Illustrator Minimalist Portrait Assignment

Create Two Minimalist Portraits

Create two Illustrator minimalist portraits; a portrait of yourself, and one of another person.  The other person can be a friend, relative, or a celebrity.

Start by using a self-portrait of yourself (selfie), and create a minimalist/abstract portrait of yourself using Adobe Illustrator. Use bold colors throughout the image. 

 

Here is an Adobe tutorial:  https://helpx.adobe.com/illustrator/how-to/minimum-vector-portrait.html

 

Below is a step-by-step tutorial if you've never done anything like this in Illustrator.

Step 1: Start with a Reference Image of Yourself

Create a self-portrait of yourself using a smartphone or a DSLR camera
 - photograph yourself against a simple, plain background 
 - photograph yourself with your face head on, looking forward
 - do not create a profile photo of yourself
 - upload the photo to your computer or email your photo to yourself and download it to your computer
 - open illustrator and use the default poster size found under the 'Art & Illustration' templates (18 inches by 24 inches at 300 p.p.i.) to create a new file 
 
Place your reference photo in the Illustrator poster size file and reduce its opacity. Use control-R (Windows) or command-R (MacOS) to  reveal rulers, drag a guide to the center of the face, and lock the image layer.

Next, select the Curvature tool and clicked to create anchor points to draw an outline around the left side of the face. The Curvature tool creates geometric curves automatically, so you won't need many anchor points. To create corner points and straight lines, hold down the alt (or option) key as you click. To finish the shape, click the original anchor point while holding down the alt (or option) key.

Step 2: Reflect, Unite, Fill

With the shape selected, use the Reflect tool (keyboard shortcut O). Click on the center guide to set the reflection point; then click on the shape, held shift-alt (or shift-option) and drag a reflected copy of the face shape.

Choose the Selection tool (V) and shift-click both sides of the face. In the Properties panel, Choose Unite from the Pathfinder options and changed the fill to any desired color with no stroke. 

Step 3: Rinse and Repeat 

Continue to draw facial features, sunglasses, and jewelry, and other items that may be in the photo, with the Curvature tool while using the reference image to check proportions as needed.

Reflect these shapes across the center guide, unite them, and change the fill colors. Toggle the guide visibility by pressing control-; (semicolon) or command-; on your keyboard. 

Step 4: Throw Shade

To create a shadow, use the Curvature tool to draw a crescent shape, fill it with black, and reduce the opacity. Then, select the shadow and the face and use Shape Builder as described in the previous step to trim the shadow that extends off the face.  

Then, hide the photo layer before adding hair in the next step. If the Curvature tool inadvertently interacts with other shapes, locking the paths within the layer can help prevent undesired results.

Step 5: Make Some Hair

To draw the hair as in the example, choose the Ellipse tool and hold down shift-alt (or shift-option) as you drag a circle out from the center of the face. If you prefer, you may also use the Rectangle tool to create your hair shape. Then, fill the shape with any desired color and used shift-control or command-[ (left bracket) to send it behind the face.

With the hair selected, choose Effect > Distort and Transform > Zig Zag and experiment with the settings until you get the effect you like.

Step 6: Color Those Curls  

With the hair selected, choose Object > Expand Appearance to convert the zig zag path to a shape in order to customize the hair with the Shape Builder tool.

To create a layered look, hold down alt or option key as you drag to create overlapping copies of the hair, and then use the Selection tool to select all the copies. Next, select the Shape Builder tool and hold down the alt key as you drag to remove the additional sections of hair outside of the original shape. Finally, change the fill color of the individual sections of hair.

Step 7: Create the Background and Move it to the Back

Add shapes, trim, and embellish to make your portrait stand out on a bright background that complements your color scheme.

Below are a few examples created by Stanley Chow, Dale Edwin Murray, and others, to use as inspiration:

Illustrator files into InDesign Layouts

You can import Adobe Illustrator graphics into an Adobe InDesign layout in their native (.ai) format by simply using "Place" to put graphics created in Adobe Photoshop directly into an InDesign layout.

When you paste a graphic from Illustrator into an InDesign document, the artwork appears in InDesign as a grouped collection of editable objects.

For example, if you paste an Illustrator drawing of a soccer ball with individually created patches into InDesign, the patches are pasted as a group, which can be ungrouped and edited using tools in InDesign.

You cannot change the visibility of layers within the illustration.

(above) Illustration of soccer ball in Illustrator (left) and same illustration pasted into InDesign (right)

If you want to adjust layer visibility in InDesign:

Import the graphic using the Place command, and when you want to edit it, choose Edit > Edit Original to open the graphic in Illustrator.

For example, for a multilingual publication, you can create a single illustration that includes one text layer for each language. You can transform the illustration as a single object in InDesign but you cannot edit the paths, objects, or text within the illustration.

If you want to adjust layer visibility in InDesign:

Import the graphic using the Place command, and when you want to edit it, choose Edit > Edit Original to open the graphic in Illustrator. For example, for a multilanguage publication, you can create a single illustration that includes one text layer for each language. You can transform the illustration as a single object in InDesign but you cannot edit the paths, objects, or text within the illustration.

(above) layered file with Spanish and English layers

If you want to edit objects and paths in InDesign:

Copy the art from Illustrator and paste it into your InDesign document. For example, in a magazine, you might use the same design element in each issue, but change its color every month. By pasting a graphic into InDesign, you can change objects’ color, path, and transparency using the InDesign tools designed for that purpose.

Importing Illustrator graphics with multiple artboards:

Sometimes Illustrator graphics can include multiple artboards. When you import an Illustrator graphic with multiple artboards, you can use Import Options to specify which artboard, or “page,” is imported.

You can save an Illustrator graphic as a layered PDF and control the visibility of layers in InDesign. Adjusting layer visibility in InDesign lets you vary an illustration depending on context. Rather than create multiple versions of the same illustration, you can place the same illustration where needed and adjust the visibility of the layers as appropriate.

You can transform a PDF as a single object (for example, you can rotate it, or resize it), but you cannot edit the paths, objects, or text within the illustration.

If you’re placing an Illustrator file that includes multiple artboards, you can specify which artboard is used, as when placing multi-page PDF files.

) In Illustrator, choose File > Save As.


) In the Save As dialog box, type a filename and choose a location for the file.


) For Format, choose Adobe PDF (.pdf), and click Save.


) In the Adobe PDF Options dialog box, choose Acrobat 6 (1.5) or later for Compatibility.


) Select Create Acrobat Layers From Top-Level Layers, and click Save PDF.

Note:  Don’t place layers in nested layer sets if you want to adjust layers in InDesign