Create a vector portrait in Photoshop. How to convert a raster image to a vector image in Photoshop

In this lesson Photoshop you will learn to create unusual vector portrait using flower brushes and a Displacement Map. You will learn how to apply Clipping Mask to achieve a creative patterned face effect. All you need is knowledge of the basics Photoshop, a little imagination and patience. So, let's begin!

Step 1.

Create a New Document (New Document) A4 format 1000x700 px with a resolution of 300 pixels/inch. Fill the background with black (Shift+F5).

Step 2.

Loading into Photoshop image of a girl. Using the Rectangular Marquee Tool (Restangular Marquee Tool) highlight the area of the model’s face, neck and arms. Then, using the Move tool, drag the selected area of the photo into our working document.

The resolution of the original photo is quite large, so we reduce the image size using the Transform tool (Ctrl+T) to the size of our canvas.

Step 3

Next, cut out the girl’s profile and hand from the background using the Pen tool. (Pen Tool). After closing the outline, right-click (right mouse button) and select the “Create selected area” option from the drop-down menu (Select). Invert the selection (Ctrl+Shift+I) and press Delete. The background has been removed. Deselecting (Ctrl+D). This is the result you should get:

Step 4.

Duplicate the layer with the girl (Ctrl+J) and bleach it (Shift+Ctrl+U). Then go to Filter-Blur-Shallow Depth of Field Blur (Filter > Blur > Lens Blur).

In the dialog box, enter the following settings:

Source in Depth Map (Depth Map) set it to Transparency (Transparency).

Shape in Aperture (Iris) set to Hexagon (6), Radius – 10, Sheet Curvature – 0, Rotation – 0, Distribution (Distribution)– Uniform (Uniform).

Step 5.

After you have saved the document, hide the visibility of this black and white layer (the eye next to the layer icon).

You can use any of your other sources, but take into account the following: brushes should have smooth curves to follow the contours of the face shape. They should not have too small decorative details, but even large ones will look rough. When choosing brushes, adhere to the “golden mean” principle, combining the ratio beautiful shape and clarity of lines.

When applying a pattern to the model’s face, keep in mind that the largest concentration of lines should be on the front of the face: the nose, lips, eyes, and forehead of the model. Reduce the number of curls towards the temples and back of the head. An overabundance of lines can ruin your work, because the brushes will merge with each other, and the effect of a patterned face itself will not work.

Strive to comply with the measures, and you will be pleased with the results!

Make each brush mark on a separate New Layer (Ctrl+N). The color of the brush is not important, because later the lines will take on a photographic appearance.

I ended up with 27 layers of black brush marks.

Step 6.

Now let's go down to the very first layer with the brush imprint to the bottom of the layers palette. Go to Filter-Distort-Displacement (Filter > Distort > Displace). Leave the Horizontal and Vertical Scale (Horizontal and Vertical Scale)– 10. Then in the Warp Scheme (Displacement Map) set – Stretch (Stretch to Fit), and in the Uncertain Regions (Undefined Areas) denote – Repeat boundary pixels (Repeat Edge Pixels).

After setting all the values, click OK (Yes), and in the next dialog box that opens, select the file with your saved Displacement Map. Click on the file and click Open. The filter is applied to the first pattern layer.
Now we perform a similar action with all layers of pattern brushes. To make your work easier, use hotkeys (Ctrl+F), i.e. Each time you move to the next layer with a brush mark, press this key combination.

Step 7

After applying the Displacement Map, go down the layers palette to the original color layer with the model. We will need to copy it a number of times corresponding to the number of layers with brush marks. To do this, place the original with the model at the very top in the layers panel. Then, while holding down the key Alt, drag the layer down so that it is between the layers with prints. As soon as it is between the layers, release the mouse button (key Alt creates a copy of the layer in in this case). Thus, you should have an alternation of copy layers with fingerprint layers.

