12/8/2016 HowToCreateAbstractGeometricPhotoCollageArt

HowToCreateAbstract
GeometricPhotoCollage
Art
T U T O R I A L S (http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/category/tutorials)
2 3 M A R C H 2 0 1 5 (/archives)
2 0 C O M M E N T S (http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/tutorials/howtocreateabstractgeometricphotocollage
art#comments)

Sincepostingthisshowcaseofinspiringartworkcombininggeometry&photography

(http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/articles/inspiringartworkcombininggeometryphotography)backin2014Ive

wantedtogivethistrendystyleofartatrymyself.IfinallysatdownwithIllustrator&Photoshopanddeviseda
methodoftransformingaphotographintoanabstractcollageofgeometricshapes.WellbeginwithIllustratorto
buildupaseriesofgeometriclines,thencutupanimageinPhotoshoptocreateaninterestingcomposition.A
seriesoftexturesandcurvesadjustmentswillthenhelpgivethedesignatrendyretrostylewithplentyof
processedcoloursandgrain.

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12/8/2016 HowToCreateAbstractGeometricPhotoCollageArt

(http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2015/geometriccollage/geometriclandscapeart.jpg)

SEETHEFULLSIZEGEOMETRICPHOTOCOLLAGEARTWORK
(http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2015/geometriccollage/geometriclandscapeart.jpg)

Theartworkwellbecreatinginthistutorialhasanoldretrocollagevibewithsnippetsofaphotographbeingcut
outandrearrangedintoperfectlysymmetricalgeometricshapes.

WellbegininAdobeIllustratortocreateatemplateforourgeometricshapes.Createanewdocumentthen
selecttheEllipsetool.Removethefillcolour,butleaveablackstrokethenclickontheartboardandenter500px

forboththeWidthandHeight.

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CreateanotherEllipse,butthistimeenter250pxtocreateasmallercirclehalfthesizeoftheoriginal.UseSmart
Guides(CMD+U)toaccuratelyalignthesmallcircletothetopofthelargercircle.

HoldtheALTkeyanddragoutaduplicateofthesmallcircle.Alignittofitperfectlyintotheremainingspaceof

thelargercircleoutline.

SelectthetwosmallcirclesandpressCMD+CtoCopy,thenCMD+FtoPasteinFront.HoldShiftandrotatethese
shapesby90

Copyandpasteasinglecircle,thenusetheSmartGuidestoalignthisshapetothecentreofalltheelements.

SelectthePolygontoolandclickontheartboardtobringuptheoptionswindow.Enter250pxandchangethe
numberofsidesto3toformatriangle.

At250pxinsizethistrianglewillfitperfectlyinsidethecircle.Shiftclicktoselectboththelargecircleandthe
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12/8/2016 HowToCreateAbstractGeometricPhotoCollageArt

triangle,thenreleasetheShiftkeyandgivethecircleanextraclicktomakeitthekeyobject.UsetheAlignpanel
tolineupthetrianglealongtheverticalaxis,thenaligntotop.

Copyandpasteaduplicateofthetriangle,thenrotateitby180.UsetheAlignpaneltolinethisshapeuptothe
bottomofthecircletoforma6pointedstarshape.

Selectall(CMD+A)andcopyalltheshapesthatformthegeometricpattern.Pastethegraphicintoyour

Photoshopdocumentontopofacoolphotograph(https://unsplash.com/).PressCMD+ItoInvertthecolours

sothelinesarewhite.

ActivatetheMagicWandtool,thenwiththeLineslayerhighlighted,clicktomakeaselectionofthefirstgeometric

shape.

HighlighttheBackgroundphotographlayer,thenselecttheMarqueetooltoallowtheselectiontobemoved
elsewhereinthedocument.

CopyandpasteaselectionoftheBackgroundinarandomplace,thenmovethissegmentbackintoplacewithin
thegeometriclines.

SelecttheLineslayeragainandmakeanotherMagicWandselection,thenswaptotheMarqueetoolandmove
theselectiontoarandomarea.Copyandpastethisselectionandmoveitbackintoplaceinthedesign.

Continuemethodicallyworkingthroughthedesigntomakenewselections.Speedupyourworkflowbyusingthe
shortcutsWfortheMagicWand,MfortheMarqueetool,CMD+C&CMD+VforCopy&Paste,andturnon
SnappingfromtheViewmenutoeasilypiecethedesigntogether.

Thedesignsoontakesonacoolcollageeffectaspiecesarerandomlyplacedinunnaturalpositions,butthe
symmetryofthegeometricshapeskeepsthecompositionstructuredandbalanced.
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12/8/2016 HowToCreateAbstractGeometricPhotoCollageArt

symmetryofthegeometricshapeskeepsthecompositionstructuredandbalanced.

Letsaddsomefinishingtouchestogivethedesignanagedretrolook.PasteinoneofmyGrungyPhotocopy

Textures(http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/freebies/13freehighresolutiongrungyphotocopytextures)andchange
theblendingmodetoScreentorendertheblackareastransparent.

MyDust&ScratchesTextures(http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/freebies/5dustscratchestexturesfor

photoshopillustrator)alsohelpadddistressedmarks.Pasteintheimageandchangetheblendingmodeto

Screentocompositeandbuildupthetexturing.

AddanewCurvesAdjustmentLayeratthetopofthelayerstack.Wecantweakthecurvestoproducearetro
stylecrossprocessedfilmeffect.ChangethedropdownmenutotheRedchannelandtweakthecurvestoadd

moreredintheshadowsbutlessinthehighlights.GivetheGreenandBluecurvestheoppositevalueswhile
usingthelivepreviewtoachieveacoolcolourcast.

(http://blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2015/geometriccollage/geometriclandscapeart.jpg)

Thefinalresultisanabstractpieceofartwithportionsoftheimagecutoutandrecomposedintoacollageeffect.

Thegeometriclineskeepeverythingbalancedwhiletheadditionaltexturingandcolouradjustmentfinishesoffthe
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Thegeometriclineskeepeverythingbalancedwhiletheadditionaltexturingandcolouradjustmentfinishesoffthe
imagewithanagedretrostyleappearance.Whynotexplorethistechniquefurtherbycreatingaseriesofimages
usingdifferentgeometricpatterns?

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