The Winter Soldier Movie Poster Tutorial

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You can build the Winter Soldier poster in Photoshop from one gray ellipse, two textures, and a stack of masked groups and Layer Styles.

The teaser poster is Captain America’s shield, scratched, dented and lit from the top right. Nothing in it is a photo of a real shield.

This tutorial is for anyone who wants to learn real texturing, the kind that makes flat shapes read as painted metal.

By the end you will know how to spin a grunge texture into a circle and pull it out of a channel. You will also sink it into metal with Blend If and carve the star with Bevel and Emboss.

The video was recorded in Photoshop CS6, and nearly every technique in it works the same way in the latest version of Photoshop. Notes along the way cover the few places where Photoshop has changed.

This is the second superhero poster on the site. The first was the Man of Steel movie poster, which uses the same layered approach on a traced logo.

Key Takeaways

  • The shield is not a photo. It is one gray ellipse, a cleaned metal texture at 50% Opacity, and a black radial Gradient Fill that fakes the curve.
  • Polar Coordinates only spins a texture in a circle when the streaks run horizontally first. Rotate the source 90 degrees, then run Rectangular to Polar.
  • Every ring lives in its own color-coded group with a mask cut from the ellipse shapes. Paint and texture never spill onto the neighboring ring.
  • A Blend If slider split with Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) is what sinks the grunge and the scratches into the metal instead of leaving them on top.
  • Set the Bevel and Emboss Direction to Down on the inner shapes. The video catches this late, and it is the difference between grooves and ridges.

What You Will Learn

  • How to fake a curved metal shield with a texture and a radial Gradient Fill
  • How to spin any texture into a circle with Polar Coordinates and remove the seam
  • How to turn a texture into a selection through the Channels panel
  • How to build color-coded groups with masks cut from ellipse shapes
  • How to carve the star with Bevel and Emboss and a Smart Object
  • How to blend grunge, scratches, paint and reflected color into metal with Blend If

Requirements

Before you start

  • Photoshop CS6, the version used in the video, or the latest version
  • A clean metal texture and a grunge texture
  • A star shape drawn with the Pen Tool, or the one in the practice files
  • Optional: the GuideGuide plugin if you want to follow the video exactly

Practice Files

Download the metal texture, the radial grunge, the star file and the color file used in this tutorial.

Keyboard Shortcuts

ActionWindowsmacOS
Load a layer, mask or channel as a selectionCtrl click the thumbnailCommand click the thumbnail
Draw a shape or selection from the centerAlt dragOption drag
Constrain to a perfect circleShift dragShift drag
Reposition a shape while drawing itHold SpacebarHold Spacebar
Make the brush smaller or larger[ and ][ and ]
Select allCtrl ACommand A
Copy MergedCtrl Shift CCommand Shift C
PasteCtrl VCommand V
Free TransformCtrl TCommand T
Default colorsDD
Swap the foreground and background colorsXX
Move ToolVV
Brush ToolBB
UndoCtrl ZCommand Z
Step backwardCtrl Alt ZCommand Option Z
InvertCtrl ICommand I
Fill with the foreground colorAlt BackspaceOption Delete
Fill with the background colorCtrl BackspaceCommand Delete
Open the Fill dialogShift BackspaceShift Delete
DeselectCtrl DCommand D
Duplicate the layerCtrl JCommand J
Group the selected layersCtrl GCommand G
Copy Layer Styles to another layerAlt drag the fx iconOption drag the fx icon
Add a layer mask that hides everythingAlt click the Add Layer Mask iconOption click the Add Layer Mask icon
View a layer mask on the canvasAlt click the mask thumbnailOption click the mask thumbnail
Split a Blend If sliderAlt drag the sliderOption drag the slider
Center a layer dragged into another documentShift dragShift drag
Zoom with the mouse wheelAlt scrollOption scroll
Hide and show the extrasCtrl HCommand H
Repeat the last filterCtrl FCommand F
SaveCtrl SCommand S

Step 1: Set Up the Winter Soldier Poster Document

Go to File > New. Set the Width to 1200 pixels and the Height to 1775 pixels, set Background Contents to Background Color with black as your background color, and click OK.