Step 8

Now let's create Clipping Masks (Clipping Masks) from layers with the girl’s profile to layers-prints.

Standing on the topmost layer with the girl, hold down Alt and move the cursor between the face layer and the fingerprint layer. When the black and white circle icon appears, click LMB, thereby creating a Clipping (an arrow down from the top layer to the imprint layer will appear). Next, we follow the same scheme with the remaining copies-layers with the girl. You will see the result only after you have completed creating all the clipping masks.

Step 9

We stand on the topmost layer with the imprint. Double-click on the layer thumbnail to open the Layer Styles window (Layer Style). Enter the following parameters for the “Embossing” option: depth – 123, direction – up, size – 3 px, softening – 0 px, angle – 140.

Now copy this layer style to all layers with prints (click RMB on the layer thumbnail, in the drop-down menu select – Copy layer style). Move to the layer with the next print and click again RMB, but now select - Paste Layer Style.

After you have embossed all layers with brushes, unwanted areas may appear that extend beyond the girl's profile. To get rid of them, select the original layer with the model (press and hold Ctrl, and click on the layer icon). Then invert the selection (Ctrl+Shift+I), and go through all the fingerprint layers one by one, pressing the Delete key.

Step 10

And finally, let's adjust our final image. To do this, create a New Layer (Ctrl+N) above the background black layer. Using the Radial Gradient Tool (Radial Gradient) fill the layer in the direction from light brown #bc8d74 to transparent.

Step 11

Hide the visibility of the background layer and the gradient layer (the eye next to the layer icon). We stand on the topmost layer with the girl. Press the key combination Ctrl+Shift+Alt+E. This action will merge all visible layers into one layer. Now use the Clarifier tools (Dodge Tool) and Blackout (Burn Tool) Let's add some volume to the image. Places that are closer to us are lighter, and, conversely, distant areas of the face are darker.

Using this technique Photoshop, you can always pleasantly surprise your friends with unusual creative creations.

In this lesson spanish artist Daniel Caballero will explain how he created the portrait in vector style based on a regular photograph.

Final result:

Step 1

For your work, it is better to take photographs of your family or friends. This is the easiest way to get the pose you want. I will use a photo of my sister (Photo.png).

Create a new document (Ctrl + N) in A4 format in portrait mode. Insert a photo into this document and remove the background, for example, with the tool Eraser(Eraser Tool) (E). You can use some pattern as a background in our drawing.

Step 2

We will create a vector portrait by overlaying several skin blocks, lines and other details. Create a new layer(Ctrl + Shift + N) and name it “Skin”. For the base of the skin, choose #FAE0AF. Tool Feather(Pen Tool) (P) draw a contour along the edge of the girl's silhouette.

Avoid areas of clothing or hair that extend beyond the body. Separate layers will be allocated for them. Then go to the Paths palette, select the work path and click on the fill icon (it's marked in the screenshot below). After that, hide this fill layer so we can work on the lines.

Step 3

Create a new layer "Skin lines" and select dark Brown color as the main one. Select a tool Brush(Brush Tool) (B) and set the size to 3 pixels. We'll use the outline of the "Skin" layer to create all the lines on the body and facial features. In the outline palette, click on the icon Stroke the outline with a brush(Stroke path with brush). This icon is located to the right of the fill icon.

Using the tool Feather(Pen Tool) (P) and the stroke function with a brush draw lips, nose, eyes, jaw, eyebrows, and other facial features. To make the stroke lines thinner, you need to lower the brush size. Tool Eraser(Eraser Tool) (E) with hard edges, erase the excess sections of the lines.

Step 4

Tool Feather(Pen Tool) (P) draw hair and fill it with black. To create individual curls, use a thinner brush.

Step 5

Create a new layer below the "Skin line" layer. Draw the lips and eyes. Then lower the opacity of the brush and paint on the freckles.

