Jurassic World Movie Poster In Photoshop

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This tutorial shows you how to recreate the Jurassic World poster in Photoshop using only vector shapes, pattern fills, filters, layer styles and adjustment layers.

You will not use a single photograph. Every texture, crack and shadow in the poster comes from tools already inside Photoshop.

The poster is a stone T-Rex fossil set inside a circle, with the words “Dino World” carved across the bottom. You build it in layers, one effect at a time.

This tutorial is for anyone who wants to learn how pros fake realistic textures. You do not need to copy the poster exactly. The goal is to learn the techniques and use them in your own logos and designs.

By the end, you will know how to stack Pattern Fill layers, carve bevels with Layer Styles, paint cracks, build drop shadows and color grade the final image.

The video was recorded in Photoshop 2014 (version 15.2.2). Every technique still works in the current version, and the few things that changed are noted along the way.

What You Will Learn

• How to draw custom vector shapes with the Pen Tool and cut holes in them
• How to stack and clip Pattern Fill layers to build a stone texture
• How to add depth with the Emboss filter and Bevel and Emboss layer styles
• How to paint raised areas and cracks into a fossil with layer masks
• How to create realistic shadows with Motion Blur and Gaussian Blur
• How to style, texture and color grade text to finish the poster

Requirements

Keyboard Shortcuts

Step 1: Draw the Poster Shapes With the Photoshop Pen Tool

The practice file starts with a back shape made of a circle and a rectangle. Above it sits a group of vector shapes: an inner circle, the trees at the bottom, and the T-Rex.

Drawing the T-Rex takes a long time, so the video only shows how the shapes were made. You can use the same steps to draw your own logo.

1. Select the Pen Tool and draw the general outline of your shape as a path.
2. Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon in the Layers panel and choose Solid Color. Photoshop fills the path and turns it into a shape layer.
3. Open the Paths panel. You can delete the original work path, and the filled shape stays.
4. To cut a hole in the shape, select it, choose Exclude Overlapping Shapes in the Pen Tool options, and draw the hole.

That is how the holes inside the T-Rex were created.

To combine two shapes, such as a circle and a rectangle, hold Shift and click both layers. Then press CtrlE (Windows) or CommandE (macOS) to merge them into a single shape.

Step 2: Texture the Back Shape of the Jurassic World Poster

Start with the back shape, the circle and rectangle behind the dinosaur. You give it a stone texture with two Pattern Fill layers.

1. Select the back shape. Click the Create new fill or adjustment layer icon, choose Pattern and click OK.
2. Press CtrlAltG (Windows) or CommandOptionG (macOS) to create a clipping mask. The pattern now affects only the shape below it.
3. Double-click the Pattern Fill thumbnail to open the Pattern Fill window again.
4. Choose the Sandpaper pattern. It is the last pattern in the Erodible Textures set. Click OK.
5. Set the blending mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to about 40%.

You can also create a clipping mask with the mouse. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and hover between the two layers. When the icon changes to a down-pointing arrow with a square, click.

Click inside the Opacity field, hold Shift and press Down Arrow to lower the value 10% at a time.

Next, add a second Pattern Fill layer and clip it the same way. Choose Rust Flakes from the Texture Fill set, the one without a number. Set this layer’s blending mode to Multiply.

Step 3: Emboss the Texture Inside a Smart Object

Before you go further, turn the shape and its two patterns into a Smart Object. You will see why in the next step.

1. Click the top layer, hold Shift and click the bottom layer to select all three.
2. Right-click the layers and choose Convert to Smart Object.
3. Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate the Smart Object. Name the copy “Emboss.”
4. Go to Filter > Stylize > Emboss. Set the Angle to 150, the Height to 2 and the Amount to 165. Click OK.
5. Set the blending mode to Overlay, and set the Opacity to about 60%.

Click the small arrow next to the layer to collapse the filter list. That keeps the Layers panel free of clutter.