The whole poster is built around the center of the canvas, so you need a center point. The video uses the GuideGuide, but as of 2014, this feature is built into Photoshop.

Note: Photoshop has built this feature in since Photoshop CC 2014. Go to View > New Guide Layout, set Columns to 2 and Rows to 2 with no gutter, and click OK. You get the same center point with nothing to install.

Select the Ellipse Tool and click the foreground color swatch. Type 9d9998, a medium gray, and click OK.

Click on the center point and drag outward. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) so the ellipse grows from the center, and add Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) to keep it a perfect circle.

Aim for about 1275 pixels. If you cannot land on that number, type 1275 into the width field in the Options bar. Click the link icon between the fields first so the height changes with it.

Rename the layer Shield Shape. Then create a new group and name it Gray.

Right-click the group and pick a color. The video colors each group to match what it holds, so the Gray group is gray. This poster ends up with dozens of layers, and the colors keep you oriented.

Drag Shield Shape into the Gray group. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the shape’s thumbnail to load the circle as a selection.

Click the group itself, then click the Add Layer Mask icon. The group is now masked to the shield, and everything you drop inside it stays inside the circle.

Step 2: Clean Up the Metal Texture

Go to File > Open and open the clean texture file. It is a good piece of metal, but it has too many rust spots and scratches. The shield needs a smoother surface, so you will clean it first.

Select the Spot Healing Brush Tool. In the Options bar, choose Content-Aware and check Sample All Layers. Then add a new layer so the retouching lands on its own layer.

Click or drag over the scratches, with the middle of the texture as your priority. Press [ (Windows) or [ (macOS) to make the brush smaller, and ] (Windows) or ] (macOS) to make it larger.

Take your time here. The video shows the start and then jumps to a finished pass done off camera.

Press CtrlA (Windows) or CommandA (macOS) to select all. Then press CtrlShiftC (Windows) or CommandShiftC (macOS) for Copy Merged, which copies both layers as one.

Switch to the poster and press CtrlV (Windows) or CommandV (macOS). It pastes inside the Gray group. Rename it Metal Texture.

Right click the layer and choose Convert to Smart Object. Double click its thumbnail, click OK, and the texture opens in its own tab.

Add a Curves adjustment layer and drag the top of the curve to the left for more contrast. Close the tab and click Yes to save. The poster updates on its own.

Press V (Windows) or V (macOS) for the Move Tool, then CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS). Center the texture on the circle and rotate it so its bright area sits at the top right.

The light on this poster comes from the top right, so the texture’s own highlight should already be there. Press Enter.

Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, set the Radius to 0.7 pixels, and click OK. Collapse the Smart Filters row and set the layer Opacity to 50%.

Step 3: Shade the Shield with a Gradient Fill

A flat gray circle does not look like a shield. A dark edge that fades toward the middle does, because it reads as a curved surface falling away from the light.

Click the adjustment layer icon and choose Gradient. Click the gradient preview to open the Gradient Editor.

Set both color stops to black. Then work on the opacity stops along the top of the bar. Drag the left stop, the one at 0% opacity, to about 38%. Drag the right stop, the one at 100%, to about 96%.

Click OK, set the Style to Radial, and click OK again. The middle stays clear and the edge falls into shadow.

The Gradient Fill comes with a layer mask you do not need. Drag it to the trash to keep the panel clean.

Now the first highlight. Add a new layer and name it Lower Highlight. Press B (Windows) or B (macOS) for the Brush Tool and pick a soft round brush at about 375 pixels.

Set the foreground color to 85756f, a warm brown, and click once in the center of the shield.

Shrink the brush to about 175 pixels with [ (Windows) or [ (macOS). Press D (Windows) or D (macOS) for the default colors, then X (Windows) or X (macOS) to put white in front. Click once more in the same spot.

That white dot is too strong. Go to Edit > Fade Brush Tool and set it to about 62%.

Press V (Windows) or V (macOS) and drag the highlight down and to one side. If it still feels too bright, lower the layer Opacity a touch. The video settles around 95%.