Step 6

Create a new layer on top of the others and name it "Wear". Tool Feather(Pen Tool) (P) draw the girl's tank top with color #E31F40. Create the lines for the T-shirt on a separate “Wear line” layer. For lines, you need to set up the brush in advance: give it White color and a few pixels in size.

Create a stroke around the shirt using a black brush. Also, don't forget about the folds, otherwise the shirt won't look realistic.

Step 7

Go to the "Skin" layer, then press Ctrl + Shift + N to open the New Layer menu. Check the box for functions Use previous layer to create clipping mask(Using Previous Layer to Create Clipping Mask), name the layer “Skin Shadow” and set the Blending Mode to Multiplication(Multiply). Click OK and a new layer will appear in the layers palette. He will be limited to the limits of the body. We will draw shadows on it.

Choose the color of your body skin. Draw vector shadows using the tool Feather(Pen Tool) (P). Place the light source in the same place where it is in the original photo. I worked with the light coming from the right.

Step 8

Create a new layer "Wear Shadow" and create the dark areas of the shirt. If they seem too dark to you, you can lower the Opacity of the layer.

Step 9

Extract all files from this archive. Open the “Logo.png” file in Photoshop in a separate document. Tool Moving(Move Tool) (V) move it to the main document and place it under the “Wear Shadow” layer. A clipping mask will be automatically created for the logo.

If you don't like my logo, then you can add any other one at your discretion.

Step 10

Above the “Wear line” layer, create a new layer and use the Feather(Pen Tool) (P) draw light areas of the shirt and body. Use the original photo to define the light source, just like we did when creating the shadows. Install Opacity(Opacity) of this layer by 40%.

Step 11

Insert the tattoos into our document and place them on the girl’s body above the “Wear” layer. Set Tattoo Mode to Multiplication(Multiply). Tool Eraser(Eraser Tool) (E) erase areas of tattoos that extend beyond the body.

Step 12

Create a copy of the "Body" layer (Ctrl + J). Select the original layer and go to the adjustments Hue/Saturation(Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation). Lower Brightness(Lightness) to -100 to turn the girl's body into a black silhouette.

On the black silhouette layer, activate the Free Transform tool (Ctrl + T), right-click and select mode Distortion(Distort). Reshape the shadow so that it falls on the back wall. Press Enter to apply the changes. After that, apply the filter Gaussian blur(Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) (Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur) with a value of 35 pixels. Lower the Opacity of this layer to 20%.

Note: If the correction Hue/Saturation ( Hue/Saturation) will not open, then most likely you need to rasterize the layer.

Step 13

Create a new layer with 40% opacity on top of the rest. Select a tool Gradient(Gradient Tool) (G) and fill the canvas with a regular black and white gradient from left to right (white should be on the right). As a result, we get natural lighting.

Step 14

Above the black and white gradient layer, create another layer and apply a gradient fill from red to yellow to create a warm color atmosphere. Lower the layer opacity to 35%.

Step 15

On top of all layers create Hue/Saturation adjustment layer(Hue/Saturation). Lower the Saturation parameter to -18%.

In this tutorial, Spanish artist Daniel Caballero will explain how he created a vector-style portrait using a regular photograph.

Final result:

Step 1

For your work, it is better to take photographs of your family or friends. This is the easiest way to get the pose you want. I will use a photo of my sister (Photo.png).

Step 2

Step 3

Create a new layer "Skin lines" and select dark brown as the main color. Select a tool Brush(Brush Tool) (B) and set the size to 3 pixels. We'll use the outline of the "Skin" layer to create all the lines on the body and facial features. In the outline palette, click on the icon Stroke the outline with a brush(Stroke path with brush). This icon is located to the right of the fill icon.

Step 4

Tool Feather(Pen Tool) (P) draw hair and fill it with black. To create individual curls, use a thinner brush.

Step 5

Create a new layer below the "Skin line" layer. Draw the lips and eyes. Then lower the opacity of the brush and paint on the freckles.

Step 6

Create a stroke around the shirt using a black brush. Also, don't forget about the folds, otherwise the shirt won't look realistic.

