QUICK TIP
A good way to move around is using Cmd/
Ctrl+Plus and Cmd/Ctrl+Minus to zoom in and out,
and pressing the Spacebar to move the artwork.
Zoom in for smaller parts and out for bigger ones.
Don’t work on big parts while zoomed in; you’ll
need to move around a lot, which will make this
longer and harder. Use Cmd/Ctrl+Y to see what
you have created – it will keep you motivated!04
WORK IN LAYERS
At this stage you can drop the image into Illustrator. Remember
to work in layers. Create one layer for the photo, above it create another
layer for the background colour and above this, the polygon grid. You can
add more layers later on as you wish, but this is mandatory because you
will have to turn these layers on and off during the tutorial.05
CREATE THE COLOURED BACKGROUND
Low-poly illustration is very busy with details, so you should create a clean
background with a minimal gradient effect. I have found it best to create the gradient from
the image’s actual background because it affects the colouration of the skin tone, hair etc.
Select two tones from the background and make a gradient. Keep it minimal! If it’s hard for
you to notice the gradient, then it’s good.06
CHOOSE THE LINE
Next you will start creating the grid. Choose
the Line tool from the Toolbar and change the colour
to a bright yellow. This is a good colour to contrast
against most other colours, so you can see what you
are doing. Change the Stroke to 0.5pt width. In
Photoshop, you can use the Polygonal Lasso.07
START WITH SMALL AREAS
The best way is to start with the eyes. Zoom in as close as you can to the iris, and re-draw it with the
Line tool. This is just like using the Polygonal Lasso tool in Photoshop (so you can use that if you don’t have
Illustrator). There is no need to be very accurate, just draw the general shape. Keep working on the parts of
the eye separately and connect them to one another. In the end this will be one big connected grid.08
ISOLATE THE PARTS
Work one part at a time. Take the nose, and
split it into dark and light parts. Work on one eye and
then another. Zoom in if you need to, and try to keep
the lines connected to each other as much as
possible. There should not be any loose ends – the
shapes should all be closed.DIGITAL PAINTING