Step 4: Build the Radial Grunge Texture

Brushed metal has streaks that run around the shield in a circle. To get that, you take a flat grunge texture and bend it into a ring.

Go to File > Open and open the radial grunge file. Then go to Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates, choose Rectangular to Polar, and click OK.

It makes a circle, but every streak points at the center like spokes. That is the wrong direction.

Press CtrlAltZ (Windows) or CommandOptionZ (macOS) to step backward. Go to Image > Image Rotation > 90° Clockwise so the streaks run sideways instead of up and down.

Run Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates again with Rectangular to Polar. Now the streaks wrap around the circle the way brushed metal does.

Note: Since Photoshop CC 2019, CtrlZ (Windows) or CommandZ (macOS) steps backward through your history on its own. The older step backward shortcut in the video still works too.

There is one problem left. A hard seam runs from the center to the edge, where the two ends of the flat texture met.

Undo the filter with CtrlZ (Windows) or CommandZ (macOS). Go to Filter > Other > Offset and drag the Horizontal slider until the seam sits near the middle of the image. The exact number does not matter, as long as you can see the seam. Leave Vertical at 0 and click OK.

Select the Spot Healing Brush Tool, make it a little bigger, and drag straight down the seam. It disappears.

Run Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates one more time. Same ring, no seam.

Step 5: Cut the Grunge Out with a Channel

You want only the dark streaks, as a texture you can drop over anything. A channel is how you pull them out.

Open the Channels panel. If you do not see it, turn it on under Window > Channels.

Pick the channel with the most contrast, the Blue channel in the video. Drag it onto the New Channel icon to make a copy.

Press CtrlI (Windows) or CommandI (macOS) to invert the copy. A selection loads the white pixels, so the dark streaks need to become white.

Select the Elliptical Marquee Tool. Click on the center and drag out a circle, holding AltShift (Windows) or OptionShift (macOS). It does not have to reach the edges.

Right click inside the selection and choose Select Inverse. With black as your foreground color, press AltBackspace (Windows) or OptionDelete (macOS) to fill the outside with black.

Grab the Burn Tool and darken around the rim to even out the edge.

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Drag the black slider in and the white slider in until the grays are mostly gone and the streaks stand out. Click OK.

Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the channel thumbnail to load it as a selection. Go back to the Layers panel.

Add a new layer and press CtrlBackspace (Windows) or CommandDelete (macOS) to fill the selection with the background color, black. Press CtrlD (Windows) or CommandD (macOS) to deselect.

Click the original layer, set the foreground to white, and fill it with AltBackspace (Windows) or OptionDelete (macOS). You now have black streaks on a clean white layer.

With the Move Tool, drag the streak layer onto the poster’s tab and drop it on the canvas. Hold Shift (Windows) or Shift (macOS) as you release, so it lands dead center.

Right click it, choose Convert to Smart Object, and rename it Radial Texture. Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS), scale it to fit the shield, and press Enter.

Step 6: Blend the Grunge into the Poster in Photoshop

Right now the white part of the Radial Texture covers the metal. Blend If is the fastest way to drop it.

Double click the layer to open Layer Style. Under Blend If, drag the white slider on This Layer to the left. The white pixels vanish and the dark streaks stay.

The cutoff is hard. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and drag one half of the slider to split it. The video lands around 125 and 160, and it leaves the black slider alone.

Watch the shield as you drag. The sides can go dark, but the center should stay open, because the highlight goes there later. Click OK and set the Opacity to about 80%.

If those sliders are new to you, the complete Blend If guide explains what each one does.

Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate the layer, and click the Add Layer Mask icon.

Set the foreground to black and the background to white, then go to Filter > Render > Clouds. The mask fills with random clouds, so the second copy darkens some areas of the shield and not others.

Select a large soft brush and paint black across the top of the mask, where the highlight will go. Use Edit > Fade Brush Tool if you want to keep a little of it. Paint the bottom lightly too.

Now a light version of the same streaks. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the Radial Texture thumbnail to load the streaks as a selection.