Step 7

Step 8

Create a new layer "Wear Shadow" and create the dark areas of the shirt. If they seem too dark to you, you can lower the Opacity of the layer.

Step 9

If you don't like my logo, then you can add any other one at your discretion.

Step 10

Step 11

Step 12

Note: If the correction Hue/Saturation ( Hue/Saturation) will not open, then most likely you need to rasterize the layer.

Step 13

Step 14

Above the black and white gradient layer, create another layer and apply a gradient fill from red to yellow to create a warm color atmosphere. Lower the layer opacity to 35%.

Step 15

On top of all layers create Hue/Saturation adjustment layer(Hue/Saturation). Lower the Saturation parameter to -18%.

Greetings to all. Finally, I decided to write a very important review for myself, in which I want to talk about my good friend, an instrument of inspiration and a source of many creative ideas – Adobe program Photoshop.

I discovered Photoshop back in 2008..

Then I started attending courses " graphic design" I write in quotes because all they taught me in these courses was to create a new document. But then I installed this program for myself from the disk given during the course, and I felt like an incredibly important person. The beginning, as well as interest in the program, had been made.

At first, I did simple things that every girl who gets her hands on Photoshop does. There were only one or two good lessons back then, but I remember that on YouTube they taught in all seriousness how to retouch skin by blurring it out. It is impossible to look at the processing of photographs from my period without laughing.

But... time passed. I realized that this program contains truly inexhaustible possibilities for creativity. My inner designer came out of hibernation and demanded more and more watching lessons and reading educational books. What came of it is up to you to judge.

I use the CC (Creative Clouds) version in the English layout.

It’s more convenient for me, because many high-quality lessons are translated, all the terminology is in English, and you don’t have to worry about localization.

In this review, I will not describe the program interface or teach how to crop a photo.

I think there’s no point in talking about photo retouching either; after all, covering this issue in detail in a review format is an impossible task, and there’s no point in jumping all over the place, especially on the Internet great amount lessons varying degrees difficulties.

And I want to talk about what I like to do most, which brings great pleasure and good income, namely, creating vector portraits from photos.

Illustrations from photos are now gaining immense popularity. Portraits in GTA style, anime style, pop art processing, grunge style, murciano, etc. Many people want to decorate a page on social networks with their hand-drawn image or use it as an avatar for a group. And also this great gift for friends or loved ones. Try it, it’s possible that you will be fascinated by this topic, and the real artist in you will awaken!

I saw almost no clear lessons on this topic online, and I had to figure out many things on my own. The pros will probably snort at my art, but I don’t pretend to be a pro.

I want to warn you that this lesson is not for beginners. We assume that concepts like “blend mode,” “gaussian blur,” “lower opacity,” and “soft round brush” don’t give you panic attacks.

FIRST, LET'S DEAL WITH THE MATERIAL PART.

There are many ways to draw portraits, with or without a graphics tablet. I prefer portraits drawn with a mouse using a stylus; they look neater, although using a stylus on a tablet is certainly faster.

What is a vector portrait?

This is a portrait that is created using curves. It’s convenient to draw it in Corel, but if Corel is not at hand, you can handle it only with Photoshop, because it has a very powerful “Pen” tool, with which you can easily create shapes of arbitrary shapes and sizes. This is how vector graphics differ from raster graphics - after all, a vector object does not consist of pixel points, but of curves and lines, which, as we know, are infinite. Therefore, the dimensions of vector shapes can be changed as much as you like without loss of quality.

What is "Pen" and how does it work?

If we place points with a pen without holding down the left mouse button, ordinary straight lines are drawn from the points. But if you drag the cursor with the left mouse button held down, the points turn into nodes from which guides (“whiskers”) are drawn, and the line comes out curved. The longer the guides extend from the node, the more curved the line becomes. You can edit the outline using the black and white arrows on the toolbar.

