Hi Rachel! Your fruits are well rendered and the colors are very good! I would say that judging from the highlights and the cast shadows that your light was directly over the fruits. The botanical standard for lighting is that if you are right handed, the light comes over your left shoulder at a 45 degree angle. If you are left handed the light comes over your right shoulder. When we work indoors that is hard to control. There are often overhead lights, windows, etc. that dilute the ideal lighting set up and we often have to draw considering how the light is suppose to be and not what we are actually seeing. However, there are things that help. Having an artists desk lamp that you can put in the correct position is super helpful! Also, taping together a couple of pieces of cardboard, matte board, etc so that it folds out in a “V” shape is a great tool. Put the “V” shaped board behind your subjects and it will block out a lot of excess light and also other visual distractions. Cast shadows are darkest near the subject and fade out as they move away from the subject. Cast shadows should be a suggestion to help ground the subjects to the page. If they are too dark they distract your eye from the subjects, which you want to be the focal point. Next time you might want to try putting the subjects up on a box to get them more eye level instead of looking down on them for a more realistic view. You are off to a great start and I hope my comments will be of help.
I’d welcome any feedback or suggestions. Thanks!
Hi Rachel! Your fruits are well rendered and the colors are very good! I would say that judging from the highlights and the cast shadows that your light was directly over the fruits. The botanical standard for lighting is that if you are right handed, the light comes over your left shoulder at a 45 degree angle. If you are left handed the light comes over your right shoulder. When we work indoors that is hard to control. There are often overhead lights, windows, etc. that dilute the ideal lighting set up and we often have to draw considering how the light is suppose to be and not what we are actually seeing. However, there are things that help. Having an artists desk lamp that you can put in the correct position is super helpful! Also, taping together a couple of pieces of cardboard, matte board, etc so that it folds out in a “V” shape is a great tool. Put the “V” shaped board behind your subjects and it will block out a lot of excess light and also other visual distractions. Cast shadows are darkest near the subject and fade out as they move away from the subject. Cast shadows should be a suggestion to help ground the subjects to the page. If they are too dark they distract your eye from the subjects, which you want to be the focal point. Next time you might want to try putting the subjects up on a box to get them more eye level instead of looking down on them for a more realistic view. You are off to a great start and I hope my comments will be of help.
Many thanks Doug – I appreciate all of these suggestions!