# Costume Design Mood Boards > Soleil Clusters gives costume designers a mood board per character: research and inspiration, a grid of looks scene by scene, fabric and colour swatches, and fitting photos together. Assistants and buyers add to it live, the director comments on the image itself, and a typed character tag gathers every reference for that character across the project. _Source: https://clusters.soleilpictures.com/tools/costume-design-mood-board · Updated 2026-10-02_ A board per character, the looks laid out scene by scene, and the fabric, colour and fitting photos beside them — shared live with the director. ## A board per character, a look per scene Costume is a story told across scenes, so one mood board for the whole film flattens it. In Clusters each character gets a cluster, and inside it a grid lays the changes out in order — a frame per scene or change for the look, with the scene and what changes in the box beneath it, and the fabric swatches beside the grid. When scenes move, the grid is still the order of the story, and everyone is looking at the same one. - A cluster per character - A grid of looks, a cell per scene or change - Scene notes under each look, swatches beside it ## Swatches, colour and fittings together Photograph fabrics and trims as you buy them and drop them beside the look they belong to. Sample colours off a swatch photo or a reference with the eyedropper and keep the hex values on the board. After a fitting, the photos go straight into the character’s cluster, so the next decision is made looking at the real garment rather than a description of it. ## One character tag, every reference Tags in Clusters can be typed as characters. Tag a reference with the character once, and the tag’s view gathers every image of them from wherever it lives in the workspace — your boards, the production designer’s, the camera team’s. Nothing moves; the tag just finds it. ## Assistants, buyers and the director, live Invite assistant designers, buyers and the supervisor as editors — free on every plan — and the department works in the same boards at once. The director comments on the exact image and votes on each option, so sign-off is a thread on the look rather than an email chain. ## What it does not do Clusters holds the look and the decision, not the paperwork. It does not track a costume budget, measurements or a rental inventory, and it is not a sketching or pattern tool — draw in Procreate or on paper and drop the sketch on the board. ## How a costume department uses it 1. **A cluster per character** — Nest one cluster per principal inside the project, and one for background. 2. **Research and inspiration** — Period photography, paintings, runway and street references — select a folder’s worth and drag them in together. 3. **Lay out the looks** — A grid per character, a frame per scene or change, with the scene and what changes written in the box beneath each look. 4. **Swatches and colour** — Photograph fabrics and trims, sample their colours with the eyedropper, and keep the hex values beside the look. 5. **Fittings and sign-off** — Drop fitting photos into the character’s board; the director comments on the exact image, and a vote card beside each option shows where the room leans. ## What it costs Start free. Pay when you outgrow it. **Free — $0 forever** - **50 cards** to build with - No separate limit on clusters — each one counts as one of your cards - Free collaboration — invite editors to any cluster **Creator — $25/mo, or $20/mo billed annually** - Unlimited cards - Any file type - No size limits, on a 100GB drive One Creator plan covers the whole workspace — everyone you invite builds at your limits, and there are no per-seat charges. Compare the plans side by side: https://clusters.soleilpictures.com/pricing ## Frequently asked questions ### What should a costume mood board include? Per character: research and inspiration, the silhouette and colour story, a look for each scene or change, fabric and trim swatches, and fitting photos as they happen. A board per character keeps the arc readable. ### How do I lay out costume changes by scene? Put a grid inside the character’s board with a frame per scene or change and a box beneath each for the scene and what changes. The grid reads in story order, and everyone with access sees the same one. ### Can I share it with the director without an account? Yes. A view-only link opens in any browser with no account and can expire after 7 or 30 days. To comment or vote, invite them — free on every plan. ### Does it handle continuity? For the looks, yes: fitting and continuity photos live in the character’s grid beside the intended look. It is not a dedicated continuity database — there is no per-take logging. ### Is it free? Free for 50 cards across the workspace — each cluster counts as one — with free editors. A full principal cast will outgrow that; Creator removes the cap for the whole workspace. See “What it costs” on this page.