Using the white arrow you can edit an unfinished outline, using black – move a closed contour. The same function as the white arrow is performed by pressing the Ctrl key. If we need to create an open contour, we need to click on an empty space with Ctrl pressed.

The Pen tool has its own separate palette, which is called Paths. As soon as you start drawing something with a pen, a temporary layer called Work Path is automatically created in the palette. It is in this layer that all the actions you perform with the tool are reflected. Layers with contours in the Paths palette can be selected, duplicated, renamed - just like in the Layers palette.

Before drawing a portrait,

you need to practice performing 2 operations with contours.

1) Stroke a path vector figure background color.

Create an empty layer. On it, using the Pen tool, we draw a squiggle like this.

Select a stroke brush. In the brush palette it is the fourth from the beginning.

Right-click on the figure we drew. Select Stroke path from the drop-down menu.

Check the Simulate pressure checkbox.

The contour turns into a line like this, wide in the middle and tapering at the ends. I have the color chosen to be brown, so the line is colored brown.

The working layer with this squiggle was created in the Paths palette.

It can be deleted; the drawn line remains in the Layers palette.

2)Filling a vector shape with a background color.

Now we make our squiggle closed. To do this, use a feather to draw the outline to the point where we started drawing it, and the cursor will take the shape of a zero or a circle.

To paint the shape we drew with any color, you need to click the Fill path with foreground color button. It is located on the Paths palette at the bottom left and looks like a white circle.

I chose red, so our entire figure is painted red. As you can see, in the Paths palette the working layer has the same shape.

Remove the working layer from the Paths palette. Our figure remains only in the Layers palette on a new layer.

That's all the wisdom.

With just these two manipulations we will create our vector portrait.

THIS IS END OF THE BORING THEORY, LET'S GO TO PRACTICE.

Especially for this review, I drew a portrait based on one of my old photographs.

For drawing it is worth taking photos good quality, with excellent lighting. I chose this one.

First let's delete the background from a photo using the Pen tool. Create a duplicate layer with ctrl + j. Now we need to prepare a draft stencil of our future image, which we will outline.

To do this, go to the tab Image - Adjustments - Posterize (Image - Correction - Posterize). Move the slider so that the highlights, penumbras and shadows are clearly visible in the photo. You can blur the image using Filters - Blur - Gaussian blur to smooth out the jagged edges.

IMPORTANT! I create every detail of my future portrait on a new transparent layer. This allows you to make adjustments at any time.

So, let's create the first layer, Let's call it "Head Outline".

Fill it with a beige-pink color, similar to our skin tone.

Now on a new layer we outline the hair with a feather, fill it brown. However, you can use any color, at this stage it is not important. We'll come back to this a little later. Let's name the layer "Hair".

Since part of my black blouse is visible in the photo, I also drew and filled a piece of clothing with black. We have such a rough blank ready.

On a new layer we draw individual hairs that have strayed from the hairstyle so that the hair looks natural. We draw arbitrary lines, which we outline with the same color as the entire hairstyle (Stroke path). To get an open contour, click on free space with Ctrl held down.

Now the fun begins.

Our face is not flat, like a sheet of paper, but three-dimensional. To make the face look voluminous, you need to draw shadows, midtones (penumbra) and highlights on it.

Keep in mind that the more shades of color you use, the more interesting and multifaceted the portrait will be. For medium tones I use a shade that is slightly darker than my base skin tone, for deep shadows I use an even darker shade. dark shade, for highlights - a lighter shade.

First, create a new empty layer, call it “Midtones”. We outline with a feather all the spots that create the middle shadow. These are the eye sockets, the sides of the face, part of the cheek. Fill it with color. I chose this one – gray-beige. Since the light source was on the right when taking the photo, my left cheek turned out darker. This means that the shadow in this place will be wider.

Then create a “Shadow” layer. We also outline with a feather, focusing on our draft, which we created in step 2. This is the shadow at the roots of the hair, under the chin, and the hollow at the eye sockets. Fill it with a darker color. Beige-brown will do.

