I used to work as an illustrator. Most images appeared to me as somewhere between fuzzy or clear image concepts, unaccompanied by any words. I then have to take these concepts and translate them using principles of design, color, composition, abstraction etc., such that they’re coherent and understandable to others.
Most illustration briefs are also not wrote descriptions of images because people are remarkably bad at describing what they want in an image, beyond in the most general sense of its subject. This is why you see DALLE doing all kinds of prompt elaboration on user inputs to generate “good” images. Typically, the illustrator is given the work to be illustrated (e.g. an editorial), distills key concepts from the work and translates these into various visual analogues, such as archetypes, metaphors and themes. Depending on the subject, one may have to include reference images or other work in a particular style, if the client has something specific in mind.
Most illustration briefs are also not wrote descriptions of images because people are remarkably bad at describing what they want in an image, beyond in the most general sense of its subject. This is why you see DALLE doing all kinds of prompt elaboration on user inputs to generate “good” images. Typically, the illustrator is given the work to be illustrated (e.g. an editorial), distills key concepts from the work and translates these into various visual analogues, such as archetypes, metaphors and themes. Depending on the subject, one may have to include reference images or other work in a particular style, if the client has something specific in mind.