• You have probably seen hundreds of posters before. 
• Everywhere, from restaurant windows to your classroom wall. Look around, and I bet you could find at least one.
• But have you ever thought about all the elements that go into one? Do you think about what makes that poster pop out to you?
• Well, we’re here to explain to you how to make an awesome, poppy, eye-catching poster for your own desires, whether it be for school assignment or just something random in your free time.

• Basic materials
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Colours - colour pencils/markers
  • Fine lining pens – we like to use 0.3mm-0.5mm
  • Paper (A4/A3)
• You can of course use any medium you want, but try not to vary it too much within the poster.

• Here’s a video that demonstrates quite a few of the points we’ll mention!

• The title of a poster is extremely important. It should tell the reader what the poster is about, should be eye-catching, and should be the most noticeable. You want the title to intrigue the reader to read on (and not confuse them too much, so keep it simple
• Ideas for title features:
  • Bubble letters
  • Special containers for the words
  • Colour
  • Bold/underline
  • Shadow
  • All caps
  • Special font(s)
• Whatever you add to your title, you should try not to add to the rest of the poster, to make it stand out.

• The contents of the poster are the information and ideas of the poster. They have to be clear and straight-forward. Your readers’ ability to understand the point is very important.
• Pictures are also very helpful in posters. You can draw them or print out images. If you plan to draw them, try to (if you want) keep to one art style, don’t have it vary too much, it might look a little out of place.

CONTAINERS

• To separate sections of your poster, you want to use headings. Try to keep the same style used for the title, but a little simpler. You want your readers to be able to find the section they’re looking for easily. Sections can be put into containers too. Here’s a few simple ones you can try:
  • Basic shapes
  • Clouds
  • Sticky notes (drawn on would be easier, but if you really want to, you can put in actual sticky notes)
  • Something based off of poster topic (for example, if you’re doing a poster about water, you could do a water droplet)

CONTENT

• The content should be as clear and understandable as possible. Some ways you can make it your poster easier to understand:
  • Give the definitions of difficult words, after the word
  • Create a glossary section (we use this a lot)
  • Highlight/underline the difficult/key words

AFTER THE SKETCH

• We like to fine line the whole poster, and color in the pictures. If you fine line your poster, I recommend you use a dark color and erase the pencil lines afterwards for a cleaner look. When you color your pictures (if you do) try to make the colors very even and not too soft. Brighter colors will make it more eye-catching. 

SOME POSTER EXAMPLES FOR INSPIRATION

• We made the Harry Potter poster, and we tried to include as many of the techniques mentioned, but the others are done by other artists.

• Now it’s your turn to try and make one!
• Pick a topic. You can choose any topic you like, or if you can’t think of one, use a random topic generator, such as this one: https://www.randomlists.com/topics or you can take some inspiration from our list of topic ideas!
  • Favorite animal
  • Favorite movie/book/show (or character from it!)
  • Historical figures
  • Favorite celebrity
  • Yourself
  • Something you’re learning about in a class
• Of course, you aren’t limited to these options, so go ahead and make it about whatever you like!
• It’s ideal to use A3 sized paper for a poster (since that will give you much more space) , but any size of paper such as A4 is fine. 
• Now, using at least a few of the tips above, begin! There’s a lot of creativity and freedom when it comes to making posters, so do what you want.
• You should do it about a topic you're passionate about, from global warming to your favorite show. Enjoy!