Millions go purple on Spirit Day in a stand against bullying and to show their support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. Observed annually since 2010, individuals, schools, organizations, corporations, and public figures wear purple, which symbolizes 'spirit' on the rainbow flag.
1. Prepare Your Photograph
Step 1
I'm going to be using a reference image of a friend from Envato Studio, Jordan McNamara, taken by fellow Envato staff member, Natasha Postolovski.I've chosen this image as it's a clear, high-quality image (see the tutorial assets for a higher resolution download) and Jordan is smiling! For such an occasion, I feel we need a nice positive image.
Step 2
After cropping the image in Adobe Photoshop, I'm going to change the colour scheme of the image.If you're creating a basic, line art style portrait with minimal shading, I would recommend turning your image black and white to make it easier to work from. I went to Image > Adjustments > Black & White and used the preset Maximum White to neutralise as much of the shading as possible. I then used a purple tint to get some palette inspiration.
Once I'm happy with the minor change to the image, I'm going to save it and get ready to use it in Adobe Illustrator. I'll also save a copy of the photograph in the original colours so that I can work from both images.
2. Set Up Your Adobe Illustrator File
Step 1
Create a new document and File > Place your photographs onto the artboard. If you're going to resize your images, be sure to select them both and resize them together so they are both aligned.I then set up my layers as shown below. In the "BG" layer, I include a white filled rectangle set to Opacity 50%. This is so that I can easily see the images underneath. I prefer to work in this way rather than dimming the layer, as I can easily turn the layer on and off by using hide/unhide.
Step 2
Using the Artboard Tool (Shift-O), I change the dimensions of the artboard edges and effectively crop the image. When doing this, pay attention to your Navigation panel as this will give you a clearer idea of the composition.
3. Create Taper Brushes
Step 1
As this style requires the use of lines, it's worth creating your own taper brushes. I have a collection of home-made art brushes I use for such occasions.The two main ones I'm going to be using are tapered at both ends and are a triangle taper brush. They both originate from a simple circle and have had their points modified and height reduced.
Step 2
Then via the Brushes panel, I create two new art brushes with the following settings:
4. Create Your Line Art
Step 1
Let's start creating the line art for our portrait. I always start by drawing the largest shapes first. When drawing these shapes, be sure that your lines intersect with each other, as we'll be using the Live Paint function later on.I'd recommend using the Pen Tool (P) for maximum control with these lines, even if you've got a tablet. I've increased the stroke weight so that you can see the lines more clearly.
Step 2
I then continue to add the more minor lines and detailing. Don't worry about your portrait not looking true to the photograph right now. There's no style applied to the lines and they are basic shapes.
Step 3
Let's apply the custom-made art brushes to the illustration. I use the Taper Brush in places where the ends of the line do not touch other lines (pink). I use the Triangle Taper Brush in places where one end intersects with another line (blue).Adjust the Stroke Weight of the lines in the Stroke panel depending on how delicate or deep the lines are on the portrait.
5. Render the Hair in Line Art
Step 1
I'm going to use the Paintbrush Tool (B) and the Taper Brush to render the hair on the portrait. Depending on the location of the hair, it will dictate the Stroke Weight, so adjust accordingly. For instance, the eyebrow hairs are thicker than the eyelashes.I start with the eyebrows. While using the reference image to show you the direction of the hairs, draw around the outside first and then fill in the centre.
Step 2
I then use the reference image to begin drawing in the facial hair. You don't need to place a stroke for every single whisker, just enough to give the impression of facial hair. Be sure to follow the direction of the hair.
Step 3
I use a thicker Stroke Weight to create hair along the edges of the jawline and at the sides of the face. This will be quicker than adding a larger number of thinner strokes along these edges.
Step 4
Men have eyelashes, so remember to add them. I use a thinner stroke to avoid making it look as if he's wearing mascara. I also change the pupils to a black fill.
6. Add Purple to Your Portrait
Step 1
Time to add purple to your portrait to stick to the Spirit Day theme. I'm going to use the modified reference image and the Eyedropper Tool (I) to pick out the darkest and lightest shades of purple. I use them to fill two Rectangles (M).I then Blend (Control-Shift-B) the shapes together to create two shades of purple in between. Once done, I Object > Expand them and add all four colours to my Swatches panel ready to be used.
Step 2
After changing the stroke colour of my line art to the darkest purple, I duplicate it and then select the core line art and Object > Expand Appearance and Object > Expand it. I then use the Pathfinder panel and select Unite to combine all the lines into one shape. This is ready to use with the Live Paint Bucket (K).
Step 3
I use the Live Paint Bucket (K) to fill in the shapes using our restricted palette. I've used all purple fills, apart from the whites in the eyes and teeth, for which I've used a white fill.
Step 4
Select your Live Paint group and go to Object > Expand. Drill into the group in the Layers panel, and remove your line art. You'll still have your original line art in another layer.Duplicate the shapes for the face and the neck/chest area and fill them with a transparent radial gradient to create shadow around the facial hair regions. Use the Gradient Tool (G) to place the gradient sources where necessary.
I've changed the weight and colour of the line art to create a more subtle style. You'll notice that I keep on tweaking these as I go along.
7. Add Small Details
Step 1
As I'm coming to the end of my portrait, I'm going to add some small details to help refine it. The first is to use two circles with a white fill and a purple stroke to create a reflection in the eyes. The second is a circle to represent a mole on the neck. I add moles to all my portraits, even if the person doesn't have them.
Step 2
I then add a button to the shirt and use dashed lines with the Taper Brush to create stitching around the shirt. This helps balance out the level of detailing, because in the face you have plenty with the hair rendering, and there's little in the lower part of the composition.
Step 3
Finally, I use a line pattern from the Illustrator default texture pattern libraries (accessible via the Swatches panel) to add a subtle texture to the fabric of the shirt.Before I apply the texture, I modify the pattern via Pattern Options, just to change the colour of the pattern so that it fits with the colour scheme.
Awesome Work, You're Now Done!
Thank you for joining me in this tutorial, and I hope you'll consider wearing purple for Spirit Day to show your support.Line art is a fun style to play with in vector portraits, as it's quick and easy. Show me your line art portrait in the comments!