Zoom in and toggle the layer to compare. The Emboss filter gives the texture depth, so the cracks look carved into the stone.

Step 4: Soften the Rust Flakes With a Pattern on the Mask

At this point the texture is a little too dark. The Rust Flakes pattern is too strong, and the Smart Object lets you fix it.

1. Double-click the thumbnail of either Smart Object. Both open the same file with the original layers.
2. Select the layer mask of the Rust Flakes layer.
3. Go to Edit > Fill and set Contents to Pattern.
4. Choose Shag Rug, the last pattern in the Texture Fill set, and click OK.
5. Press CtrlS (Windows) or CommandS (macOS) to save, then go back to your main document.

The pattern on the mask hides part of the Rust Flakes texture, so the stone gets lighter and less busy.

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the layer mask to see the pattern inside it. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click it again to return to the normal view.

Both Smart Objects update right away in your main document. That is the reason you converted the layers earlier.

Optionally, clip the Emboss layer to the Smart Object below it. It is the same shape, so nothing changes visually, but it keeps the layers organized.

Step 5: Bevel the Edges of the Back Shape

Now give the back shape sharp, carved edges with a second copy of the shape and a Bevel and Emboss layer style.

1. Rename the bottom Smart Object “back shape.” Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate it.
2. Drag the copy above the Emboss layer and press CtrlAltG (Windows) or CommandOptionG (macOS) to clip it.
3. Set the Fill of the copy to 0%.
4. Double-click the layer and choose Bevel and Emboss.
5. Set the Depth to about 235 and the Size to 9.
6. Leave the Highlight Mode on Screen and raise its Opacity to 100%. Lower the Shadow Mode Opacity to about 63%.
7. Set the Angle to 61 and the Altitude to 21, so the light comes from the top right.

Next, click Contour and lower the Range to about 3%. At 100%, the bevel is smooth. Near 0%, the bevel turns very sharp, which is the look you want here.

Click OK. Then select the Emboss layer and raise its Opacity to about 70%. The cracks now have more depth.

The Winter Soldier movie poster tutorial uses the same kind of Bevel and Emboss work to build a metal shield.

Step 6: Light the Back Shape With a Gradient Fill

A radial gradient adds a soft highlight to the stone, as if a light shines on it from the top right.

1. Select the top layer and add a Gradient Fill layer.
2. Set the Style to Radial and choose a black and white gradient.
3. Check Reverse, so the white sits in the center and the black on the outside. Click OK.
4. Press CtrlAltG (Windows) or CommandOptionG (macOS) to clip it to the shape.
5. Double-click the Gradient Fill thumbnail. Drag the gradient in the document toward the top right, and lower the Scale to about 50%. Click OK.
6. Set the blending mode to Overlay and the Opacity to about 65%.

This layer does not need a mask, so delete the mask to keep the Layers panel clean.

Next, add a black background so you can see the poster better. Add a Solid Color layer set to black, drag it to the bottom of the layer stack, delete its mask and name it “background.”

Finally, select the back shape layers and the Gradient Fill. Press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS) to put them in a group, and name it “back shape.”

Step 7: Add Pattern Textures to the Jurassic World T-Rex

Now turn on the “top shapes” group, which holds the inner circle, the trees and the T-Rex. Convert the group into a Smart Object.

You texture it the same way as the back shape, with clipped Pattern Fill layers.

1. Add a Pattern Fill layer and clip it to the top shapes Smart Object.
2. Choose Sandpaper from the Erodible Textures set.
3. Set the blending mode to Soft Light and the Opacity to about 40%. Rename the layer “Sandpaper.”
4. Add a second Pattern Fill layer with Stucco 04 from the Texture Fill 2 set, and clip it too.
5. Set the Stucco 04 layer to Soft Light and leave its Opacity at 100%.

Step 8: Add a Texture Bevel With Fill at 0%

The next layer uses a trick you will repeat throughout this poster. You add a layer, set its Fill to 0%, and use it only for its Layer Styles.