The next layer is “Highlights”. I have this light spot on my forehead and nose.

The result is a light-and-shadow pattern like this. Let me remind you that each shadow should be on a new layer. Whenever you want to add something to your portrait, be it a stroke, shadow or line, create it on a new layer. This way you will avoid many problems if you need to adjust something. You will always have time to collapse the layers.

Then, using the same method, we draw a light-and-shadow pattern on the hair..

The highlight is closer to the crown, as expected, because the light from the chandelier falls on the hair.

Absolutely the same algorithm for drawing lips and nose.

First, create an empty layer, draw an outline, fill it with the main color, again create an empty layer, outline a darker spot (shadow), fill it with a different color, again an empty layer, outline the outline of a light spot (highlight), fill it with a third color, and so on until it stops. We don’t shade the contours, that’s the beauty of a vector portrait.

If you realize that you made a mistake with the color somewhere, for example, your shadows turned out to be too red or too gray, you can do 2 steps.

lower the transparency of the layer (Opacity tab);
Change the layer color using the Color overlay layer style. To do this, double-click on the layer icon and select the appropriate item from the menu. You pick up the color with an eyedropper by clicking on the layer with your image, which serves as a rough stencil for us.

As for me, I always focus on the colors that are in the photo itself, this helps to reduce errors to a minimum. Or you can simplify your task. I saw this method on the Internet: a plate is created in advance with 3 colors that smoothly transition into each other (light, penumbra, shadow), and only these colors are used to create a chiaroscuro pattern. This method seems boring to me, but everyone has their own preferences.

Once you've finished with the lips and nose, draw the eyebrows. They could also be made multi-layered, but I was too lazy, it will do just fine. Add a couple of eyebrow hairs for a more natural look.

I will go into more detail on the eyes.

The eyes are the mirror of the soul, the most important part of the portrait, which first attracts attention. It’s ugly when the eyes look like blue or brown circles (and this is often the sin of beginners who draw portraits from photos). Therefore, we must give them depth and volume using multiple layers and combining blending modes.

First, we draw the outlines of the eye - the upper and lower eyelids. For this I used gray-brown color. Black should be avoided as much as possible; it gives too rough and harsh an effect.

On the layer under the eye contour draw an iris. Let me remind you that the iris of our eye is not perfectly round, but rather flattened at the top and bottom. Fill it up base color. Mine is dark green. Looks disgusting. We blur it a little using Gaussian so that there are no sharp boundaries.

Now on a new empty layer (each time a new layer, don’t forget) soft brush and more light color draw the penumbra.

Our iris is not monochrome, but as if interspersed with different colors. To imitate these inclusions, I poked randomly with a white brush on an empty layer, then created red spots on another new layer. Let's blur these “spots” a little using Gaussian.

Now it's hocus pocus. Set the layer with white and red spots to the Soft light blending mode ( Soft light). The eyes acquire that same depth and volume. You can duplicate the speckled layers several times to make the glow brighter and softer. To reduce the effect, simply lower the layer's opacity.

On separate layers I paint the white of the eye, mucous membrane, tear troughs (or whatever they are called), the pupil and highlights, which simulate the moisture of the cornea. Don't forget about “makeup” and wrinkles under the eyes. It seems like something is missing. But what? Of course, eye shadow! We paint on soft shadows so that the white appears as if “darkened”.

But we don’t have eyelashes yet! No problem, let's draw! I didn’t bother and downloaded a ready-made set of brushes from the internet. Girls, don’t even think about using them to thicken your eyelashes in your photos – ready-made eyelash brushes look unnatural! But for a portrait it will do.

Our portrait is almost ready.

Now it remains to add small “goodies” that will make it more attractive.

