Looking for help with simple triangle style portraits

[BarbK]

Hi,

Sorry about the post title, but I am not sure how the style is called I would like to learn.
Here are some examples:Liam Brazier and Filip Peraic.
I did some research and found you can make them with an app called Dmesh. I don't have a device that runs apps so that is not an option. There is also something called the Delaunay Raster, but it looks different and requires additional downloads and purchases.
I have been told Peraic does it manually with Illustrator. Here are two work-in-progess pictures: one & two.
I have very little experience with Illustrator and I am having trouble building a raster/grid/pattern consisting of polygons which can be coloured individually. I watched numerous pen tool, pathfinder and colouring tutorials but it didn't help me any further.
I have made an example of the problems I am facing: image.
Please bear with me. Here is what I did.
I made the lime polygon with the pen tool. Very simple. Seven clicks.
I want to add a red polygon adjacent to the first one. I start with point 1 (shift+Lclick), than 2 and 3. I find it hard to land point 3 exactly on the "ab" line.
When I fill the newly constructed polygon in red, the blue part stays open. Illustrator doesn't know it has to fill the blue part too.
If after making point 3, I click on "a" and then back on 1 I get my polygon but it doesn't look right. It's just a polygon on top of another one. It doesn't allign right and I easily lose track of which one is on top of which one. I tried every pathfinder option but it didn't do what I wanted.
So, I would love to get some help on this problem to get me started. I feel like it is either super simple or it's a function I don't have or haven't found yet.
Thank you in advance.

[gwpriester]

Welcome to TalkGraphics BarbK

Your thread has been automatically placed in moderation because new members are not allowed links in their first few posts.

But your links are appropriate to your question and so I am approving your thread.

[Big Frank]

To snap to anchor points and guides:

1. Choose View > Snap to Point. A check mark indicates that snapping is turned on.
2. Select the object you want to move.
3. Position your cursor on the exact point you want to align with anchor points and guides, and hold down the mouse button.For example, if you want to align the corner point of a rectangle with a guide, click down exactly on the corner point.
   
4. Drag the object to the desired location. When your cursor comes within 2 pixels of an anchor point or guide, it snaps to the point.The pointer changes from a filled arrowhead to a hollow arrowhead when a snap occurs.
   

[Albacore]

If I was doing a portrait I would prepare the portrait first in your favourite bitmap editor. Turn it into a greyscale bitmap - then either posterize the greyscale or increase the threshold. This gives you more contrast so that you will have a better idea of how to construct your geometrical shapes.

As well as using Franks ideas I would also turn on the Smart Guides from the View Menu which will also help. Maybe also change your Preferences from the Edit Menu both in the Grid and in the Smart Guides & Slices. There will be times when you want to turn off S/Guides so learn the short cut, Ctrl+U

[BarbK]

Thank you for your replies.
It looks like combining Albacore and Big Frank's tips does it for me. The snapping makes it easier to align anchorpoints, but after enabling smart guides it also snapped to any side of the polygon. I solved to filling problem by retracing the common sides of the polygons (probably an evident step for you guys). So instead of 2 polygons overlapping a little because of poor alignment, they now seem to be nicely next to each other.
Also, I will definitely check out the bitmap editing to prep the portrait.