Experimentations with Brushes and Textures on

PhotoshopAshlee-Rose Brisley

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.