To do this, create shadows under the lower lip and on the nose. Let me make a reservation right away: you don’t need to paint them in black! It looks very rude. So, on the wings of the nose the shadow will be pink (because the reflection from the cheeks falls there), and the shadow under the lip will be burgundy (a reflex from raspberry lipstick). On the transparent layer, use the softest brush possible to draw a shadow of the appropriate shade, then switch to the Soft light or Multiply blending mode and lower the transparency to 10-15 percent. Voila!

Now all that remains is to deal with the background.

On our nose New Year, and I wanted to be transported to the atmosphere of a fabulous snowy forest with funny snowmen. I found this drawing on the net.

Using the "Ellipse" tool, draw a circle, place the selected drawing on top of it, and attach it to the shape using the Cliping mack (while holding down Alt, click between layers).

To make it even more festive, I threw glitter on my hair (which I also downloaded from the Internet). Ready!

As a result, my portrait ended up with 49 layers, each with its own name.

The work took me about 4 hours in total. However, this time flew by absolutely unnoticed for me - when I sit down and start creating, I don’t see anything around me.

Well, in parentheses I inform you that the cost of such work is about 2 thousand rubles. Let's compare two images - you can at the same time evaluate the similarity

The purpose of the lesson

In this lesson we will learn how to create a vector portrait in Pop style Art. We will try to reproduce the style of one of the best representatives of this movement, Roy Lichtenstein. To create a raster effect and fine-tune it, we use a plugin for Adobe Illustrator - Phantasm CS. You can use any photo to complete this tutorial, so why don't you own portrait in Pop Art style?

Roy Lichtenstein (October 27, 1923 - September 29, 1997) - one of the most famous American artists, working in the style of Pop Art. We will reproduce his style.

Step 1

We will use a photograph as a reference. I took a portrait of Marilyn Monroe. I enjoy working on a portrait beautiful woman. You can, of course, take your photo and create a self-portrait.

Place the photo in the document workspace (File > Place...), then click on the Embed button on the top toolbar

Let's lock the layer with the photo in the layers palette so as not to move it while working.

Step 2

Create a new layer above the first layer. This is the layer we will be working on. Now take the Pen Tool (P) and create the contour of the face.

While doing these steps, you should convey the general proportions of the face, you should not convey all the minor anatomical details of the image. Don't forget, we are creating a stylized portrait, not a copy of a photograph.

Step 3

Using the Pen Tool (P) we create the outline of the neck and hair.

Let's replace the stroke of the created objects with a fill and evaluate the harmony of the created forms. I always perform this action after manually tracing a sketch or photograph.

Continuing manual tracing, I again change the fill and stroke in places or turn off the visibility of the created objects in the layers palette.

Step 4

Let's start creating the eyes. Take the Pen Tool (P) and create a path that conveys the outline of the eye and the shape of the shadow around it (I filled this shape with red just for clarity)

Creating eyes is the most important job, because we see human eyes every day, and any disproportion will be immediately noticeable. I would advise you to rely more on your feelings in this work than on photography. Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a circle with a fill blue color and black outline.

This circle will be the iris of the eye. Take the Scissors Tool (C) and cut the circle at points A and B, then delete the upper part of the circle.

Now let's connect points A and B using the Pen Tool (P) as shown in the figure below.

Step 5

Using the same technique, let's create the pupil.

Take the Ellipse Tool (L) and create a highlight of light on the surface of the eye.

To create eyelashes, use the Pen Tool (P), applying a triangular profile from the Stroke palette to the created curves.

In the same way we create the second eye.

Step 6

Based on the photo, we create the elements of the mouth. The teeth are filled with solid white color, this is the style of the works of Roy Lichtenstein. As in all work, simplify the outline, conveying only the main proportions.

I created a highlight on the lower lip using the Pen Tool (P) and applied a suitable profile from the Stroke palette to the line.

Step 7

Using the Pen Tool (P) I created eyebrows, nostrils, and using the Ellipse Tool (L) a mole on the cheek.

