Words to Pictures - Moodboard

To stimulate the thought process when considering a topic for illustration it is key to explore as many possiblities as is practicle. An aid to starting this process is the Spider diagram. Taking the subject name i.e. 'fashion' as the centre point write down words that come to mind then do the same again from those words untill you end up with something like...

To move on from this you then think about the words that you have compiled, whilst considering new and alternative words, and 'convert' them into images.




My initial attempt was very much just, think of a word or pick a word on the spider chart and sketch an image quickly without considering detail or technique

I then decided to tear some thick water colour paper in to squares and create one or two images on each. This time in more detail. I used pencil, ink, ink pen and water colour. Here are some examples..

Having worked through these processes I can use a combination of the thoughts stimulated by the words from the spider diagram and the pictorial versions to put together a moodboard. Essentially a further visual reference point, a representation of ideas on illustrating the topic. Although the aim of the Moodboard is not to produce a finished piece of art; I found it difficult to resist the temptation to create a design whilst deciding how to use the images I had found. Perhaps I didn't resist at all, scalpel art!