26/5/2016 CreatealowpolyportraitDigitalArts

AdobeIllustrator&Photoshoptutorial:Createalowpolyportrait
CreateahipgraphicportraitfromaphotousingPhotoshopandIllustrator.

ByBrenoBitencourt

Step1

Inthistutorial,BraziliandesignerBrenoBitencourtshowsyoustepbystephowtocreateastylishlowpolyportraitinIllustratorand
Photoshop.

ThesecrettocreatingworksinthisstyleisworkingfromthebestreferencephotosandfirstoffBrenorevealshowtocapturethese
(usinghimselfasamodel).HethenrevealshowtoworktheseupinPhotoshop,thencreateavectorversioninIllustrator.

BrenosaysyoudontneedtobeanexpertinIllustratororPhotoshoptofollowthistutorial,aslongasyouhaveagoodeyeandagood
amountofpatience.

Youcanwatchavideoofthecreativeprocessofdesigningalowpolyportraitdetailedinthistutorialabove.Youcanalsoseesomeof
theamazingportraitsotherreadershavecreatedusingthistutorialinthecommentssectionbelow.

Timetocomplete
4hours

Softwareneeded
AnyrecentversionofAdobeIllustratorandPhotoshop

Step2

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Firstyoullneedagoodphotoreference.Forthistutorial,Idecidedtocreateaselfportrait,soIrequestedalittlehelpfromafriendof
minetogettheshots.

Importanttipsherearetouseperspectivetoshowdepth,haveagoodvarianceoflightandshadow,andtrytoensureyourmodelhas
somehardedgedaccessoriesthatwillcontrastwiththesoftnessofskinandclothing(suchlikeglasses,jewelleryorastarchedcollar).

Fromthesephotosyoullneedtochoosethebestfragmentstocombineinasingleimagethatwillformyourmainreference.Asyoucan
seefromthisscreenshot,Ivechosenthefacefromone,glassesfromother,andotherdetailsfromothershots.Bepickyinthisstage,
itswellworthit.

Foreachpart,roughlycroparoundthepartyourwant.ThenopenanewdocumentonPhotoshopwithablackbackground,andplace
eachoftheelementsonseparatelayers.

Step3

Now,youllneedtocombinethemtocreateyourperfectreference.Erasetheunnecessarypartsandmakeacollageofthepartsyouve
selectedusingmasksandblendingmodestobringthemalltogether.

YoudonthavetostickcompletelytotherealityofthephotosyouwanttocreateareferencephotothatsashandsomeasIam.For
example,Iwasntlikingthewaytheglassesarmwassittingonmyear,soIextendedit.

Ialsochangedsomepartsofmyhairthatwerentveryinteresting.

Step4

Nowyouhavetheintegratedimage,adjustthecontrast,colourbalance,levelsandtheliketocreateamoredynamicimage.

IshouldntreallysaythisbutIoftenfindusingPhotoshopsAutoContrast,AutoColourandAutoLevelsfunctions(intheImagemenu)to
bereallyusefulhereifyoudontwanttomanuallycorrectyourcomposite.

Step5

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Iwantthecoloursofmyfinalartworktobewarmerthanthereferencephoto,sotobringitnearertowhatIwant,Iaddedasolidlayerof
purplewithaScreenblendingmode.

Step6

Nowwecometothetimeconsumingpartoftheprocess:thetriangularmesh.Theresnosecrettricktothisyouneedtodoitbyhand.
Why?Becauseyourbrainisbetterthananyscriptorautomatedprocessatdeterminingthecontoursoftheface.

Herearesomeguidesthough.Smallpartsrequiresmalltriangles.Nevermakequadrilateralstheyjustlookwrong.Sticktotriangles.
Itseasierifyoursubjecthashasastraightnoselikeme.Roundednosesarefiddly.

Createyourmeshusingasmallbrushonanemptylayerabovetheimage.Usealightcolourthatcontrastswiththeportrait.Ipreferblue
orgreen,sincethesearearetwocoloursyoursubjectprobablyhasntgotinhisorherface(unlesstheyhaveatattooofapraying
mantisontheirneck).

Step7

Ifyouvegotthisfar,patyourselfonthebackyouvedonemuchofthehardwork(butnotall).

Itsnowtimetorefineanymistakestriangles.Hidetheimagereference,youneedtojustconcentrateonthemesh.Cleanitupandlook
foranytrianglesyouveforgottentocreate.

Onceyouhaveperfectedit,changeitscolourtowhitesoitcontrastswiththeblackbackgroundandsaveitasajpg.

NowfireupIllustrator.

Step8

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Placeyourmeshintoyourartboard,lockitanditstimetotraceavectormeshoftrianglesoveritinacontrastingcolour(Iveusedas
brightpurple)usingthePentool.

Againthiswilltakesometimesoputonaniceplaylist,yourbestcoffeeandletsgetgoingonthislongtrip.

Hereareafewtipstospeeduptheprocess.

Youdontneedtocloseupyourtriangles,justusethePentooltomarkoutthethreepoints.Thismightsoundsilly,butitllsaveyoua
bunchoftimeoverthehundredsoftrianglesyouregonnacreate.

Step9

Youalsodontneedtobethatpreciseyoulluseaniftytricktobringthemtogetherinthenextfewsteps.

Step10

Itsbeenalotofwork,butyouregood.Takeabreather.Andremembertosave.

Step11

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NowIllteachyouthetricktomakeallpointsalignperfectlyattherightposition.Itsaeasyprocedurebutofcourse,youllneedto
repeatitastimesasyouhavetrianglesonyourportrait.

WiththeDirectSelectiontool,selecteachgroupofpointsthatshouldbeatthesameplace.

Step12

OpentheAlignpanelandclickonHorizontalAlignCenterunderAlignAnchorPoints.

Step13

ThenclickonVerticalAlignCenterandallyourpointsintheexactlythesameplace.Ohyeah!

Step14

Nowmovethepointsaroundtocorrecttheirpositionifneeded.

Thenrepeatsteps1012forallofyourvertices.

Step15

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HidethemeshyoucreatedinPhotoshop.Againcheckoveryourmeshforanymissedtriangles(Ialwaysforgotatleasttentrianglesper
portrait).Thebestwaytodothisistoselectallofyourvectors(Cmd/Ctrl+A)theninverttheFillandStroke(Shift+X).

Ifyouspotonemissing,returntheFillandStroketowhattheyshouldbe(Shift+Xagain),addyourtriangleandcheckagain.When
youvegotacompletemesh,moveontothenextstep.

Step16

Placeyourphotoreferenceonalayerbelowyourvectormeshandalignthembothperfectly.Thiswillallowyoutopickouttheright
coloursfromyourphotoforarecognisableportrait.Lockthereferencelayer.

Author
Nowthemostfunpartletsaddcolour.Selecteachtriangleinturn,choosetheEyedroppertool(I)andselectthecolourinthemiddle
ofeachtriangleasfilltoit.

Ifyouenjoyedthistutorial,whynottakealookatour70favouritePhotoshoptutorialsandour28favouriteIllustratortutorials.

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