Mood Board: Designing around a Theme.

Every thing has to start somewhere, a word, a picture, a thought….

“Sweet Dreams” is the theme this month over at  Spruce Up your Space (you can check out all the participating designers for this weekend over at their blog)

Below is a list of the few things I think about when designing, particularly around a certain theme, although it is based around designing textures, some of the points can equally apply to creating clothes and in furniture design:

1. First thoughts: What comes to mind when you think of the theme?

My initial list for “Sweet Dreams”

Romantic

Heirloom

Antique linen

Cut work/embroidery

Stitching

Victorian

2.  Are there any particular requirements?

In this case the brief was to create “anything you can think of when you think of sweet sleep and dreams!”   A pretty open brief :)

Most times clients have specific colours or a certain look in mind so you have to adjust and adapt the mood board to reflect this.

Another thing to consider is who is your target market – if you are creating for a country fair then something more rustic and robust might be more appropriate.

3.  Create a mood board

Here I gather ideas and resources, colour combinations, write notes, details to include, anything and everything to help pull the ideas together.

For “Sweet Dreams”, first I thought If  I was a builder I could make a heavenly bed stuffed with pillows then as a texture artist you have to take one step further back – If  I was making a bed I would need a cover and on that prim I need a texture that looks like a bed sheet. Simple really :) Then comes the……

4.  Details, details, details

What extra details are needed to make your item sing!  For an antique bed sheet I would need to add stitching details and faded soft colours.  If I think of an heirloom, something handed down through the generations, I often think of  handmade lace and embroidered table cloths, so time to raid the bottom drawer and take some shots to add to the mood board.

To make the item more realistic think about the shadows and light, soft folds, creases and reflections, until you can build a complete idea.  All the time gathering more ideas onto your mood board and refining the details.

5.  Start to create

Finally I start to make the textures, I have assembled all the ideas and just need to pull it all together.

6.  Testing

Is an important step, sometimes I will test for “seamlessness” in Photoshop or upload on the Second Life Beta Grid (or use the option to upload a temporary image for free) and make sure all the colours are correct and work together, when I am happy then I will upload to the main grid and do one last “test”.

This is the fun bit, seeing how the textures work on different prims and sculpties.

You can see the finished textures tomorrow at Insight Designs Textures when we release them especially for the Spruce Up Your Space weekend!

What’s your work flow? Do you see a texture and think I can make a super outdoor canvas tent with that or do you build a table and then create or find the correct texture?  If you’re a fashion designer do you see a fabric and create an outfit around it or do you create a jacket with sculpted cuffs and collars and then think about the pattern?

[Photo Credits: Amisha March]

1. 

   Jennifer Grant says:

   September 19, 2010 at 3:26 pm

   I am now doing a designe caurse and have to designe a mood board and your information is very helpfull in understanding what to do.
   Thank you,
   Jennifer.
2. 

   Amisha March says:

   September 19, 2010 at 4:42 pm

   Thanks Jennifer for dropping by and we are glad it was helpful :D