Your

Sketchbook

Whether you’re a set design beginner or an experienced professional, a sketchbook allows you to keep a record of your process.

A sketchbook also allows you to group together inspirational images from books, magazines or the internet, as well as colour cards and fabric swatches.

A designer’s sketchbook acts as a visual journal to document your process throughout the design journey. By keeping a record of all of your ideas, you’ll be able to see how they develop and refer back to them where necessary.

Regardless of the configuration of your performance space, the story you want to tell needs to be clear for the audience watching. Will your production be set in ancient times, or in a futuristic fantasy world? In which year, which month, on which day will the story be set? Does the story take place indoors, outdoors, in the daytime or at night?

A moodboard is another great way to help you explore colour, texture and shape (perhaps in a more abstract way) and establish a visual language for the kind of world you want to present on stage. It’s also a great way of communicating to other people some of the design ideas you’ve been having.

In the following video (taken from our Introduction to Design course), designer and Old Vic Education Associate Helen Coyston talks us through how to create a moodboard.

A storyboard can help you understand a story as a series of visual tableaux. Give yourself a time limit to sketch out the essence of each scene on a postcard-sized piece of card. This is not about your drawing skills – it’s about getting your ideas on paper. As with your moodboard, you can stick these in your sketchbooks.

Overview of the explainer scene

Moodboard

Individual explainer asset

A moodboard is another great way to help you explore colour, texture and shape (perhaps in a more abstract way) and establish a visual language for the kind of world you want to present on stage. It’s also a great way of communicating to other people some of the design ideas you’ve been having.

In the following video (taken from our Introduction to Design course), designer and Old Vic Education Associate Helen Coyston talks us through how to create a moodboard.

Storyboard

Individual explainer asset

A storyboard can help you understand a story as a series of visual tableaux. Give yourself a time limit to sketch out the essence of each scene on a postcard-sized piece of card. This is not about your drawing skills – it’s about getting your ideas on paper. As with your moodboard, you can stick these in your sketchbooks.

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