Click the adjustment layer icon and choose Solid Color. Pick white and click OK. The selection becomes the fill’s mask, so you get white streaks in the same pattern.

Drop the Opacity to around 20%. Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) and rotate it slightly, so the white streaks do not sit exactly on top of the dark ones.

Step 7: Draw the Winter Soldier Shield Rings

Collapse the Gray group. The next three ellipses mark where the rings of the shield begin and end.

Select the Ellipse Tool, click the center point, and drag while holding AltShift (Windows) or OptionShift (macOS). Make this one 1025 pixels. Type the number into the Options bar if you overshoot.

The fill color does not matter, because these shapes will end up invisible. The video gives each one a different color so you can tell them apart.

Draw a second ellipse the same way at 760 pixels, and a third at 470 pixels. Three rings and a center circle, and the shield already has its shape.

Now make the shapes into outlines. Click the first ellipse and set its Fill to 0% in the Layers panel. Double click the layer and add a black Stroke of 3 pixels, then click OK.

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and drag the fx icon from that layer onto each of the other ellipses. Set their Fill to 0% too.

Every ring now shows as a thin black line over the metal. Those lines become the grooves of the shield in Step 9.

Tip: Hold the Spacebar while you are still dragging an ellipse and you can slide it into position before you let go. It saves a lot of undo when the circle drifts off center.

Step 8: Mask the Gold, Blue and Red Groups

Each colored part of the shield gets its own group, masked to its ring. Build the groups now, while the ellipses are still separate shapes and easy to load as selections.

Create a new group named Gold and color it yellow. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the 1025-pixel ellipse’s thumbnail. Select the Gold group and click the Add Layer Mask icon.

That mask covers the whole inner disc. To cut the hole, load the 760 pixel ellipse the same way. Click the Gold mask, set black as the foreground, and press AltBackspace (Windows) or OptionDelete (macOS).

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the mask thumbnail to see it on the canvas. It should be a white ring. Press CtrlD (Windows) or CommandD (macOS) to deselect.

Create a group named Blue and color it blue. Load the 470 pixel ellipse as a selection and add a mask. This one is just the center circle.

The Red group covers the outer ring and the thin inner ring, so it takes a little more work. Create it, color it red, and load the Gold mask as a selection.

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the Add Layer Mask icon. The modifier hides the selection instead of showing it, so the gold ring is already blocked out.

Load the Gray group’s mask, right-click with a marquee tool active, choose Select Inverse, and fill the Red mask with black. That removes everything outside the shield.

Load the 470-pixel ellipse and fill that with black too. View the mask, and it looks like a target: two white rings with the rest black. Turn the mask back on.

Step 9: Emboss the Winter Soldier Shapes

Go to File > Open and open the star file. The star inside it was drawn with the Pen Tool, click by click, and you can use it as is.

With the Move Tool, drag the Star layer onto the poster. Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and roll the mouse wheel to zoom in on the center.

Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS) and fit the star inside the center circle. If the guides and the transform box get in the way, press CtrlH (Windows) or CommandH (macOS) to hide them, and use the arrow keys to nudge.

Copy the stroke onto the star by dragging the fx icon with Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS), and set the star’s Fill to 0%. Drag it to the top of the stack.

Select the star and the three ellipses, right-click, and choose Convert to Smart Object. Double-click the new Smart Object, find the star inside, and change its Stroke to 1 pixel. Close and save.

Double click the Smart Object to open Layer Style and check Bevel and Emboss and Contour. Set the Style to Pillow Emboss, Depth to 113%, and Size to 13 pixels.

Uncheck Use Global Light. Set the Angle to -117 and the Altitude to 42. Push both the Highlight and Shadow Opacity all the way up so the grooves are strong. Click OK.

Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate. On the copy, open Layer Style, turn Bevel and Emboss off, and add a 1 pixel black Stroke.

Drag the unused Bevel and Emboss effect to the trash with Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) held down. That thin stroke darkens the bottom of each groove and makes it look deeper. Rename both layers Inner Shape.

