Flowing Vexel Illustration

Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
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That’s just amazing work!
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Tutorials \ Illustration \ Rating:
Create a Flowing Vexel
Illustration in
Photoshop
amir
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Wow , it’s impressive
thank you very much , Long live TutsPlus
http://www.artjunks.com artjunks
Flowinnnnn’ ;)
Jose D. Rodriguez Cadena on Sep 14th 2012 with 11 comments
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Amazing!!
C
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tl
conicoje
it looks kinda hard..but the tutorial is so great ^^,
Tutorial Details
Download Source Files
Apps Used: Adobe Photoshop CS5
Source files for this tutorial are
Difficulty: Intermediate
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Estimated Completion Time: 5
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http://www.deshshomoy.com sumarbústaður
well i guess the theme is really a good design and it has the sense of simplicity and elegance
Sorry,
hi
view.atdmt.com
I love the look of it, but man, it’s a lot of hard work! I’m very happy it’s not a plus tutorial, and I’m happy to be able to do
not currently
it even though it’sishard.
Thanks aaccessible
lot guys! because it is
Twinkles
Geezzz. I really want this. Swear!
Final Product
What You'll Be Creating
http://www.digitaleire.ie Greg
That’s great tutorial! You can easily turn your life into a comic book :) Cool!
http://artediand.wordpress.com artediand
awesome! i like this kind of style!
Jogesh
advertise here
i really impressed this work and tried in the same steps in the photoshop, but the problem with me is when i fill the
color in the selected area, it color is completely ripped.. Please help me to rid the issue..
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Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
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In this tutorial we will use vexel techniques to create an intense, flowing illustration using abstract shapes.
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The following assets were used during the production of this tutorial.
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Girl Portrait
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Step 1
Let’s create a new document in Photoshop. Go to File > New. I used an inverted A3 size, but remember you
can use any other. Also remember to work with a high resolution (300 DPI or higher) in order to have a high
quality image if you want your work to be printed.
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Step 2
Place your stock on the canvas. Since we are going to work with the flow of her hair, keep some more
space on the right than the left.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 3
Create a New Layer and use a big white brush to fill some of the parts surrounding the girl’s face. Then,
create another layer and use a hard brush to sketch your ideas. This is the best part. Just go wild and do
not be afraid to do some strokes. It does not matter if you are working with mouse or tablet, this is going to
be just a reference.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 4
In order to use properly the Pen Tool, firstly we have to give some properties to the Brush Tool. Select the
Brush Tool (B) and change the settings according to your likes. Ticking “Shape Dynamics” is going to be
very useful for the last part of this tutorial. Changes in this step are very important if you want to achieve
different effects with the Pen Tool, but we will not go deeper in this tutorial.
Step 5
Select the Pen Tool (P) and tick the “Paths” symbol. In this step you are also able to chose between
activating or not the Rubber Band. It helps you to see how your trace is going to be like, as long as the
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
mouse cursor moves around the screen.
Step 6
As a review, I would like you to remember the process when you are tracing (with this technique) using the
Pen Tool. Trace with the pen tool, right click and select Stroke Path. After that, a small window will open. If
you keep "Simulate Pressure" ticked, borders may fade (or the effect you added to the brush in Step 4). If
you do not, you will get a strong trace, very useful for the kind of line art we will be doing.
Step 7
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
I like to start the line art working from the big shapes, to the small ones. In this case, her silhouette is a big
shape. Let’s start with it! Follow the blue pattern in first place until you get something like the second
picture. The color I used? #7f0000.
Step 8
Let’s start working the eyes. Just reduce the stock layer opacity and trace over a new layer. You may need
to change the brush size for details. I used an 8px rounded brush. I ticked "Simulate PRessure" for
eyelashes and unticked it for the eye outline. Also added some details. For the nose, instead of choosing
"Stroke Path", choose "Fill Path". A new window will open, check the properties and press OK.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 9
For the inner part of the eyes, I did four circles. Their properties are shown on the next image. It is pretty
much the same than the previous steps, but remember to tick "Circle (Draw Diameter or Radius)" if you
want to create perfect rounded circles. Copy it and place them, erasing what is not necessary. Also you may
want to add some eyebrows.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 10
I added her lips and basic hair. I wanted to keep her lips very simple since I knew I was going to color it with
red (similar to the line art).
Step 11
Following the same techniques as before, just pick a 10 px hard brush and, after tracing, untick "Simulate
Pressure". In this step you will be just tracing over the sketch you did in Step 3. I used the same color than
before: #7f0000. Keep in mind that it would be very helpful if you create these traces in a new layer, and
avoid mixing different types of lines in the same layer.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 12
I thought it would look interesting if there was some interaction between her hair and the background. So,
start tracing some solid shapes full of movement and drama. Remember to Zoom In and Zoom Out every
time you need it.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 13
Let’s start with the coloring part! This part is totally up to you. You can pick any color you want and you can
use the technique you prefer the most. In this case, I used solid shapes. Always work with layers under the
layers of the lines (if you want to keep your line art clean).
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http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 14
Continue coloring. For the purple part, just try placing your layer under the general line art, but over the hair
shapes. Add a gradient to the blue circle. Also, I started testing with shadows, and added one for the purple
shape, using the line art color, and changing its opacity to 45%. Also notice that I added some circles
behind the girl’s face.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 15
Let’s add shadows and highlights. What I suggest you to do is to trace your solid shape (dark for shadows,
bright for highlights). After that, instead of erasing directly, "hide" using a layer mask. Click on the "Add layer
mask" icon or go to Layer > Layer Mask > from transparency. Use a big black Soft Brush in the Layer Mask,
it would help you to achieve a "gradient" effect. For the Highlights I used #000000 (layer opacity: 30%) and
for the shadows #7f0000 (layer opacity: 40%). You will be basically repeating this step for the rest of the
abstract shapes. The result depends on your skills with the pen tool and how creative you were with your
shapes.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 16
For the girl, I drew a big shape that would work as a shadow. I kept empty some space in the right, to give it
a backlight look. You can follow the shadows from the original stock or create yours according to the
atmosphere you want . I changed the layer style with the following properties.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 17
For her eyes, you will need nothing but a shadow and circles that will work as sparkles in the empty spaces
the eyes had. This is pretty much what we have been doing the whole tutorial, adding shapes. Opacities
and colors are up to your tastes.
Step 18
For her lips, we will add a solid shadow using #a30000. And for the highlights, I added a white shape with
5% opacity and another one with a 25% of opacity. In the other image you can see I added another layer
full of circless that will work as sparkles (10% of opacity), and another one with a small white shape (25% of
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
opacity).
Step 19
For the lights, I just filled some shapes with white (layer opacity: 20%). Then I added small details in white
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
(layer opacity: 55%). Remember to do not mix lights and shadows.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 20
Trace some lines using the Pen Tool. For these lines we will use a 30px hard rounded brush. Remember to
tick "Simulate Pressure" after selecting "Stroke Path". I used #ffa300. As much strokes and details you add
in this step, it would look cooler.
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
Step 21
At this point, I noticed I was missing some shapes, so I decided to add some other shapes (highlights and
shadows). Remember you are totally free to do whatever you want with your work: you can even erase
some parts, draw some more, add textures… you decide when is your artwork finished!
Final Image
http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/illustration/flowing-vexel-illustration/[10/10/2013 9:33:38 AM]
Create a Flowing Vexel Illustration in Photoshop | Psdtuts+
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By Jose D. Rodriguez
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