Collect a group of high-resolution film stills from your favorite movie. You can acquire these from the Internet, the digital press kit of the movie or the Blu-ray copy of the film. You can also get film stills from the DVD and some low-resolution images on the Web, but these won’t be ideal copies for a movie poster as this material isn't meant to be blown up into a large print. Pick the highest resolution images possible.
Import the images into a new project in your preferred image-editing program. For your poster canvas, standard movie posters use the dimensions 18 inches by 24 inches, 24 inches by 36 inches or 27 inches by 39-inches. Set your file with at least 300dpi resolution to avoid pixelation when producing large poster prints. The basic steps for any image-editing project are generally the same in many of these programs including Photoshop, Inkscape and Krita. After importing the images, you simply need to cut and paste specific image elements you need into your movie poster canvas.
Go through your available images, then make a concept for your movie poster out of them. As a fan, ideas would typically start pouring in and it's a matter of choosing which idea can best represent the movie and how you feel about it. Depending on how proficient you are in making graphics and editing photos using your preferred program, conceptualize an ideal layout for the poster. As a guide, arrange the stills in a way that looks pleasing and engaging to the eye, while also expressing the mood and feel of the film. Choose a concept that maximizes the images you have or make a high-concept poster that may only use one or a few of those images. A minimal layout and design is a good route, especially if you still don’t have enough mastery of the program you use.
Select a color scheme and texture for the poster, which should be in line with the actual look and feel of the movie. The movie’s genre and basic storyline play vital roles in how your poster can look. For instance, for a horror movie, the poster is ideally dark and creepy. Meanwhile, if the film is an epic adventure piece, the poster should exude grandness and a look that is larger than life.
Select a font for the texts that will appear in the poster, then place these text elements including the movie’s title, tagline and credits in specific areas in your poster. Although there is no strict rule on where to place the credits, the production companies’ names usually appear on top of the poster, while the key production team appear at the bottom of the poster. The film’s title is the largest text material in the poster and it can be placed anywhere to fit the poster’s concept. The names of the director and the main actors are usually the second largest text materials that can also be placed anywhere within the poster's layout.