Step 10: Bevel the Inner Star

The star file has a second layer, an inner star shape that sits inside the first. Drag it onto the poster using the Move Tool, then center it where the guides cross.

If the points do not line up perfectly, cheat. The video slides it a little above center because it looks better there.

Set its Fill to 0% and open Layer Style. Check Bevel and Emboss and Contour. Choose Inner Bevel, Depth 52%, Size 0, Soften 0.

This time leave Use Global Light on, with an Angle of 39 and an Altitude of 16. Raise the Highlight and Shadow Opacity to full and click OK.

Zoom in; the edges look weak. The strokes inside the Smart Object are too thin for the bevel to grab. Double-click the Inner Shape Smart Object. Set the inner shape stroke to 1 pixel and the star stroke to 3 pixels, then press CtrlS (Windows) or CommandS (macOS).

Back in the poster, the grooves of the star are clear. Close the star tab, you are done with it.

One dent at the bottom of the star still looks wrong. Duplicate the inner star with CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS), open its Bevel and Emboss, and change the Angle to 138 and the Altitude to 21.

Hold Alt (Windows) or Option (macOS) and click the Add Layer Mask icon, so the copy is hidden. Press B (Windows) or B (macOS), shrink the brush, and paint white over just that dent. Drop the layer to about 42% Opacity.

Select all the shape layers, press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS), name the group Shapes, color it violet, and drag it to the very top of the stack.

Note: Late in the video, the Direction setting on both inner shapes and on the star switches from Up to Down. Do it now and save yourself the fix. Grooves are carved into the shield, so the shadow belongs on the top edge, not the bottom.

Step 11: Color the Gold Ring

Open the Gold group. Add a Solid Color fill layer, type 857f6b, a muted brown, and click OK. Set its blending mode to Overlay.

Because the group is masked, the color only lands on the ring. Add a Curves adjustment layer above it and pull a gentle S curve for contrast.

Look at the ring now. If the dark Radial Texture from Step 6 is too heavy, go back to that copy and drop its Opacity to about 55%.

The ring needs its own grain. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the Radial Texture thumbnail, then add a Solid Color fill inside the Gold group with the color 0a0907, a near black.

Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS), go to Edit > Transform > Rotate 90° Clockwise, and set the copy to 50% Opacity.

Duplicate again, rotate again, and set this one to 25%. Three copies at three angles turn one streak pattern into something that looks random.

Select all three fills and convert them to one Smart Object. Add a layer mask, pick a big soft brush, and paint black across the top of the ring so the highlight area stays clean. Set the Smart Object to about 60% Opacity.

Step 12: Brushed Metal for the Poster in Photoshop

The fine circular lines on the gold ring come from a texture built from nothing. Go to File > New and make a 1600 by 1600 pixel document, with black and white as your foreground and background colors.

Go to Filter > Render > Fibers. Push Variance all the way up, set Strength to 64, and click OK.

Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur, set the Angle to 90, and click OK. Press CtrlF (Windows) or CommandF (macOS) three or four times to repeat it until the fibers are straight vertical lines.

Note: In the latest version of Photoshop, Last Filter has moved to CtrlAltF (Windows) or CommandControlF (macOS).

Go to Image > Image Rotation > 90° Clockwise so the lines run sideways. Then hide the seam.

Select the Rectangular Marquee Tool, drag a band across the left and right edges of the image, and run Filter > Blur > Motion Blur at an Angle of 0. The two ends now match.

Run Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates with Rectangular to Polar. You get thin white rings. If the corners look pinched, go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur, set Amount to 10, Method to Spin, Quality to Best, and click OK.

Go to Image > Adjustments > Levels and pull both sliders in, so you get crisp lines and little gray. Run one more Radial Blur if any edges look odd.

Draw a circle with the Elliptical Marquee Tool, choose Select Inverse, and fill the outside with black. Then go to the Channels panel and hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) while clicking any channel to load the white lines.

Back in Layers, add a new layer and fill the selection with white. Drag that layer onto the poster, convert it to a Smart Object, and name it Brush Texture.

Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS), center it on the canvas, and scale it to cover the gold ring. Rotate its brightest patch to the top and press Enter.

