In my Intro to Graphic Design class, we were taught how to generate ideas from thumbnails through to the final product. I think this is really important for anyone in the arts to master and learn how to do effectively. It helps for real life situations when you have your career and you want the best possible final product to present.
It’s really important to start out with tons of thumbnails, smaller versions of you ideas to expand on later on. Basically sketch anything that comes to mind, whether it’s a good idea or a crappy one. You want a lot of thumbnails so that later on when you are making your refined versions you have a lot of ideas to create from. It’s better to have more and be able to narrow them down.
Basically sketch anything that comes to mind, whether it’s a good idea or a crappy one.
Once you have all your thumbnails you want to take three of the best ones to make rough drawings or sketches of those. Finish these as you would want them to look when you present them, so they will technically be three final products. This is a good idea for a job scenario because you will be prepared to show more than one final product.
I feel like this was a good lesson for both graphic design majors and illustrators. It teaches you how to work efficiently and gives you a way to start you designs. Being able to make many different thumbnail expands your creativity and forces you to think of new ways to look at you design.
