Kubrick commissioned very little art work for Full Metal Jacket. He prefered to improvise, rather than tie himself down to storyboards. He did hire Philip Castle, however, to work on the film's poster art. Kubrick told Castle that he wanted a simple image that would be recognisable in black and white, even when reduced to the size of a single column in a newspaper. The first sketch shown here was done by Kubrick himself.

The second picture is a reference photograph that Castle worked with. Originally he drew the helmet as if it were sitting flat on a surface. It was Kubrick who suggested that pitching the helmet at an angle, as if being worn by a marine, would be more dynamic and striking.