As an avid fan of anything pop culture it is always fun to express your own creative ideas. Here I give you some tips on how to use photoshop to create your own movie poster! I chose to do three different horror movie sequels for a horror series.

Step 1: Things You Will Need

Here is a list of the things you will need to create your own movie poster:

1. A laptop capable of using photoshop (Macbook laptops are easier)

2. Photoshop program

3. Internet connection (for content)

4. Patience and Practice. Photoshop can be very difficult for beginners, find a friend who knows what they are doing for help, I was a beginner when I began this project.

5. Creativity. Choose something you love and work with it, its amazing what you might come up with.

Step 2: Pick a Movie!

Any movie works, you just need to be able to give it a sequel!

Step 3: Write Out Your Ideas

Plan out your new movie poster. Organize your thoughts on paper (or computer) so that you can use it as a checklist when you sketch out your designs.

Step 4: Draw Up a Rough Sketch

Draw up a layout of your poster based on your listed ideas. It does not have to be a masterpiece, simple shapes, outlines and text can help you figure out what will look good on a finished product. Plus, nothing is set in stone, things can always change based on your creativity and new ideas along the way.

Step 5: Open a Document

Click on the Photoshop icon on your desktop to open the program. Then go to 'File' and then 'New'. A 'New Document' window will open and you will enter your dimensions for the project. Movie posters are typically 27 inches by 41 inches as shown in the photo. Once you have fixed your dimensions click 'Create' in the bottom right corner.

Step 6: Find Your Content

After you have created your document you will need to find the content you need to make the poster. Simply go onto any search engine and search for images of what you need.

Step 7: Copy and Paste Your Content

Right click on the desired photo and select 'Copy Image'. Then go back to your photo shop document and hit 'Command' and 'V' on your keyboard, this will paste the photo onto your document.

Step 8: Size the Photo

After the photo has been pasted hit 'Command' and 'T' on the keyboard to make the photo your desired size. A box will appear around the photo with eight dots. Hit and hold the 'Shift' key and select one of the corner dots and move it inward (smaller) or outward (larger).

THE FOLLOWING STEPS ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER. THEY ARE JUST THE TOOLS I USED IN PHOTOSHOP TO CREATE THESE POSTERS. I am not trying to show you how to create the exact posters I did, rather I would like to help you create your own. You will use these tools repeatedly and in different orders so I would like to introduce you to the tools and how they work (and what they do) so that you can use them at your own discretion for your project.

Step 9: Black and White Layer

First make sure you are on the appropriate layer by looking on the right hand side of the screen. Then, to the left of the layers you will see several different options or tools, select 'Adjustments' and then select the icon closest to the middle that is a half black and half white square. This will change your photo to black and white. There is a box that pops up with different color adjustments that will help you perfect your black and white look. Finally, you must right click on the layer you are on (to the right) and select 'Create Clipping Mask'. This will stop all of your other layers from staying black and white as well.

Step 10: Making a Selection

Using either the 'Magnetic Lasso tool' shown in the first picture, or the 'Pen tool' shown in the second picture, you can select what part(s) of a photo you would like to keep. After selecting either tool you must outline the desired area, there will be dots to guide where you are outlining. Once you are done outlining with the 'Magnetic Lasso' your selection is already made, if you use the 'Pen tool' you must right click in the center of your selected are and click 'Make a Selection'. After either of these actions go to the very top of your screen and select 'Select' and then 'Inverse'. Then you hit delete on your keyboard and the part of the photo that is not selected will disappear, leaving you with the parts you wanted.

Step 11: Shadow

To give a shape or photo a shadow you must first double click on the layer the photo is on, this will open a 'Layer Style' dialogue box. This dialogue box will have a list on the left hand side, select the 'Drop Shadow' option. Then you can format the shadow any way you would like as shown in the second photo, when you are finished click 'Okay' in the top right hand corner of the box.

Step 12: Glow

To give your photo a glow around it you must also double click the desired layer to open the 'Layer Style' dialogue box. This time you will select 'Outer Glow' on the left hand side of this dialogue box. Again, you can make and desired changes to the glow by changing the formats and when you are finished you may click 'Okay'.

Step 13: Color Overlay

To change the color of a photo entirely you can use 'Color Overlay' which you also get to through the 'Layer Style' box. After clicking on it in the left hand side of the box you can format it any way you want (Color, Opacity, Style), and when you are finished select 'Okay'.

Step 14: Brush Tool

You can also change the color of things by using the 'Brush Tool' which you can see in the first photo. Select the tool and then go below where the tools are to select the color of the brush. You will see the brush tool on the screen as a circle, you can change the size of it by using the brackets( Smaller: { [ ,Bigger: ] } ) buttons on the keyboard. Then color the areas you desire.

Step 15: Text

To add text to your project go to the tools on the left hand side of your screen and select the icon that looks like a giant 'T' which is the 'Text Tool'. Click where you want to place the text and you will see a flashing line appear, type what you want and use the text bar at the top to format it. You can size it like you do photos ('Command' and 'T') or you can change the font size.

Step 16: Save

When you are all finished go to the top of your screen and select 'File' then 'Save As' and title your project and save it like you would any other document!