1. Add a Solid Color layer. The color does not matter, so leave it black and click OK.
2. Clip it to the top shapes Smart Object, like the textures.
3. Set the Fill to 0%.

With Fill at 0%, the black pixels turn invisible, but any Layer Styles stay visible. Opacity works differently. Lowering it fades the styles and the black pixels together.

Now double-click the layer and add the style.

1. Choose Bevel and Emboss. Leave the Depth at 100%, and raise both the Highlight Mode and the Shadow Mode Opacity to 100%.
2. Click Texture and choose Shag Rug from the Texture Fill set.
3. Leave the Scale at 100%, and set the Depth to about -25. The negative number makes the texture sink in instead of coming up at you.
4. Click OK, and name the layer “Texture Bevel.”

Step 9: Bevel the Outline of the T-Rex

A second bevel creates a clean, carved edge along the outline of the dinosaur.

1. Select the top shapes Smart Object and press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate it.
2. Drag the copy to the top of the stack and press CtrlAltG (Windows) or CommandOptionG (macOS) to clip it.
3. Set the Fill to 0%.
4. Add a Bevel and Emboss with a Size of 10. Raise the Highlight Mode and Shadow Mode Opacity to 100%.
5. Click Contour and set the Range to about 45%.
6. Click OK, and name the layer “Shape Bevel.”

Zoom in to see the result. The bevel follows the edge of the T-Rex and makes the outline look cut into the stone.

A Range of 0% is far too strong here. Anywhere between 40% and 50% looks good.

Step 10: Paint Raised Areas Into the Fossil

Think of the dinosaur as a fossil. Fossils are not flat. Some areas sit low and others stick out, and this step paints in those raised areas.

1. Add another Solid Color layer in any color, clip it with CtrlAltG (Windows) or CommandOptionG (macOS), and set its Fill to 0%.
2. Double-click it and add a Bevel and Emboss with the default settings. Check Contour and leave it at 50%.
3. Click Color Overlay. Choose white, set the blending mode to Overlay and the Opacity to about 30%.
4. Click Drop Shadow. Set the Distance and Size to 0, the Noise to 1 or 2% and the Opacity to 100%. Click OK.
5. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the Add Layer Mask icon. This creates a black mask that hides the layer.

Select the mask, choose a soft brush and paint with white. Each stroke raises that part of the fossil.

Lower the brush Opacity and Flow, so you can build up the effect slowly. Make the tip very small to draw thin ridges, so you don’t leave large flat areas.

If you make a mistake, paint with black to undo it. Press X to swap the foreground and background colors. If black and white are not your colors, press D to reset them.

Take your time on this step. The bottom of the dinosaur will be covered by text later, so that area does not need to be exact.

Step 11: Paint Cracks Into the Poster in Photoshop

Cracks make the stone look old and real. You paint them on their own layer and give them a bevel.

1. Add a new empty layer and name it “cracks.”
2. Choose a hard brush of about 3 pixels. Set its Opacity and Flow to 100%.
3. Paint thin cracks with black across the stone and the T-Rex.
4. Double-click the layer and add a Bevel and Emboss. Lower the Shadow Mode Opacity a little and raise the Highlight Mode Opacity.
5. Set the Direction to Down, so the cracks sink into the rock. Check Contour, then click OK.
6. Lower the Fill to about 50% and the Opacity to about 70%.

You can keep painting on the cracks layer after you add the style. The bevel applies to every new stroke.

Some cracks will be hidden by the text later. That is fine, and it actually looks more realistic.

Clip the cracks layer to the rest of the stack to keep things organized.

Step 12: Add a Highlight to the Jurassic World Poster

Add another light source to the top shapes, the same way you did on the back shape.

1. Add a Gradient Fill layer with a black and white Radial gradient, and check Reverse. Click OK.
2. Clip it to the stack.
3. Double-click the Gradient Fill thumbnail, lower the Scale, and drag the highlight to where the light should hit. Click OK.
4. Set the blending mode to Overlay and the Opacity to about 60%.

Select the top shapes Smart Object, hold Shift and click the Gradient Fill. Press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS) to group them, and name the group “top shapes.”

Step 13: Create the Dinosaur Shadow for the Poster

The light comes from the top right, so the dinosaur and the circle should cast a shadow toward the bottom left.

1. Select the top shapes Smart Object and press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate it.
2. Drag the copy down and out of the group. It no longer has an indent in the Layers panel when it is outside the group.
3. Double-click the side of the layer, choose Color Overlay and set it to black.
4. Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) for Free Transform. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and drag a corner inward to scale the shadow from the center.
5. Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate the shadow.
6. Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Set the Angle to 65 and the Distance to 52, and click OK.

The original shadow is too sharp. Select it and go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur. A Radius of about 3.7 pixels softens the edge.

Name the two layers “Shadow” and “Motion Shadow,” so you know which effect each one holds. Then select both and press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS) to group them into a group called “shadow.”

Step 14: Add Clouds Around the Poster With the Clouds Filter

Next, add some clouds or smoke around the shapes with the Clouds filter.

1. Press D so black and white are your foreground and background colors.
2. Add a new layer and go to Filter > Render > Clouds.
3. Click the Add Layer Mask icon, and apply the Clouds filter again to the mask. Choose it from the top of the Filter menu, or press CtrlAltF (Windows) or ControlCommandF (macOS).
4. Press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS) to put the layer in a group.
5. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the Add Layer Mask icon to give the group a black mask.

Now choose a large, soft brush and paint with white on the group mask. Tap in a few areas around the shapes to bring the clouds back only where you want them.

Step 15: Add the Dino World Text to the Poster

Zoom in on the bottom of the poster, where the text goes, and select the Type Tool. You can use any font you like.

The video uses Expo Sans Pro Bold from Typekit, which is now called Adobe Fonts. Activate the font, then filter the font list to show your Adobe Fonts and choose it.

1. Select the top layer, then click in the document to create a new text layer above everything and type “Dino World.”
2. Press CtrlEnter (Windows) or CommandReturn (macOS) to commit the text.
3. Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS), drag a corner to scale the text, and move it into place.
4. Double-click the text layer thumbnail to select the text. In the Character panel, set the tracking to about -70.
5. With the tighter spacing, increase the font size and center the text.

Reshape the Letters With a Work Path

If you want the letters to look more like the original movie logo, you can turn the text into a shape and edit it. The video shows this on one letter only.

1. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the text layer thumbnail to load the text as a selection.
2. Open the Paths panel, click the flyout menu and choose Make Work Path. Click OK.
3. Go back to the Layers panel and add a Solid Color layer. Photoshop turns the work path into a shape layer.
4. Drag the anchor points to change the shape of the letters. Use the Pen Tool to add or delete anchor points.

The rest of this tutorial keeps the regular text, so delete the shape if you tried this.

Step 16: Texture the Poster Text With Photoshop Pattern Fills

The text gets the same stone treatment as the shapes, with two patterns and a hand-painted mask.

1. Add a Pattern Fill layer with Blister Paint from the Texture Fill set. Clip it to the text, and name it “Blister Paint.”
2. Below it, add another Pattern Fill with Shag Rug, the last pattern in the Texture Fill set. Clip it, name it “Shag Rug” and set the Opacity to about 60%.
3. Set the Blister Paint layer to Multiply, and leave its Opacity at 100%.
4. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the Add Layer Mask icon to give Blister Paint a black mask.

Paint with white on the mask, tapping only in certain areas, the same way you did with the clouds. That brings in some of the cracks.

The mask gives you control over how many cracks appear on the text. Toggle the layer to compare. It makes a big difference.

Step 17: Bevel the Text and Add a Shadow

Double-click the text layer to open the Layer Style window, and add these styles.

