The document describes the 10 stage process the author took to create a movie poster in Photoshop. In stage 1, the author inserted the title and main image. In stage 3, the author altered the facial features to look dead or ghostly using brush textures and opacity. Stage 4 involved adding dramatic effects and textures to convey the film's themes of murder and brutality. The final stages saw the author enhance the background, add a tagline, release date and other details to complete the poster. Though unhappy with the final result, the author felt it was a valuable learning experience in using brushes and textures in Photoshop.

1. Experimentations with
Brushes and Textures
on Photoshop
Ashlee-Rose Brisley

2. Stage 1 – The Title
 I inserted the title
first, exactly where
abouts on the poster I
would want it and
work from there, this
was to save trouble
later with trying to
manipulate the title to
a fixed picture. I really
liked this effect which
was creating using a
series of effects and
layers on the text. I
was really happy with
this outcome.

3. Stage 1 – The Image
 The main image
I had already
decided on, I
just needed to
place it in
relation to my
title. I had
previously edited
and colour
corrected the
photo in Adobe
Photoshop CS6
before hand. I
think the final
image works
really well, and
the title looks
good in
proportion.

4. Stage 3 – Facial Effects
 I didn’t want my
image to show a
‘human’/flesh
like
protagonist, I
wanted a dead-
like/half dead
ghostly look. I
looked at how
the skin and
eyes can be
altered using
different brush
textures and
reducing the
opacity to blend
it ‘naturally’ into
the picture. I
really like this
look.

5. Stage 4 – Adding the Effects
and Textures
 This was the
biggest ‘jump’ in
the poster
process as it was
all about
creating a
dramatic look to
the poster. I
wanted
something that
showed the
murder and
theme of death
and brutality in
the film.

6. Stage 5 – Enhancing these
Effects
 The next step
was to continue
manipulating
the image and
look more into
the background
so I didn’t have
a blank black
space behind
my main
protagonists
head. I decided
to look at the
trees to connect
to my location
and blend in
two screaming
faces to give it a
disorientating
nightmarish
feel.

7. Stage 6 – Use of Drop
Shadow
 I then developed
this by
exaggerating the
drop shadow to
create a ghostly
effect, and relate
to a mist that
could be linked to
the supernatural
genre. I did this
by creating
another text
layer, changing
the effects and
opacity then
moving into
position.

8. Stage 7 – Adding a
Tagline
 I then decided to
add my
caption/slogan to
the top of my
poster which
would work with
the lyrics I used in
my trailer. This is
to help create a
unified branding
for my film by
constantly
referring to my
woodland location.
This is to keep
audiences aware
of the horror
genre conventions.

9. Stage 8 – Release
date, Quotes and Detailing
 I then moved onto
my release
date, which I
purposely wanted to
remain mysterious
to go with my
ambiguous trailer. I
also decided to add
a quote to give it
critical acclaim, a
key part of
marketing to an
audience. I decided
to add a golden
moon to the
background and
dripping blood to
push the horror
genre conventions.

10. Stage 9 – Adjusting the Face
 To finish of my
poster I decided
to make the
face look a little
less hollow, but
keep the
broken/dead
effect. To do
this I then
added a skull
over the top
and reduced the
opacity. I then
blended it
together to
create the image
on the right.

11. Stage 10 – Final Edits
 I finished off my
poster design by
adding a few brush
strokes to the face and
manipulating the trees
and two screaming
faces at the bottom of
the page. I really didn’t
like this poster idea as
I felt overall it was too
over the top and didn’t
relay any of the simple
ideas I wanted to carry
out, however I feel it
was important to
experiment with
brushes and textures
to develop my skills
using Adobe
Photoshop CS6.

12. Thoughts on the Process
 Although I was not happy with what I created and felt it
had no relation to my trailer, I feel I explored the codes
and conventions of the horror genre and looked at how
the colour red can distract away from the finer details of
the poster. I have included this process to show my
progress and record my exploration.