Step 13: Finish the Gold Ring and Star

The brushed metal is too even. Add a layer mask to Brush Texture and run Filter > Render > Clouds with black and white as your colors. Paint white on the mask where you want the lines brighter.

Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS) to duplicate it. Open Layer Style on the copy and add a black Color Overlay.

Click the copy’s mask and press CtrlI (Windows) or CommandI (macOS) to invert it. Now you have dark lines where the white ones are hidden.

Nudge the copy one pixel down and one pixel left with the arrow keys, so the dark lines sit just beside the light ones instead of underneath them.

The star in the center should share the gold. Click the Gold group’s mask, select the Polygonal Lasso Tool, trace the star point to point, and fill the selection with white.

That gives the star a lot of brushed lines. Paint most of them out on the Brush Texture mask, then use Edit > Fade Brush Tool so a hint stays.

Last, a shading ring. Select the top layer, draw a new ellipse the size of the inner circle, and set its Fill to 0%. Open Layer Style and add a Gradient Overlay with the Style set to Radial and Reverse checked.

With the dialog open, drag on the canvas to move the highlight toward the top right. Set the Blend Mode to Multiply, lower the Opacity until it just darkens the inside edge, and click OK. Press CtrlH (Windows) or CommandH (macOS) to hide the guides and check your work.

Step 14: Paint the Blue Center of the Poster

Open the Blue group and add a Solid Color fill of 293a51, a steel blue. Set it to Overlay.

The blue spills onto the star. Click the Blue group’s mask, load the star as a selection, and paint black inside it. Press CtrlD (Windows) or CommandD (macOS) to deselect, and delete the fill layer’s own mask since the group already does the job.

Add a new layer. Set the foreground to 50% gray and the background to black, run Filter > Render > Clouds, and set the layer to Overlay. That breaks up the flat blue.

Find the Brush Texture in the Gold group, duplicate it with CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS), and drag the copy into the Blue group. Delete its mask.

Press CtrlT (Windows) or CommandT (macOS), scale it down to the center circle, and set it to Soft Light. The lines are faint, which is the point.

Duplicate the original Brush Texture once more and give it a black Color Overlay. Scale it in, rotate it so it does not match the first, and leave it on Normal.

Add a new layer, press B (Windows) or B (macOS), enlarge the brush, set white as the foreground, and click once near the top right of the circle. Set it to Overlay.

Add a second highlight layer the same way, also on Overlay. Give this one a layer mask filled with Clouds, so the highlight has some texture in it.

Step 15: Add Scratches and a Shadow

Create a new layer above the Blue group and name it Scratches. Set the Brush Tool to 1 pixel and white, and click and drag short lines all over the shield.

This takes a while. The video pauses here and comes back with the scratches done, so plan on a few minutes of clicking.

Convert the layer to a Smart Object. Go to Filter > Blur > Gaussian Blur, set it to 1 pixel, and click OK.

Add a layer mask and run Filter > Render > Clouds on it. Then open Layer Style and split the Blend If black slider on This Layer to about 15 and 45. The faintest scratches fall away and the rest sit in the metal.

Now the shadow that makes the shield sit in the frame. Hold Ctrl (Windows) or Command (macOS) and click the Gray group’s mask to select the whole shield.

Above Scratches, add a Solid Color fill in black. Set it to Overlay at 35% Opacity.

Pick a very large soft brush and paint black on the fill’s mask across the top of the shield. What remains is a crescent of shadow along the bottom, like a moon, with the top left open for light.

Step 16: Paint the Winter Soldier Shield Highlight

The big highlight on the original poster is not a soft glow. It has edges, like light catching worn metal. A spatter brush gets that.

Add a new layer. Open the brush picker and choose Spatter 27 pixels. Hover over the presets to read their names. Enlarge it to about 150 pixels.

Paint white across the top right of the shield, following the curve. The middle of the stroke can be solid white.

Go to Filter > Blur > Radial Blur, set Amount to 10 with Spin, and click OK. Run it a second time. The spatter turns into streaks that follow the shield.

