Head
Insert a new layer.
Choose a skin color
Select the Ellipse shape tool…
Set to draw fill only.
Draw out a circle/oval for the head. Click off the set the shape, then 2 more for the ears.
Double-click on “Layer 1” and rename it “face”.
Eyes
Eyeball
Insert a new layer and rename it “eye”.
Set colors to default.
Set Ellipse to draw Fill & Outline.
Draw an eyeball…
Click off the shape to set it.
Pupil
Ellipse Shape – change to draw fill only
Draw a pupil…
If you’re happy with the positioning of the pupil, click off the shape to set it.
Duplicate
Duplicate the eye layer.
Move
Select the Move tool
Move the new eye over – click on the canvas and drag it over.
CTRL+D to deselect (get rid of the dotted outline).
Nose
Insert a new layer, rename it “nose”.
Select the “face” layer
Select the Color Picker tool.
Click on the face to select the skin color. Then go to More color options and move the Saturation slider up a bit, or the Vibrancy slider down a bit.
Select the Line/Curve tool. Choose the 2nd type…
Increase the thickness of the line to about 5.
Drag out a line to start…
Then pull/push the circles…
When you’re happy with it, click off to set the shape.
Mouth
Insert a new layer, and rename it “mouth”.
Set the lip color…
Use Line/Curve tool to draw a smile…
…then click off to set the shape.
Neck
Select the “face” layer and select the skin color using the eye dropper tool.
Insert a new layer just above body and call it “neck”.
Select the Brush tool again.
Set the Brush hardness to 100% and increase the thickness to about 40.
Draw the neck. Don’t worry if it’s a blob like mine…
Move the neck layer below the face layer.
Darker
Go to Adjustments>Brightness & Contrast…
Reduce Brightness to -5
Clean Up Edges
Then use the Ellipse Select tool and drag out on the side…
… and Delete (not Backspace).
Repeat on the other side – click & drag to select, then Delete.
So you should have a cleaned up neck like this…
Do the same on the other side.
Hair
Insert a new layer and rename it “hair”.
Select the Brush tool
Change your primary color to what you want your hair to be.
Short Hair
Draw your hair however you like…
Long Hair
If you want to have long hair, draw the hair in front first, above the head. Then add another layer for the hair.
Make sure the layer is behind the head/neck…
Effect
Add an effect to your hair – choose one of the following options:
- Effects>Distort>Crystalize
- Effects>Distort>Dents
Here’s the example with long hair – you only need to do it to the front hair layer.
Crop (if lots of empty space)
At this point we want to reduce our canvas size to just fit the face. Click on the Rectangle Select Tool…
Then select the area you want to keep (your face/body and a bit around)…
Then either go to Image>Crop to selection… or use the crop button on the toolbar.
You should now have something like this…
Background Gradient
Select the Background layer…
Click on the Gradient Tool.
Select a dark color…
Click and drag down past the bottom of your canvas…
Enter or click on another layer to set the gradient (or click on another tool/layer).
Your layers should look like this:
