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CREATE A LOWPOLY ILLUSTRATION BY COMBINING

PHOTOSHOP AND ILLUSTRATOR FOR PIXELPERFECT RESULTS

DESIGN LOWPOLY

PORTRAITS

L

earn how to create an amazing low-poly

illustration from a reference image with this

tutorial. Combining Photoshop and

Illustrator will allow you to achieve the

sharpest, most accurate results. This will work with

almost any version of Adobe software, and with

other programs too (so if you don’t have Illustrator,

you can try a free vector program such as

Inkscape). The technical side is very basic and the

real challenge of this technique is patience.

PREP THE START PHOTO

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This effect could be created in Photoshop alone but

I find Illustrator easier to handle, as it offers greater

precision with vector shapes. Try to understand the

whole concept and then choose the tool that is best for

you. There are some scripts and plug-ins that create

polygons automatically, but they will NEVER be half as

good as doing it manually. An algorithm can’t see how

a tiny white poly in the pupil can make the whole piece

look ‘alive’; no script is better than the human brain. So

trust yourself and let’s get this tutorial going!

01

SELECT THE RIGHT IMAGE

The reference image should be a

high-quality photo. Try to find an image with a

strong colour point (like the hair in the photo

below). The best kind of image for this technique

is a portrait, and one that has a very clear view of

the eyes. You will need to zoom in, so pick a

high-quality image.

02

ADJUST CONTRAST AND SATURATION

Drop the image into Photoshop. Adjust the

Brightness and Contrast levels. You should aim for a

high contrast to make the grid-creation step easier.

Add more saturation and make the colours bright,

but not too much. Do not change Contrast,

Brightness or Saturation to higher than 30%; it needs

to be sharp and bright, but not overly so!

03

REDUCE QUALITY

If the image is really high

in quality, reduce it so that the

maximum height/width will be no

more than 1000px. Later on when

you will need to colour the

polygons, It will make it easier to

sample the colours while

zooming in – you will see the

actual pixels and their colour,

which will make it easier to

choose and more precise.

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ILLUSTRATION

WORK IN

PROGRESS

Progress 1: #REATINGďTHEďGRID

Progress 2: #REATINGďTHEď

POLYGONS

Progress 3: 4HEďCOLOURINGď

PROCESS

MORDI LEVI

http://www.mordilevi.com

@mdlv123

http://www.facebook.com/MordiLevi.gd

OUR EXPERT

Mordi has been a graphic designer

and illustrator for the past six years.

He specialises in branding, various

Illustration techniques, web design

and more.

SOURCE FILES

Download the start photo from

http://www.dreamstime.com/

stock-images-portrait-beautiful-

young-redhead-woman-

image10778824.

DESIGN LOWPOLY PORTRAITS