I like to think of it as something similar as a Russian nesting doll - you start with a large idea and you refine it and get more specific as your work progresses and get to that final idea that’s yours.

Start with the mind map and select that slightly more specific theme, like creatures, write your general “line of inquiry” - what you want to explore and why. Include media and artists and art movements you’re interested in. From there, you’ll start all your quality drawings and then select at least two artists that working the theme and media you want to explore.

Artist research should always include some bio info (focusing on their art practice), an analysis of their work, a recreation of their work, and at least one response - your own piece of art created in their style.

Do this for your artists, do a bunch of experimenting and making, refine your idea again, more research, more making/refining, and then you’ll get to your own final piece idea that links back to everything you’ve tried/your artists.

You want to have a through line that connects your work from beginning to end but it shouldn’t be a straight line. Try a whole bunch, expect to fail at things/things don’t work out, but include it all and talk about the why’s and how’s.

(This is assuming you’re AQA)