the faceted, polygonal look
DESIGN A LOWPOLY PLANET
SIMULATE 3D LOW POLY IN 2D As the low-poly genre becomes more and more popular, more people are trying it out, but not everyone knows how to do it properly. To learn the basics of Blender, you should probably spend few days learning, but it could take an eternity to learn every aspect of it. The same could be said about any other 3D software.
However, there is an alternative way – you can simulate low-poly 3D style using any 2D redactor you like, vectors in Illustrator, or the Pen in Photoshop. The pros of this method are you will not waste your time on theory of 3D modelling, and waiting hours for your model to render. But the cons are you will never get the right lighting and shading in a flat illustration.
14 ADD MORE CONTRAST
To make the model look even better, you can manually paint the polygons. This is a great way to add contrast and adjust the faceted look, because the real render is sometimes not as expressive as it should be. Create a new layer, select the Pen tool, and select polygons on the border between light and dark, or polygons on small models, to attract more attention to them. There are two rules: first, make the light polygons lighter and the dark darker, so the contrast increases. And second, use smooth big brushes.
The best results are when the painted polygons are not distinguishable from the non-painted ones.
DESIGN A LOWPOLY PLANET
15 INTRODUCE SOME GLOW
All the effects like glow, halo, flares and lighting are almost always made in post processing, not in a 3D redactor, because it’s much easier and faster. Let’s make a little diffuse glow around the emission polygons, to make it look shiny. Select the Magic Wand tool, and click on every yellow light polygon, except the sun. Then make the selection of a new layer by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J or go to Layer>New>Create on a new layer. Then go to Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur, and use it with five to six pixels. After this, change the blend mode to Screen.
16 MAKE THE STARS
To make the space more beautiful and realistic you should add some stars. Usually such things are made with Soft brushes, but in low-poly art a pencil will do a much better job. So create a new layer, take the Pencil tool with a two to three pixel radius to make big stars, then make one-pixel-radius small stars. You can use white and blue colours for them, and you should only put them on the dark side of the space. Don’t make too many as they might take too much attention away from the main model.
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REFLECT THE LIGHTTo make the two colour light scheme look even better, you should manually create patches of reflected light on the borders of the model. It’s a very tricky thing, so be careful. Create a new layer, using the Pen tool, select sharp and thin borders that are addressed to the Moon, and paint them with a bright blue colour like #00e1ff.
These patches should be solid with no gradient.
This will add a depth to the scene, but don’t make too many of them.
QUICK TIP
If you find a mistake that cannot be fixed in Photoshop, you can render it again. You can either delete objects you don’t need, so you don’t have to wait for the whole scene to render, or, if you see the part you need appear before the render finishes, press Esc and save the image. Paste it on the top of the first layer and erase everything that you don’t need.
18 FINALLY LIGHT UP THE SUN
Now last, but not the least, you can create a filling light from the Sun. Start by creating a new layer, pick a really bright yellow colour like #ffff87 and then select the Gradient tool. Now drag a Radiant Gradient from the Sun, forming the big spot of light. After this, go to the Blend modes of the layer and change it to Screen option. Now adjust the Transparency of the new layer by 50-60%, or en more, if you’d like a much mor brighter light in your final scene.
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earn how to use Photoshop to create a complex architectural piece from scratch with this tutorial. You will see how a simple sketch is established, followed by detailed shading and texturing steps and eventually final touches that will help present your design in the best way possible.Photoshop is perfect for working on architectural sketches and paintings. There are a vast variety of tools, techniques and shortcuts built in to the software that makes it easy for both beginners to jump in and professionals to speed up their process of creating artwork. The time it takes a skilled artist to complete
something is a huge factor in production, therefore quite often a conceptual artwork like the one shown in this tutorial is only one version of many you may provide to your art director. Being fast and efficient is the key to surviving as a successful Photoshop artist.
With this tutorial you will learn shortcuts and alternative techniques that will enhance your skillset.
This piece is created as concept art that will later be rendered into full 3D arch-vis for an advertising campaign. You can see the completed renders and video here at www.tinyurl.com/qxye8fm.