In this lesson, instructor Mike Butkus brings the drawing stage of the movie poster to a paint-ready finish. You will learn how Mike revises the image for clarity, strengthens the primary silhouettes, and incorporates story elements into the design. He also demonstrates how to improve depth and resolve tangents to complete a polished drawing ready to be painted.

This lesson belongs to the course Entertainment Poster Design Part I: Concept to Drawing. In this 7-week course, instructor Mike Butkus teaches you how to develop a movie poster from concept to final drawing. Working from a fictional action-horror brief, Mike demonstrates how story, composition, reference, character design, projection, and light-and-shadow organization come together to create a paint-ready poster illustration. This course focuses on the drawing and design stages of the poster process, laying the groundwork for Entertainment Poster Design Part II: Final Painting (coming soon).

Throughout this course, you’ll have access to the NMA community for feedback and critiques to improve your work as you progress.