I find that the easiest way to make a mood board is Canva. There’s no faffing about with clipping masks, the interface is easy to use and it’s much faster to make something you’re happy with.
IIf you haven’t introduced yourself to Canva yet, be prepared to be amazed. It’s like Photoshop and Publisher mashed into one. I use it a lot for work when I’m making collateral for campaigns, social media posts and signage. There’s a free version and a Pro version. I use the Pro version, so my screen shots might look a little different.
Here’s how I make a Mood Board in Canva.
First, save your reference photos as JPEG’s. The images I’m using are direct from Pinterest.
In the search bar, type Mood Board and scroll through until you find a template you like.
I look for templates that have a few image slots and a section for colour swatches. Don’t worry if you can’t find something perfect, you’ll be changing the template to fit your needs.
Change the size first by selecting resize. I usually make an A4 landscape Mood Board, which means typing in the size in the fields.
Then load your reference images by selecting uploads, upload media and following the prompts to select your files.
Now it’s time to customise your Mood Board. You can simply move around the elements on the template my clicking and dragging. Copy and paste the images or swatches so you have the amount you’re after.
Once you’re happy with the layout, you can click and drag you reference images, hold them over the image panel and they’ll pop in. Double click and you’ll be able to move them around inside the frame until you have the placement you’re after.
My favorite part is choosing the colour swatches. Click on one of your swatch shapes, click on the coloured icon next to ‘Crop’ (in this case it’s green) and you’ll see a section called photo colours. Click on ‘See all’ and you’ll get a selection of the colours from the images on your Mood Board. Click on your shapes, then the swatch, to change the colour.
I use the text boxes to write notes on what I see, highlight points of interest or colours. Then hit download on the top right and you’re done!
Feel free to use this template I’ve made up HERE.
I’m planning on basing my first pattern collection on this Mood Board, wish me luck!
