Teach_Yourself_Photoshop_Elements_2

CREATIVE EFFECTS

Make a fantasy movie poster

Design a striking film poster with larger-than-life characters

using these simple techniques in Photoshop Elements

I

f you’re ever in need of inspiration

for a Photoshop project, do a quick

search for the latest film posters.

They are often at the cutting edge

of Photoshop design, merging photography

with type, graphics and special effects. In this

tutorial we’ll show you how to get started

with your own posters. As well as learning

how to position images and words for a

striking design, we’ll also show you how to

turn people into larger-than-life CGI-like

characters with the Liquify filter.

What’s more, you’ll learn how to use Layer

Styles to give your type impact, and we’ll

even show you how to make a quick digital

snowstorm. With these techniques you could

make your own spoof posters with friends

and family in the leading roles, complete with

your own comedy film titles and taglines. You

could even make posters to go with a home

movie you’ve shot on your camera.

These skills aren’t just useful for posters;

they come in handy for any design work that

involves combining photography and type.

4

Add green eyes

Add a Hue/Saturation adjustment

layer. Check Colorize and set Hue 120,

Saturation 60. Press Cmd/Ctrl+I. Paint white

over the irises. Next click the Type tool.

Choose the ‘Trajan Pro’ font in black, then

click the image and type a title.

5

Type the words

Grab the Move tool and check Show

Bounding Box, then click the box to

transform and resize the title. Go to Layer>

Layer Style>Style Settings and check Drop

Shadow. Set Angle 120, Size 5, Distance 16,

Opacity 36. Add more words with new fonts.

6

Make the snow

Fill a new layer below the type with

black, then go to Filter>Noise>Add

Noise. Choose Amount 400, Type: Gaussian,

Monochromatic. Then Filter>Artistic>Dry

Brush>OK, then Filter>Blur>Gaussian Blur.

Set 1px. Set the blending mode to Screen.

1

Enlarge the eyes

Open the starting image and press Cmd/

Ctrl+J. Go to Filter>Distort>Liquify.

Click the Bloat tool, then resize the brush

until it’s larger than the eyeball. Click each

eye a few times to enlarge them, then switch

to the Pucker tool and shrink the pupils.

2

Thin the chin

Use the Warp tool to push in the nose

and chin so that they’re small and

pointy, and make the neck thinner. Push the

mouth around to give it a slight smile. Click

OK. Next, click the New Layer icon in the

Layers panel and click the Brush tool.

3

Paint white edges

Set brush opacity to 30

, then paint

with a large soft-edged brush around

the edges to fade it. Create a new Brightness

Contrast adjustment layer and set Contrast

21, Brightness 24. Add a Photo Filter

adjustment layer – Cooling Filter (82).