Making John Rambo Poster More Attractive and Angry..

Intro

Hey there Fellas!
Today we are going to recreate the original movie poster from the recently released (or let's say unleashed) movie "John Rambo". This poster is very simple but effective at the same time. We will use an original picture from the movie, which also the poster-designers seem to have used.

PART ONE is for the effect
PART TWO is for the finishing touches
This is what we are going to do:
On the left side you can see the original movie poster - the right image is the thing, we will end up with - pretty close, huh?!
At first get the following image. This picture is our source file and the image, we are going to manipulate.


you can download my psds, from the bottom of the page
But now: less talky, more worky!

Part One

edit the picture, until we reach the desired effect

STEP 1

Open the image "rambo_movie.jpg" up Photoshop.

STEP 2

Double click on your background-layer to transform it into a regular layer. Rename it to "rambo".

STEP 3

Go To Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Levels and use the following settings.

STEP 4

Go to Select > Select All. Then in the layers-window, activate both layers (by holding down the shif-key and clicking) and go to Edit > Copy Merged. Then Edit > Paste. Rename the new layer to "gray".

STEP 5

Move the layer "gray" so it becomes the topmost layer. Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate. Lower its opacity to 87%.

STEP 6

Go to Image > Adjustments > Shadow/Highlight and use the following settings.

STEP 7

Go to Filter > Sharpen > Unsharp Mask and use the following settings on the "gray" layer.

STEP 8

Go to Select > Select All with everything still selected, activate all layers and choose Edit > Copy Merged and after that go to Edit > Paste. Rename the new layer to "light".

STEP 9

Change the blending-mode of the "light" layer to screen and its opacity to 50%.

STEP 10

Create a new blank layer on top of all other layers. Name it "bronze". Fill the layer with #b8aba4 then change its blending mode to color and lower its opacity to 20%.

STEP 11

Erase everything on the "bronze" layer but the region over the hair. Your layers-pallete now should look like this.
Note: Instead of erasing on the "bronze" layer I used a layer mask. That's it for part one. Congrats, you've now got the Rambo IV poster-effect!

Part Two

modify the picture and add text
I'll explain this in just a few words - if you want me to explain it in more detail, tell me. After finishing the effect, you have to merge all layers. Then you need to transform and rotate the image at about 5,5°. The next step would be cropping the image to the proportions of the original. This means, that you also have to expand the background. After that you have to darken Rambos face with the burn-tool.
Find the same font (or a similar one) and place your title and credit text.