area a little more than the others to make it look more like an explosion. You can also go back to either the smudge tool or the expand warp brush if you see an area you want to fine tune. Make sure and really push the center gray so it bleeds into the rest.

15) Now that you've warped and smudged and have the look you like, it's time to add the center. Click Effects > Illumination Effections > Sunburst. Set the options as follows, the color is #F3F1F1.

16) Now all you need to do is colorize your vortex. Click Adjust > Hue & Saturation > Colorize. Set Hue: 139, Saturation: 100 to get the color I have. Feel free to play and colorize as you want. You are done!