In this video tutorial, watch as Dean Samed talks you through the photo manipulator's guide to mood boards in Photoshop.
As the video starts, Samed gives us a little bit of background information on what mood boards are and why he uses them. Samed has worked in the industry for 22 years, using mood boards as visual reference images for clients and also for inspiration when creating a project. He also believes they build up context and awareness for what has been done before, identifying the tropes and learning from other people. Samed then proceeds to show us a collection of his own built mood boards he has used in the past for commissions. He has around 300, all of which look like a work of art within themselves. I remember watching a downloadable course by Samed over five years ago, where he taught the use of mood boards, and I have created mood boards myself ever since.
As the video continues, Samed talks a little about his methodology in using the mood boards. His number one reason is to steal certain elements from different images, cherry-pick the best aspects, and then create something original using all these pieces. Whether they like to admit it or not, this is what most artists do. It is very hard to be 100 percent original these days. Everything has been done in some form. So, this is a great technique to stay original while being inspired by others. From there, we move into a full tutorial of how Samed selects the images and creates his mood boards.
This tutorial is excellent for anyone wanting to add depth to their pre-visualization workflow. Mood board creation is more than a collating of images; it can add depth to your new creations.
