How to create low-poly portraits in Photoshop

How to create low-poly portraits in Photoshop

Low polygon art transforms ordinary portraits into striking geometric masterpieces using triangular shapes and bold color blocks. This technique creates a modern, digital aesthetic that works beautifully for logos, artistic portraits, and creative design projects.

The process involves breaking down an image into triangular sections, each filled with an average color to create a faceted, three-dimensional appearance.

Watch the Tutorial

Video by Nemanja Sekulic. Any links or downloads mentioned by the creator are available only on YouTube

Essential Tips for Low Polygon Portraits

Master the low polygon technique with these practical strategies that will speed up your workflow and improve your results.

  • Create an action to automate the triangle-filling process - record the steps of applying blur average, duplicating to a new layer, and returning to the background
  • Use Photoshop's grid with snap enabled to create precise triangular connections and maintain clean geometry
  • Work on half the face and mirror it for symmetrical subjects to cut your work time in half
  • Vary triangle sizes based on detail areas - use smaller triangles around eyes and nose, larger ones for simple background areas
  • Follow natural shadow lines and color boundaries when placing triangle edges to maintain realistic form

More Tutorials About Low Polygon Effects

Explore additional techniques for creating stunning geometric artwork and portrait effects.

Low Poly Portrait Effect in Photoshop
In this tutorial FX-Ray will teach you, how to create a portrait, that looks like a low poly 3D model. You will be using the Polygonal Lasso Tool to paint triangles, the average blur filter to calculate an average color of a selection and create your own action, so you'll have less work. Photoshop's grid will help you to connect the triangles. In the end, we will apply different layer style effects to the polygons. Watch tutorial
How to Create Low Polygon Images from Photos in Photoshop
In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn how to transform your photos into stunning low-polygon images. The process is straightforward and can be applied to various types of images, allowing you to create captivating low-poly portraits or abstract artwork. The tutorial, presented by Marty Geller from Blue Lightning TV, guides you through the essential steps to achieve this visually striking effect. You'll discover how to use Photoshop's powerful tools and techniques to seamlessly convert your
Convert Low-Resolution Graphics to High Resolution in Photoshop
Low-resolution graphics often limit design projects, especially when you need to scale logos, icons, or simple illustrations for print or large-format displays. While vector formats offer infinite scalability, many graphics exist only as pixelated bitmap files that become unusable when enlarged. This tutorial demonstrates two effective methods for converting low-resolution graphics into crisp, high-resolution versions using Photoshop's built-in tools. You'll learn techniques that work specifica
How to convert a low-resolution image to high-resolution in Photoshop
In this tutorial, Aaron Nace demonstrates how to enhance low-resolution images using Photoshop's Super Resolution feature. This tool, available in Adobe Camera RAW, allows you to increase image resolution significantly by doubling the width and height of your photos, resulting in a fourfold increase in pixel count. Aaron walks you through the process of applying Super Resolution, explaining how it uses advanced algorithms to improve image detail and clarity. The tutorial covers preparation tips

Get tutorials & freebies delivered to you.

Subscribe to the Photoshop Roadmap newsletter, a weekly roundup of new tutorials, insights and quality downloads, trusted by 6500+ readers.

You might also like

How to Expand Photos Beyond Their Edges Using AI Generative Expand in Photoshop

Sometimes your best photos need more breathing room or a different aspect ratio. Generative Expand in Photoshop lets you extend your canvas beyond the original image boundaries, using AI to intelligently fill in missing areas with content that matches your scene. This technique works for changing portrait photos to landscape...

How to Create Digital Scrapbook Carousels in Photoshop

Digital scrapbook pages capture memories beautifully, but a single page limits your storytelling. Creating a carousel format lets you design multiple connected panels that work together as one cohesive piece while giving viewers more content to explore. This technique uses frames, custom shapes, and smart export settings to build templates...

How to Use Auto Align Layers in Photoshop for Perfect Layer Alignment

When working with multiple layers that need perfect alignment, manual positioning often falls short. Slight camera movement, different crops, or rotated images can make precise alignment seem impossible through visual adjustment alone. Auto Align Layers automatically handles rotation, scaling, and positioning to create perfect layer alignment, even when images have...

How to Use Nano Banana Pro in Adobe Firefly for Advanced AI Image Generation

Adobe Firefly now includes Gemini 3 with Nano Banana Pro, offering sharper 2K image generation with improved text clarity and precision blending. This advanced AI model works seamlessly within Firefly's generative workspace, enabling powerful workflows like multi-image composition and virtual try-on effects. The integration provides access to sophisticated...

Create Colorful Retro Text Compositions in Photoshop

Retro design trends continue to captivate audiences with their bold colors and geometric shapes. This tutorial demonstrates how to build a complete vintage-inspired composition using text, geometric elements, and vibrant color schemes that capture the essence of classic graphic design. You'll learn to combine typography with custom shapes,...

Photoshop's New Color and Temperature Tool for Advanced Color Grading

Photoshop's latest update introduces temperature and tint controls directly into the adjustment layer panel, bringing white balance tools from Camera Raw into the main editing workspace. This addition transforms color grading workflows by enabling precise local adjustments with custom brushes and blend modes. The new Color and Vibrance...

You’ve successfully subscribed to Photoshop Roadmap
Welcome back! You’ve successfully signed in.
Great! You’ve successfully signed up.
Success! Your email is updated.
Your link has expired
Success! Check your email for magic link to sign-in.