This tutorial was made for Adobe Photoshop 7.
Below is an example of a vexel, this particular image will be used through out the entire tutorial to give you a start to finish grasp on how to vexel.
First things first, you need an image to work with. Picking the right image to work with is just as important as the techniques you will use.
If you pick a bad quality image, blurred, etc., your vexel will not be a good one. If you are a beginner I reccomend doing a close up of a face.
This is the original image that I worked with. Do you see the difference? The reason I like this effect so much is that you can transform a regular image into a piece of art. They are best known for looking "cartoonish" but still maintaining a realistic quality.
Let's begin. Open your image in Photoshop. You MUST have your Layer Palette open the entire time. If you do not see it go to Windows/Layers.
Go to your Layer Palette, double click on the background layer, rename it to original and press OK. This makes it a layer instead of being set as your background.
Now right click on the original layer and select Duplicate Layer. Rename this layer as posterize and press OK.
Go to Image/Adjustments/Posterize. Something will pop up onto your screen. This is where you determine the # you want the posterization level at.
Now for each image you work with the number will vary, I always like to stay in the range of 25 - 35. But sometimes I will go higher such as 35 - 40. Test each # out on your image and see what looks best. You have to posterize the image because it is the groundwork of the vexel, notice how each layer of the skin is outlined now.
This is what my image looks like posterized.
Before we proceed you will need a skin tone palette. If you already have one that works for you by all means use it. If you do not you can use one of the 3 that I have made.
The skin palette you use will determine on the complexion of the person. In this case she is fair skinned so I choose the light one. Below are the 3 types.
Light | Medium | Dark
* Please Note - You cannot redistribute, claim as your own, use in any form as an example, etc. the skin palettes. They were created by me. You can however save them and use them in the vexels you make.
Now vexeling is all about the Pen Tool 
. If you know how to use the pen tool then you can skip this step.
First make sure your toolbar is setup like this.
You can make a new transparent image to work with or use anything really to do as an example. Now when you use the pen tool you don't want it looking jagged, you want it smooth and the corners to be sort of roundish.
First click on the image, you will see a small square, this is your beginning point, to end it you will need to come back to this point but we will get to that later. Next, click again but instead of just clicking and letting go, click and drag it out to the sides or to the top or the bottom. This is what makes it curve.
If you don't click and drag then it will look jagged and squarish and you don't want that. So repeat the same step again and again till your "image or skin layer" is traced. To close this path you must click on the first point you made. You will know it is the last point because if you hover over it will have a little circle by the pen tool.
To see this in action click here. Get it? Keep on practicing if you don't get it right away.
So now you should have your Layer Palette , your image & your skin palette on your screen. You will also be using the Eye Dropper Tool 
a lot, to get the certain shade you will need from your skin palette.
Click the lightest shade of the palette (lightest goes from center out). It should be set as your foreground color like this.
Go to your Layer Palette. Each shade will be in a set. This keeps it neat and organized so you know where everything is.
Look at the image below.
To create a set click the 3rd button on the bottom of your Layer Palette. It is a little folder. Rename this set to Skin 1. Every time you need to make a new set you will repeat these steps and for each shade go up a #. For instance, Skin 1, Skin 2, Skin 3. But for each set you must move it to the bottom after you create it. Each shade has to go underneath the other one.
Go to your image, try to find the lightest shade there is, each spot you will trace over with the Pen Tool. This will be Skin 1. Get your Zoom Tool 
And zoom up on your image so you can get a better view.
For each darker layer of skin you see you move up a color on your skin palette.
The image below is Skin 5. I skipped ahead a few shades so you can see how it is supposed to look.
To get a better view look at the image below, as you keep on tracing the skin layers and making new sets you will see the beginning of your vexel.
Go to your Layer Palette and open up one of your sets. You will see something like this. Every time you trace over a certain spot there will these layer shapes in the set. You can delete them if you messed up also.
By the time you are done with the skin, hair, eyes, mouth, clothing, etc. your Layer Palette should be looking something like here.
Always do the skin first. I usually go in this order Skin/Eyes/Mouth/Clothing Or Accessories/Hair/Etc.
To get a vivid grasp on the whole process click here. This shows the vexel from start to finish. I simply shut the layer visibility off in the posterize and original layer.
The great thing about vexeling is you change the image and add to it if you like. You can change the color of the hair, lipstick, add earrings, or even take something out you don't like. Creativity is key. Make it your own and be original.
Keep practicing if you don't like your end results. This also is a long process. It will take some time. If you do not have patience then this effect is not for you. The amount of time it can take does depend on the image itself and the designer, but I would say my average time is about 1 day - 3 days. And I am still learning.
I hope that this tutorial helped you and gave you a good idea on how to vexel, remember keep practicing and be creative!
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My name is Gina, betta known as Mizz Gina. I'm 24, a Virgo and live in PA. I'm Italian & Greek, which is safe to say the best mix there is. I just graduated from college for graphic design & animation, my all time passion in life. I have 1 dog whom I absolutely adore, Mister, and my other dog Nola recently passed away from cancer.
