Do any of you still use Pinterest? It used to be popular ages ago, but seems to have fallen behind in the world of social media in recent days. It’s a shame, if you ask me – it has a lot of potential when you use it for creative work.
When I studied game design ages ago we were quickly taught about the concept of mood boards. A mood board is a collection of images that showcase the ‘feel‘ of a project, evoking the mood and/or visuals you want the finished piece to have. It’s a powerful tool for keeping track of your vision and reminds you of the themes you’re pursuing, whether in a game project, story idea or upcoming artpiece.
I use Pinterest to make a board for almost every story, artpiece or game idea I have and collect images that remind me of that specific project. The images can be illustrations or photographs with the right mood, a colour scheme or style I would like to use, or shots from movies that have the same feel I’m aiming for. A cozy story set in a summer wood should obviously have a very different board compared to a grimdark horror in a world covered in ice.
Once I’ve collected enough images, just looking through the board quickly before starting work for the day is enough to bring me back to the mood of the project and gets me excited before diving into it.
If you’re curious, here’s a couple of examples from my recent projects:
Whether or not other people “get” your galleries or if they’re coherent enough doesn’t really matter; in fact, most of my galleries are hidden from the public and are only visible to me. What’s important is that taking a look at them inspires you and gets you excited to work on your project.
If you’re like me and need a quick fix of inspiration before working on your projects, give it a go and see if it works for you!
