How to Create Low Poly Art in Affinity Photo

In this tutorial, we’ll learn how to create low poly art in Affinity Photo. Low poly art originated in the earlier days of 3D animation and 3D computer graphics. It was created to decrease the rendering time it took to create 3D scenes. The low poly technique used the lowest possible number of polygons to create these scenes. Today, aside from video games, illustrators and 3D artists still use low poly in their compositions. This effect helps them to create depth and texture in their work while still keeping a minimalistic look to their artwork.

Go to the following link to download the image for the tutorial:

Parrot

Step 1

First, go to File > Open and select the image of the parrot.

Step 2

In the Layers Panel, click the Lock icon on the pixel layer to unlock the image.

Step 3

Next, grab the Pen Tool from the Tools Panel. Take the Pen Tool and place points around the bird to select the bird. In the Swatches Panel, make sure the fill color (the white color) is turned off.

Step 4

After you’ve selected the bird, go to the Context Toolbar, and click Selection. Then, grab the Move Tool. Press CTRL + C to copy the selection.

Step 5

Now, go to File > New. Go to Print and select the A3 document size. This should be 297 mm by 420 mm (or 11.6 in by 16.5 in). Then, click Create.

Step 6

Press CTRL + V to paste the bird onto the new document. Click the Lock icon to lock the bird layer.

Step 7

Next, go to the Transform Panel and turn on the Lock Aspect Ratio. Then, resize the bird.

Step 8

Grab the Freehand Selection Tool from the Tools Panel. In the Context Toolbar, set the Type to Polygonal, and set the Mode to New. Select the bird layer in the Layers Panel.

Step 9

Once you’ve made the first shape, go to the Filters menu. Select Blur > Average. Press CTRL + D to deselect the selection.

Step 10

Now, draw another polygonal shape next to the first one. Next, press CTRL + ALT + F to reapply the Average Blur filter to the new selection. Or you can go up to the Filters menu and click Blur > Average again.

Step 11

After you’ve drawn all the polygonal shapes onto the bird, grab the Flood Fill Tool from the Tools Panel. Take the tool and click on the document. Make sure the bird layer isn’t selected. A new pixel layer will be created in the Layers Panel.

Step 12

Drag the new layer beneath the bird layer in the Layers Panel.

Step 13

Now, grab the Gradient Tool from the Tools Panel. Drag the Gradient Tool from the top to the bottom. Select the top color stop. Then, go to the Swatches Panel and double click the fill color to bring up the Color Chooser. Set this color stop to the following color to bring up the Color Chooser. Set this color stop to the following hex code #05A59B.

Step 14

After that, click in the middle of the gradient tool to add a third color stop. Set the color of this #9B7403.

Step 15

Next, select the color stop at the bottom. Set the color stop to #D0BE2D.

Step 16

Then, in the Context Toolbar, set the Type to Elliptical.

Congratulations, this tutorial is complete! You now know how to create low poly art in Affinity Photo. For more tutorials on Affinity Photo, check out this tutorial on how to turn a photo into a painting.