Set this layer to Soft Light. Press CtrlJ (Windows) or CommandJ (macOS), set the copy to Overlay at 60%, and run one more Radial Blur.

Duplicate again, run Radial Blur again, and set the third copy to Soft Light at 100%. Three layers: Soft Light, Overlay at 60%, Soft Light.

Select all three and press CtrlG (Windows) or CommandG (macOS). Name the group Highlight and color it orange.

Add a mask to the group for fixes. If any part of the highlight is too strong, paint black there. The center of the shield is too bright in the video, so it gets a soft black stroke faded to about 52%.

Tip: You can run Radial Blur on the group mask too. It keeps any correction you paint moving in the same direction as the highlight.

Step 17: Paint the Winter Soldier Shield Red

Open the Red group and add a Gradient fill layer. Click the gradient to open the Gradient Editor, and make sure both opacity stops are at 100%.

Set the left color stop to 7e140f, a dark red, and the right stop to e13a46, a bright red. Move the dark stop to a Location of about 20% and the bright stop to about 85%. Click OK.

Set the Angle to 54, so the bright red lands at the top and the dark red at the bottom. Click OK and name the layer Red Paint.

Double click the layer to open Layer Style. Add an Inner Shadow at 40% Opacity with a Distance of 2 and a Size of 0.

Then add a Pattern Overlay. Click the pattern picker, load the Artist Surfaces set, and choose Washed Watercolor Paper. Set the Blend Mode to Multiply, Opacity to 78%, and leave Scale at 100%. Click OK.

Note: Since Photoshop 2020, the old pattern sets are hidden. Open the Patterns panel menu, choose Legacy Patterns and More, and Artist Surfaces appears inside it. This short tutorial shows how to find the missing patterns, shapes and gradients.

The rings are now solid red, and the real poster has paint that is flaking off. Click the Red Paint layer’s mask and press CtrlI (Windows) or CommandI (macOS) to hide all of it.

Pick the Spatter 27 pixels brush again and paint white on the mask. Every stroke brings back a ragged patch of red, and the gaps read as bare metal.

Work your way around both rings. The video pauses here as well. When you are done, open Layer Style and drag the Blend If black slider on Underlying Layer to about 18, so the deepest scratches show through the paint.

Step 18: Finish the Winter Soldier Poster

A real metal shield picks up color from the world around it. The video fakes that with a file of soft painted color blobs, blurred until nothing has an edge.

Go to File > Open, open the color file, and drag its layer onto the poster at the very top of the stack.

Set the blending mode to Color and the Opacity to about 70%. Open Layer Style and use Blend If on both ends. The video splits the black slider to about 13 and 83 and pulls the white slider in to about 241, so the color only lives in the midtones.

Add a layer mask and run Filter > Render > Clouds on it, so the color comes and goes instead of covering everything.

The gold ring should keep its own color. Load the Gold group’s mask as a selection, press ShiftBackspace (Windows) or ShiftDelete (macOS), fill with black, and then fade that fill to 50% under Edit > Fade.

Press CtrlD (Windows) or CommandD (macOS). Zoom in and you will see faint blues and greens along the edges of the shield, the way a real reflection would sit.

From here, the work is judgment, not steps. Duplicate a rough texture and mask it into the spots that need more wear. Check every bevel direction. The final image in the video got one extra Curves adjustment layer for deeper shadows and a few small tweaks to layers that were already there.

Spend the time. Trial and error is what takes a poster from close to convincing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What version of Photoshop do I need for the Winter Soldier poster?

The video was recorded in Photoshop CS6, and every tool in it is still in the latest version. Polar Coordinates, Blend If, Bevel and Emboss, channels and Smart Objects all work the same way. The only differences are where the legacy patterns live and a couple of shortcuts.

Do I need the GuideGuide plugin to make this poster?

No. It is only used once, to put a center point on the canvas. In Photoshop CC 2014 or later, go to View > New Guide Layout, set 2 columns and 2 rows, and you get the same crossing guides with nothing to install.

Why does Polar Coordinates point my texture toward the center?