• Bevel and Emboss: set the Depth to about 145 and the Size to 2. Check Contour and leave it at 50%.
• Inner Shadow: change the color to white and the blending mode to Soft Light. Set the Distance to 3, the Size to 1 and the Noise to 0.
• Drop Shadow: set the Opacity to 100%, the Distance to 15 and the Size to 9. Click OK.

Next, add a longer shadow to the text, the same way you did for the dinosaur.

1. Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate the text layer.
2. On the bottom copy, right-click the fx icon and choose Clear Layer Style.
3. Double-click the side of the layer, add a black Color Overlay and click OK.
4. Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. When Photoshop asks, choose Rasterize, then click OK.
5. Use the arrow keys to nudge the shadow down. Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate it and make it darker.

Select all the text layers and press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS). Name the group “text.”

Step 18: Stroke a Crack Through Each Letter

This last text effect carves a line through the center of each letter. The video shows it on one or two letters, but you can repeat it on all of them.

1. Create a new layer at the top of the text group.
2. Select the Pen Tool and set it to Path. Draw a line through the center of a letter, keeping the handles as straight as you can.
3. Press Esc to finish the path. Use the Direct Selection Tool to move any point that drifts away from the center.
4. Select the Brush Tool. Set the size to about 4 pixels and the Hardness to about 85%, and set the Spacing to 1% in the Brush Settings panel.
5. Set black as the foreground color. In the Paths panel, select the path and click the Stroke path with brush icon.
6. Press CtrlH (Windows) or CommandH (macOS) to hide extras, which hides the path, so you can see the stroke.

Now double-click the side of the layer and add a Bevel and Emboss.

1. Set the Style to Emboss and the Size to about 11.
2. Raise the Highlight Mode and Shadow Mode Opacity to 100%.
3. Check Contour and leave it at 100%.
4. Check Texture and pick any pattern that adds a little jaggedness. Lower the Depth if it is too strong.
5. Click OK and set the layer Opacity to about 85 to 88%.

Double-click the Zoom Tool to see the result. Letters like the W are harder, so balance the line between both edges of each stroke.

Step 19: Color Grade the Jurassic World Poster in Photoshop

Finish the Jurassic World poster in Photoshop with a cool, blue color grade and some extra contrast.

1. Delete any leftover paths in the Paths panel. A selected path limits the next adjustment layer to that path.
2. Add a Color Lookup adjustment layer at the top and choose the Crisp Winter look.
3. Lower the Opacity of the Color Lookup layer to about 20%.

Next, select the text group and the back shape group, press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS), and name the new group “logo.”

Now darken parts of the logo with Curves.

1. Add a Curves adjustment layer and drag the curve down.
2. Set its blending mode to Luminosity, so it changes only the brightness and not the colors.
3. Press CtrlI (Windows) or CommandI (macOS) to invert the mask to black.
4. Clip the Curves layer to the logo group.
5. Paint with white and a soft brush on the mask to darken certain areas. Adjust the Opacity to taste.

Repeat the same steps with a second Curves layer, but drag the curve up. This paints in a stronger highlight.

Step 20: Sharpen the Jurassic World Logo

The last step sharpens the whole logo at once.

1. Hide every layer except the logo group, so the Color Lookup, the clouds and the background are off.
2. Press CtrlAltShiftE (Windows) or CommandOptionShiftE (macOS). Photoshop merges everything visible into a new layer, so you have a single composite of the logo.
3. Go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask and sharpen as much as you want.
4. Lower the layer Opacity to control the strength.
5. Turn the other layers back on. The Color Lookup gives the poster its blue color.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

You built a full movie poster without a single photo. Stacked patterns made the stone, layer styles carved the bevels, and painted masks added the raised areas, cracks and clouds.

The same techniques work on any logo or shape you draw. Try them on your own design, and spend more time on the cracks and raised areas than the video does.

If you enjoy recreating movie posters, the Perfume movie poster in Photoshop tutorial is a good next project. Watch the full video above, and comment on the video if you have a question.

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