THE MISSION
Make a polygon portrait with the Pen Tool, Blur Filters and Macros
Time needed Two hours
Skill level Advanced
Kit needed Affinity Photo
Some image effects take mere seconds to create. But it's usually those that require a little more work that are all the more rewarding for it. In this project we'll look at how to transform a portrait into a series of striking geometric shapes.
Unfortunately we can't just run a filter over the image, we have to create each individual polygon shape. But this makes the overall impression completely unique, rather than the generic look you often see when filters are used.
Each triangular shape in the face and hair here has to be plotted out by hand, which will take time and patience. Thankfully there is a way we can speed up the process.
Macros are a handy Affinity Photo feature that let us record a set of tasks (much like Actions in Photoshop CC). This means that we can make a Macro for a repetitive sequence of edits, then apply the sequence again with a single click. We begin by making a triangle with the Pen Tool, then blur the area and add an inner glow effect. Each step we make is recorded in the Macro. Once done, we can use the Pen tool to move the triangle into a different position and then hit play on our Macro to repeat the sequence.
This story is from the Spring 2022 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
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This story is from the Spring 2022 edition of PhotoPlus : The Canon Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
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