Because the streaks in your source image run up and down. Rectangular to Polar wraps the top edge of the image around the center, so vertical streaks become spokes. Rotate the image 90 degrees first with Image > Image Rotation, then run the filter, and the streaks circle the shield instead.

How do I get rid of the seam after Polar Coordinates?

Undo the filter and run Filter > Other > Offset until the seam sits in the middle of the flat image. Heal the seam with the Spot Healing Brush Tool, or blur across it with Motion Blur on a selection. Then run Polar Coordinates again and the seam is gone.

What does Blend If do on the grunge texture?

Blend If hides pixels by brightness instead of by mask. Dragging the white slider on This Layer to the left makes the white background of the texture disappear and leaves only the dark streaks. Splitting the slider with Alt or Option turns the hard cutoff into a smooth fade.

Where is the Washed Watercolor Paper pattern in current Photoshop?

Since Photoshop 2020 the old sets are hidden. Open the Patterns panel, click the panel menu, and choose Legacy Patterns and More. The Artist Surfaces set is inside that folder, and Washed Watercolor Paper is one of its patterns.

Why do the grooves on my shield look raised instead of carved?

The Bevel and Emboss Direction is set to Up. Open the Layer Style on the inner shapes and the star and switch Direction to Down. That moves the shadow to the top edge of each line, which is how a groove catches light from above.

Why put each ring of the shield in its own group?

A masked group keeps every layer inside it within the ring. You can add fills, textures, adjustment layers and brush strokes to the Gold group and none of it touches the blue center or the red rings. Color coding the groups makes them easy to find once the panel fills up.

Your Winter Soldier Poster in Photoshop

Every part of this shield came from a shape, a filter, or a brush. Polar Coordinates made the grain, Bevel and Emboss cut the grooves, and a masked gradient laid down the paint.

That is why it is worth the long runtime. Once you can build the Winter Soldier poster in Photoshop, you can texture any flat shape into something that looks real.

Watch the full tutorial above to see every step in real time. If you get stuck on a section, or want to share your result, comment on the video.

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Keep going

Next, build another shield with the Doctor Strange shield in Photoshop.

Final Image

Drag the slider to see before and after

After: The Winter Soldier Movie Poster Tutorial
Before: The Winter Soldier Movie Poster Tutorial
Jesús Ramirez

About the author

Jesús Ramirez

Jesús Ramirez is a graphic designer and the founder of the Photoshop Training Channel, which he started in 2012 and has grown past two million YouTube subscribers. He has taught at Adobe MAX, Adobe Summit, and Photoshop World, teaches courses for CreativeLive and Pluralsight, and was one of five artists chosen for Adobe Stock's Make a Masterpiece campaign. His Photoshop templates shipped inside Photoshop CC 2018.

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30 Comments

  1. Nice tutorial… I know it takes a lot of time and effort to create one of these.
    Just wanted you to know you are appreciated!

  2. Looking for the files to download after liking it on Facebook but the download link isn’t working.

  3. Great tutorial !!! IT deserves 4 stars. 1 star is missing for the layers panel (it could have been stretched out for more space to make layers visible) and explaining things, like What i will do and Why i will do ? Thanks anyways, good tutorial.

  4. Hi!
    How can I get those files to with texture, etc., because I can’t find them here.

    Thanks for replay

    1. There right above where it says, “Tutorial Files”. If you can’t find it, email me through the Contact page.

    1. Thanks. Do you mean where to download it on my site? If so, the files are available for download above.

  5. Jesús: This tutorial was Outstanding! It was hard for me to keep up with it but know that i have completed the image i see i have learned so much. I will probably watch it several times to solidify the information i just took in. Thanks for the incredible effort!

  6. Great tutorial. It was easy to follow and I picked up a lot of new tricks I can use elsewhere.

    Thanks very much.

  7. Hey Jesus, I`m working on the Captain America shield and I can’t find the files for the texture, can you please help.

  8. Greetings from Western Australia Jesus,

    Thank you for all the hard work. This world is still full of really good people.

    Warmest regards,

    desertwalker

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