Geometric Rabbits
Sources:
Reference Image:
Tutorials:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSAGUhzA-90
https://blog.storyblocks.com/tutorials/simple-way-create-low-poly-portraits-photoshop/
This geometric portrait was created in Photoshop and edited in Krita.
This first image, which has no outline, was created in Photoshop.
The grass in the foreground create a repeating, progressive pattern.
There is a subtle division between the left and right halves of the image. On the left, the spiraling grass and many polygons of the rabbit serve to create an abstracted, almost dream-like image. On the right, the straight, individual spikes of grass and the lower polygon count create a much more solid and realistic feel. In the center, the rabbit of the dream world meets the rabbit of the solid world, greeting it by rubbing noses with it.
This pattern is less obvious but still present in the second image, edited in Krita, which uses black lines to create a stained-glass effect. This effect emphasizes the geometric nature of the composition, and provides a sense of balance to the colors used in the portrait, but lessens the dream-like effect present in the original piece.
I began the creation of these pieces by removing the background of the original image using the polygonal and magnetic lassos, and replacing the sky with a bold blue rectangle and the ground with a bold green one. This provided a horizon line, grounding the image -- and creating contrast that helps to make the rabbits the focus of the image.
To design the geometric rabbits, I used the blur average tool in combination with the magnetic lasso for the eyes, and the polygonal lasso for the face, ears, and body. The polygonal lasso tool was also very useful when creating the grass blades in the foreground of the image.
The project involved a great many layers. The first layer was a copy of the photograph -- without the background -- at 100% opacity, so that I could properly use the blur average tool. I copied the image and put it in a layer at 60% opacity to use as a reference, then copied it again to replicate the grass. The rabbits and grass were made of layer upon layer of triangles and quads, which I grouped and merged so that the polygonal shapes were organized by section and free of awkward gaps.
At this point, I had the original piece -- a soft representation of rabbits meeting outdoors. I continued in Krita, adding lines around each polygon, to create a stained glass version of the scene.