Word Lists and Mind Maps are great ways to fertilize the mind for developing creative concepts.
Used within the context of an illustration project, they are a great way to generate effective and creative ideas to help develop your illustration.
Image and Mood Boards likewise can help you develop concepts and ideas, but they can also be used as reference for executing your final illustration.
The important thing is to use words pertinent to the illustration sender, message, objective and audience within your mind maps. Once an idea pops into your mind, quickly get it down on paper. Don’t try to store it in your memory, it will either evolve into something different, and or you will forget it. Sketch it out ASAP. Use pencil and paper, or a digital sketchpad and electronic pencil
The same advice goes for images as well. Choose images that are aligned with the message and come out of the context of the illustration. These images can help generate ideas by themselves, or you can explore combinations of images, as well as image and word configurations, to discover visual metaphors and generate innovative concepts from the illustration project itself and not just off the top of your head.
