You may have heard that “a picture is worth a 1000 words.” In the world of film, this couldn’t be more true. Movie posters, or film posters (whatever term tickles your fancy), happen to be one of the oldest promotional tools that movie studios use. That poster—that one illustration—is what gives you a feeling of excitement and anticipation (if it did it’s job right!) with a single glance!
So whether you’re looking to create a unique design that gives Spielberg a run for his money or you want to learn more about what will make your film poster so unique so you can create your own from scratch, consider this a quick guide to movie poster design.
Your Film Posters Make Amazing Home Decor
Do you have a favorite movie poster that stuck with you since the moment you saw it? One that you’ve had taped to your wall since college? We’ve all had a movie poster somewhere in the house at one point or another. But what was it that made you fall so in love with a certain illustration? Indeed, it could be the actual movie that got us hooked to all its memorabilia or it could be the poster that convinced us to see the film.
In the end, it doesn’t matter if it was the chicken or the egg that came first, the point is: movie posters have a special place in our hearts and therefore bring a certain cinematic emotion to our decor. But rather than purchasing a run-of-the-mill poster, you can certainly create your own.
How to Create Your Film Poster
Movie posters are all about creating larger-than-life illustrations with vibrant colors, creative typography, and intriguing graphics! All these elements combined are what bring the static illustration to life. These key elements are also what help the audience understand what the movie is about right off-the-bat. So, dear novice, how exactly do you go about choosing these colors and visuals? We’re here to help!
Film posters within certain genres tend to use similar visual identifiers: similar colors, graphics, and elements, etc. This makes the genre easily identifiable by the audience—even if they don’t realize they know that they know! Ya know?
Action movies: The world’s toughest movie villains and action heroes all have something in common in their movie posters. Their pictures have a feeling of movement, as if their characters were right in the middle of action. Tousled hair, sweaty face, mid-leap... you get the idea.
As for the design, you’ll tend to see the color red—the color of anger, passion and energy. Blockbuster films like Star Wars and The Avengers feature blue on a black background color scheme sometimes accompanied with a vivid splash of orange somewhere. Fonts styles are textured and haphazard… as sharp and ragged as the weapons in store!
Comedy: How do you spot the light heartedness of a comedic film? The poster will be filled with bright, expressive colors of course! Comedy film posters also typically showcase the main character as the focal point of the illustration. The key here are the facial expressions—a hysterical grin, their mouth open from laughter, or a down-on-their-luck puppy-dog expression? Comedy posters tend to have a white background which focuses the attention on the characters, the source of the humor.
Horror: Silhouettes, ghostly figures, moody colors—oh my! The horror genre is probably exactly as you’d imagine… filled with black and gray tones, reminiscent of those dark and stormy nights. Visuals of windows, doorways and spooky woods lend to the eerie sensation we all want to feel when watching a scary movie. You’ll also find blood-red fonts and bloodied lettering to set the tone in writing.
Sci-fi: From Donnie Darko to Blade Runner 2049, this unique genre opts in for ultra-minimalist visuals and cool fonts. To amplify those futuristic and spacey vibes, you’ll tend to see light effects such as eerie glows, abstract light refractions, and atmospheric globes. This genre also tends to opt in for cool blues, grays, and light tones reminiscent of a cloudy sky.
Once you have the illustrations, color palette, photos and everything else, don’t forget the other elements for your film poster! All movie posters contain a title, the names of the star or stars, the director, and the release date. Going one step further, many posters will have a slogan, too… roughly six to nine words that summarize the film. For example, the slogan of The Hangover was “Some Guys Just Can’t Handle Vegas.” We dare you to come up with your own slogan when designing your poster! Speaking of which….
The Best Film Posters to Recreate
For a couple: Mr & Mrs Smith, Gone with the Wind, The Notebook, Titanic
Just for you: Pulp Fiction, Scream, Back to the Future
Just two friends: Dumb & Dumber, Men in Black, Bad Boyz
For a group of friends: The Usual Suspects, The Hangover
For a family: Little Miss Sunshine, Cheaper by the Dozen, Jumanji
Featuring your pet: Guardians of the Galaxy, Ted, Ratatouille, The Wizard of Oz
Film Poster Design with Cartoonely
Drum up excitement for your (real or fake) movie! Using your newfound design knowledge and our unique platform for custom stylized artwork, you can easily create tantalizing and iconic movie posters. Start with a film as inspiration and then add your own spin on it! The options are endless around these neck of the woods.
Use Cartoonely’s Movie Poster Maker
Know a movie buff obsessed with a certain movie? Now’s the time to recreate it starring you and your friends! Take zany photos and emotional selfies to make your poster super realistic and let us handle the rest! The key to elevating your film poster decor from “unoriginal” to “absolutely unique” lies in the details. Grab a film to recreate and add details that only you and your loved ones will understand! Now you can replace those dust dorm-room posters with something all yours.