Today I'll show you how to make a movie poster in Adobe Photoshop, paired with Placeit's poster maker and photos from Envato Elements!
We will focus on creating a gritty post-apocalyptic color grade using adjustment layers, and you'll also learn how to apply quick and easy typography with Placeit. Let's get started!
Follow along with us over on our Envato Tuts+ YouTube channel:
What You'll Learn in This Photoshop Tutorial
- How to create a red and black silhouetted character
- How to plan out and place an effective composition
- How to create a gritty post-apocalyptic photo effect
- How to composite multiple subjects together
- How to draw highlights and blend characters quickly
- How to add typography using Placeit's poster maker
What You'll Need
You'll need the following resources to complete this project:
1.How to Create a Red and Black SilhouettedCharacter
To start everything off, we will be creating our base and the main focus of our poster. In a real movie poster, this is where the hero would be located!
Step 1
Create a 4349 x 5907 px canvas with a Resolutionof 300.
Step 2
Create aColor Fill Layerand fill it with black.
Using theGradient orBrush Tool,create a red #ef0000 to transparentgradient coming from the bottom of the canvas.
Step 3
Using a massive, soft, roundBrush Tool,paint a black shadow gradient comingin from the left and right sides of the canvas.
Step 4
Use the Rectangle Tool to create a long red #ff0000 vertical rectangle going from the top of the canvas to the bottom.
Step 5
Drop in thePost-apocalypse femalecharacter and clip her into the red rectangle.
Set the female image to Multiply.
Group all of your background layers into a group named "Base."
2.How to Plan Out and Place an Effective Composition
Next, we want to place our secondary characters—in this case, our hero'senemies.
Step 1
TakeNuclear survivor 1andNuclear survivor 2and place them side by side, but facing away from each other. This will help frame the main female character.
Step 2
Next, placeNuclear survivor 3between the previous survivors.
To help place him and get his positioning just right, loosely extract him from his background using theLasso Tool—just enough so that you can see behind the character.
Step 3
Finally, drag and dropNuclear survivor 4onto your canvas, setting the layer toLighten.
He will represent our main bad guy, so let's not only make him bigger but also place him looming over all the other characters.
Placing all your characters before extracting them is helpful when you have multiple poses or people to choose from. Itwill keep you from wasting time removingthe background of people or objects you end up not using.
3. How to Create a Gritty Post-ApocalypticPhoto Effect
Before we go any further, we are going to add a gritty color grade. Most of the time I savethis step for last, but given the intensityof this effect in particular, it's best to do it earlieron so you have a better vision of the outcome.
These are layered from bottom to top and should be placed above all future layers from here on out.
Step 1
Createa Color Lookup adjustment layer.
Color Lookup Settings
- 3DLUT: Bleach Bypass
- Opacity: 50%
Step 2
CreateaColor Lookupadjustment layer.
Color Lookup Settings
- 3DLUT: Foggy Night
- Opacity: 20%
Step 3
CreateaColor Lookupadjustment layer.
Color Lookup Settings
- 3DLUT: Crisp Warm
- Opacity: 40%
Step 4
CreateaColor Lookupadjustment layer.
Color Lookup Settings
- 3DLUT: Edgey Amber
- Opacity: 50%
Step 5
CreateaColor Lookupadjustment layer.
Color Lookup Settings
- 3DLUT: Horror Blue
- Opacity: 100%
- Layer Mode: Darker Color
Step 6
CreateaSelective Coloradjustment layer.
Selective Color Settings
Reds
- Yellow: +100%
Blues
- Cyan: +100%
- Magenta: +3%
- Yellow: -96%
Step 7
CreateaColor Lookupadjustment layer.
Color Lookup Settings
- 3DLUT: Teal Orange Plus Contrast
- Opacity: 62%
- Layer Mode: Color
Group all of your adjustment layers together, naming the group "Color Grade."
4.How to Composite Multiple Subjects Together
Now that we have our colors fleshed out and our charactersplaced, we can finally composite them all together.
Step 1
Extractthe left and right characters using your preferred method; mine is thePen Tool.Check out myHow to Create a Honey Bee Themed Photo Manipulation to see how I extract subjects!
Now is the time to get their exact positioning just right.
Step 2
Extract and place your third subject located in the front. I also went ahead and enlarged him slightly to give the characters more of a hierarchy.
Step 3
Extract the fourth, largest character using theMagic Wand Tool.We want this character to have mostly highlights and be roughly extracted with a lot of jagged and torn edges.
Make sure the layer is still set toLightenand place it behind all other characters.
Group all of your characters into a group named "Subjects."
5.How to Draw Highlights and Blend CharactersQuickly
Given the darknessof the overall image, it's important to make sure your characterspop against their background; adding some strong highlights is a greatway to do that!
Step 1
Create aNew Layer above the "Subjects" group.
