Low Poly: Three Years in Triangles

Intro

Low Poly is a style where an image is built from simple polygons – usually triangles. It started as a 3D modeling technique, where artists use as few polygons as possible, and later expanded into 2D illustration. I worked in this style from 2019 to 2022, and this project shows the whole path, including my early work that I used to hide. It shows where I started, and it makes it easy to see how far the style and I went together.

Close-up wireframe triangle mesh of a pug's face, showing the underlying low-poly structure

How It Started

I've always loved experimenting with different design styles. In 2019, I came across a low-poly illustration online, and it sparked my curiosity to try creating one myself.

I like making gifts for my friends, and this style turned out to be a good way to do both: make something nice for the people in my life and express myself. My first portraits were exactly that, gifts. My first portraits in this style were gifts, each one crafted in Adobe Illustrator, triangle by triangle.

Early Work

These are my first low-poly portraits, made for my friends. Looking back, it's interesting and funny to look at floating heads with random backgrounds =)

I'm showing these because progress doesn't make sense without a starting point.

Early low-poly portrait of a dark-haired young man, with flat olive and khaki rays radiating behind him

Low-poly portrait of a young man framed by angular green and blue geometric rings on a deep navy background

Getting Better

With time and lots of practice, I started getting better. I learned where to use big triangles and where to use smaller ones. I paid more attention to composition, light, and shadow. I mastered the shortcuts that made the process much faster. I started experimenting with textures and blur to give the illustrations more depth. All of these small improvements make a big change after all.

People

Here you can see it coming together. The difference speaks for itself.

Low-poly portrait of a young man in round glasses and a patterned shirt, against a teal and gold faceted mountain backdrop

Detailed low-poly portrait of a dark-haired man in a white-collared dark robe, serious expression, on a pale grey faceted background

Low-poly portrait of a smiling young woman in a magenta beanie and pendant necklace, against a lilac faceted background

Low-poly portrait of a young girl in a white top glancing to the side, against a dark, softly faceted background

Low-poly portrait of a woman with wind-blown auburn hair and green eyes, standing before rolling green hills

Animals

My final low-poly works were focused animals, and they were the most fun to make. A human face has to be accurate, but working on animals gave more room to play with color, contrast, and shape. By this point the style felt fun, fast, and easy to do, and I had the most fun making these animal illustrations.

Low-poly portrait of a Shiba Inu with its tongue out, wearing a collar tagged "KING", on an olive-green faceted background

Low-poly portrait of a black pug wrapped in a white blanket, against a bright orange and yellow faceted background

Low-poly close-up of a blue-and-gold macaw's head against a soft green faceted background

Low-poly artwork of a brown tabby cat standing with its tail raised on a cobblestone path

Low-poly artwork of a monarch butterfly perched on an orange flower, with blurred green and blue foliage behind

Appendix

This was an entertaining exploration and progression of my skills and this Low Poly style. I started as a complete beginner, and with much time and many triangles, got where I wanted to be. You can find one of my tutorials on how to make an illustration in this style below.