How do you approach research and brainstorming for illustration projects?

As an artist, Art Educator ,art gallery owner and art organizer for many years and have worked on illustrations or paintings for clients or for myself. I keep a sketch pad, notebook, or my phone/camera handy 24 hours near me to gather information . You never know when something just sparks your idea. A quick sketch and notes turns into a full blown thought and a preview. Then you do reasearch on the details of what you wanted to end up with in your preview. I might need to do this a few times before I settle and say, "Ah Ha," This is it!

The first thing I do after the client sends in the initial brief, I start analyzing and see if it has all the information I need, usually it doesn't. So therefore I have a discovery call with the client and ask away all the questions I have, so we are both sure we are on the same line. Building this bridge of trust since the start of the project will help while developing. After I have all the information settled with the client, I start extracting valuable information from the brief, as keywords that will help develop the research and mood board part. This will drive the overall decision for art direction that will dictate how the illustrations are developed.

I think this is the key difference between art and design/illustration. There is business/organisational/communications requirement from design and illustration and understanding what that is, what success therefore looks like and what levers you can pull to meet that is a key skill.

As a creative I think it's important to know position. Assuming you're on a great team already. Are you allowed to input ideas? People can squash a good idea without even knowing it. Most important thing to do is detach from an outcome. In the brief the words are important and be aware that they can change overnight. I found any successful campaign is in the editing. So make a ton of mistakes, get it wrong, read it upside down or backwards.

Personally, I like to create a new Pinterest Board and lock it for privacy. Then, I gather all the information I need in one spot, creating sub-folders as needed, so that I can easily call upon my reference.

It's not stealing if you're taking inspiration from 20 different works and also adding your own personal flair to it. A good thing to note is that, you should use these references as a start for your own exploration of ideas. That way, your final artwork isn't a blatant copy of another work.

When you gather inspiration, it's important to gather visual references to see how it all flows together, however it's also important to remember to engage your other senses as well. Find music that fits the mood, engage in media that evokes emotions you're looking to bring out in your piece, study textures first hand so you can incorporate them in your piece. Looking to paint a forest scene? Go out to a local forest, immerse yourself in it, take notes of what you feel, hear, and use that in your illustration. You aren't just painting trees, give your trees life and history, and do so for as many elements in your illustration as you can. By doing so you're also building a story in your illustration which will make it more appealing overall.

A graphic or illustration project always requires prior research, including client interaction, understanding project requirements, goal setting, among other elements. This provides us with parameters to focus on and guide the piece we are going to create, as well as support our proposal. Inspiration for our proposals can arise through the creation of moodboards on platforms like Pinterest or Miro, or simply by organizing clippings and photos in a folder on our PC. We can also find inspiration in videos related to the project and in music that motivates us when creating our graphics or illustrations.

The dog in TV commercials is so overplayed yet it works. Everyone loves a cute dog. It annoys me and I see it as low hanging fruit or a sellout. If you're a creative and don't know sources of inspiration then get into the roofing business.

I've found words are the best map for vision and goals. My first illustrated children's book was written out in an airport on scratch paper. Picasso drew on a napkin. Carve it into wood if you have too.

Instead of organizing your information in this step, I would recommend you begin to organize your information the moment you decided to accept a new project. Create a new file folder or notebook — Digital or Physical, it is up to you. This is my organizational structure (note: the sub-folders are in the brackets): NAME OF THE PROJECT (Client Notes/E-mails), Roughs (Research, Revisions), Illustrations (Ink, Colour, With Text, Revisions), FINAL ARTWORK). I would also suggest you save your files by date and what it is. For example: Y-M-D_What-it-is > 2023-07-08_PROJECT-NAME_Illustration01_Rough01. This will make it easy for you to find the correct files when needed.

By this stage you should have it locked in place. I disagree with more brainstorming. This is the editing stage. If you don't have it by now then throw everything out and start over again. You missed a turn in the road.

For illustrations, thumbnails are one of the most helpful things to see many iterations of your ideas quickly. Once you have a sketch you like, making multiple copies of it to test different color ways helps you make the best choice while keeping you from messing up the original. Always, always keep a copy of your original!

Personally I love to get my ideas out of my head as fast as possible. I lock out the layout, copy it around and just start briefly sketching ideas, the main focus for this part is not to be perfect, but rather exercise quick, rough sketches and test the layout and idea. After I have roughly around 10-20 pieces, I get the brief information next to them and start thinking "does this fit the brief?" I end up having 3 4 concepts selected, that I usually take further in a refining stage of sketching, defining the shapes, space and composition further. And then again I ask myself the same questions "Is this right for the brief?" And thats it I end up with a couple of concepts for my client. From 20 quick sketches to 2 refined concepts.

At this point, you should have a solid understanding of what your conceptualization should lead to, if you feel that some information is still missing, either take a step back into the inspiration phase and double check where you might have missed a step, or simply take a step away from your creative workspace and see things from "afar" to gain a fresher perspective on your creative challenge.

At this stage it can be useful to take a step back. The urgency to lock down a design and deliver might be overwhelming but when you find yourself torn between different directions and unable to choose, creating a spreadsheet is not one that I would recommend. Creating space by stopping (even a short break of 10 minutes) and clearing the mental palate can be extremely useful. I usually go outside allowing my mind to just notice the feel of earth beneath me and the wind in my hair. When I return and look at my concepts again, I know which one to choose. Stopping can actually safe you time even if it feels counterproductive. Try is when you cannot see the wood from the trees.

I agree that stepping back and doing something else is a great way to see your work with fresh eyes. I also find that showing my work to my fellow artists and illustrators, or even my Followers is a great way to get unstuck when I can’t choose between ideas. Other people will see something you cannot because you are too close to your work. Most people want to help. They may also think of something that can improve your work. It is also a great way to engage with your followers.

Don’t worry if you don’t seam to follow all the steps to a T. Some times you just get a spark of inspiration and know exactly what you want something to look like. If that happens just go with it! And who knows maybe you will gain another idea along the way. As long as you keep your spark with you on your creative journey I’m sure anything you come up with will be amazing in its own way.

My experience has followed much of what the article hits on. I’d add that sometimes the research can take as long as doing the illustration or even longer. When it involves historical context you may have more information to dig up. Remember you know there’s those that know their history that will find fault if you make a mistake in the historical record in the art. Also you will be considering the composition, colors, the structure of the drawing underneath the art and the way this is to relate to the clientele. Much needs to be thought out. Do many rough drawings to get the feel where it needs to go. Be open to changes. Allow enough time to correct if need. Remember Don’t do half good job. This is your reputation at steak.

Consider not discarding any additional elements of the projects that you might not have used until the project is completed. Sometimes that "scraps" you might have collected or created along the way can be hidden treasures for your ongoing project.