Paint a red, somewhat sloppy outline around your three lower subjects using a small, hard roundBrush.
If you don't have a graphics tablet, bring up theSmoothing of the brushto 30-50% and use theSmudge Toolto taper out the ends of the lines.
Step 2
Create aNew Layerabove your red outline.
Using a large, soft, roundBrush,paint a black shadow below your three lower subjects.
Make sure not to hide any crucial details such as the subject's weapons, while also making sure the bottom edges of the subjects aren't showing and it's a smooth black transition.
6.How to Add Typography Using Placeit's Poster Maker
Finally, we will be bringing our poster into Placeit's poster makerto add our movie's titleand other relevant text!
Step 1
Save your poster design as either a JPG or PNG ata max of 12 MBin size.
I'd suggest making your width at least 3600 px.
Step 2
See all of the poster templates available by going to Placeit.net > Designs and searching "Poster".
I will be using the first option, Horror Film Poster Template.
Step 3
Scroll down to see some of the horror genre presets available.
I will be using "Ritual". Althoughthis is a horror preset and our film is more in the post-apocalyptic action genre, Placeit gives you tons ofcustomization options!
Step 4
While Placeit has a library of images available to use, we, of course, will be using our own.
Do this by selecting Custom Image on the right-hand side where the background images are located.
Select your saved poster PNG or JPG image.
Crop your image using Placeit's simple slider crop feature if needed.
Step 5
Add your own text by replacing the text found on the left-hand side of the screen.
The changes happen live and in real time!
Step 6
Once all your text is decided, you can start to change the color, font face, and font placement!
I will be using a pale-yellow color #f4d150 for the title font to make it stand out.
Use theColor Picker Toolin Photoshop to pick colors right off your poster.
Step 7
Next, I will be changing the font to Ultra.
Step 8
Finally, to finish everything up, I am going to arrange our poster text.
To do this in Placeit, drag and place the text wherever you want it. Once again, it's all live editing!
It also has guides to help you align everything perfectly!
We've Done It!
The only thing more important than the composition or color story of a movie poster is the text itself. It must be bold, readable, and something that draws the eye to it. As always, keep experimenting with different techniques, and see what you can create.
Find more resources onEnvato Elements!Or check out this roundup of the best ready-made movie poster templates:
- 28 Best Movie Poster Templates Nona Blackman23 Oct 2023
Explore Awesome Movie Poster Templates From Envato Elements
Looking for the right template for your movie poster project? We've selected a few examples from Envato Elements:
1. Double Exposure Movie Poster (AI, PSD)
Learn how to blend photos for a poster in Photoshop with a template like this one. Finish your movie poster project with an easy-to-customize PSD or AI file with well-organized layers. You'll get an 8.27 × 11.69 inch file size (with bleed) in print-ready format.
2. Movie Poster (PSD)
Learning how to make a poster in Photoshop? Get the right movie poster size with this template. The download features an A3 size file with free fonts in use. All the objects, colors, and text in this movie poster in Photoshop are editable. Customize this file and you'll have a bunch of full-resolution movie posters ready to print.
3. Film Festival Poster (PSD)
Are you thinking of a yellow movie poster for your film or festival? Check out this movie poster for Photoshop. It’s 100% customizable, and all the shapes are resizable, removable, and editable.
4. Movie Festival Poster Design (AI, EPS, PSD)
Learn how to make a poster in Photoshop with a good template. This is an awesome choice that could work as an original movie poster in Photoshop. You'll get a layered PSD file with Smart Objects for you to insert your own photos and text. It's also print-ready, so you'll get a bunch of full-resolution movie posters in no time.
5. Red Double Exposure Movie Poster (AI, PSD)
This template will show you how to blend photos for a poster in Photoshop. It's easy to customize, so you just need to replace elements with your text and images. Get the right movie poster resolution and size (8.27 × 11.69 inch) with this download.
Discover More Resources
Looking to learn more? Why not check out the following excellent photo manipulation tutorials:
- How to Create a Minimalist La Llorona Photo Manipulation in Adobe PhotoshopAbbey Esparza22 Oct 2018
- How to Create a Honey Bee Themed Photo Manipulation in Photoshop Abbey Esparza11 Sep 2018
- How to Create a Futuristic Fashion Portrait in Adobe Photoshop Abbey Esparza19 Apr 2018
- How to Create a Ghostly Horror-Themed Photo Manipulation in Adobe PhotoshopAbbey Esparza23 Mar 2018
- How to Create a Surreal Stitched Portrait in Adobe PhotoshopAbbey Esparza20 Feb 2018
- How to Remove a Color in PhotoshopDaisy E.11 Jan 2023
- 20+ Best Photo Filters and Effects for Photoshop for 2024Melody Nieves14 Nov 2023
- How to Create a 90s Abstract Rave Poster in Adobe PhotoshopLaura Keung14 Oct 2023