Now let's create folds of skin near the eyes and nose using the Pen Tool (P) and profiles from the Stroke palette.

Create shadows on the neck.

We have all the elements of the face ready.

Step 8

Let's start creating stylized hair. This is not an easy task, since Marilyn has a rather complex hairstyle. In this work, the main thing is to separate (differentiate) hair curls and understand their direction. I printed out some portraits of Marilyn and tried to create some sketches in pencil.

You, of course, don't have to do this if you don't have such a complicated hairstyle. After such exercises, I confidently took the Pen Tool (P) and created curved lines that convey the direction of the hair.

Now we group all the lines and lock the group in the layers palette. We will use this group as a template. Take the Pen Tool (P) and create new lines using the template and apply different profiles to them, setting their width in the Stroke palette.

The template can now be deleted.

Step 9

A characteristic feature of Roy Lichtenstein's works is an exaggerated imitation of a raster. Having Phantasm CS at our disposal, we can easily repeat this effect and even experiment a little. Copy the shape of the face and neck and paste them in front (Cmd/Ctrl + C; Cmd/Ctrl + F), fill them with burgundy color and combine them into one shape by clicking on the Unite button from the Pathfinder palette.

Move the burgundy shape in the Layers palette so that it occupies correct position, as shown in the figure below.

Step 10

Without removing the selection from this object, go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Halftone…. The dialog box contains many options that allow you to fine-tune the effect.

To imitate Roy Lichtenstein's style, I set the Grid Angle to 45 degrees and the point shape to circle. The DPI parameter affects the detail of the image; Scale, as you might guess, affects the size of the pixels. You can watch the effect change by changing the parameters in the dialog box, this is very convenient.

You probably noticed that the dots protrude beyond the outline of the neck, let's hide this effect. Copy the burgundy shape and paste it in front (Cmd/Ctrl + C; Cmd/Ctrl + F), remove the Halftone effect from the Appearance palette.

Now select both burgundy shapes and press the key combination Cmd/Ctrl + 7, creating a Clipping Mask.

Portrait in Pop Art style is ready.

Step 11

Phantasm CS allows you to create a more complex Halftone effect. Let's play with it a little more. Let's turn off the visibility of the Halftone effect obtained in the previous step, skin folds and shadows on Marilyn's neck.

Let's move the photo in the layers palette so that it occupies the position shown in the figure below.

With Phantasm CS you can adjust the levels of a raster image directly in Adobe Illustrator without pre-processing in Photoshop. In addition to being convenient, there is another advantage, which will be discussed a little later. Select the photo and go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Levels..., leave the effect parameters unchanged for now and click on the OK button in the dialog box.

Step 12

12. Now go to Effect > Phantasm CS > Halftone... and set the effect parameters in the dialog box.

Of course, you don't have to stick to my parameters, because you can create your own unique effect. For example, instead of round dots, you can use squares, lines, Characters, and even Symbols if you previously saved them in the Symbols palette.

After setting the parameters for the May effect, the work looks like this.

Step 13

Now we can adjust the levels of the bitmap. Let's open the Appearance palette (Window> Appearance). We see that our object has two Phantasm CS effects applied to it, which we can customize. Open the Phantasm CS Levels dialog box by clicking on its name in the Appearance palette, control the layer sliders, observing the changes that occur. Got good result, click on the OK button

Step 14

Let's hide the points that extend beyond the outline of the head using the Clipping Mask technique described in step 10.

Step 15

In my opinion, we need to correct some places in our portrait. In the figure below, arrows indicate problem areas.

Select the object with effects and go to Object > Expand Appearance

As a result of these actions, the raster image turned into a group of vector circles that we can edit (reduce or enlarge) in the usual ways. After editing, the portrait looks like the image below.

Step 16

All we have to do is create the background. We will use a paper raster texture as the background. You can download such textures here (link). Insert the texture into the document field (File > Place...) and set it to Multiply Blending Mode in the Transparency palette.

Works for you!