Discussing our reference

While we gave some general guidelines for getting references in Chapter 5, Implementing Layer Blending Modes, in the Finding the right reference and Choosing our reference sections, I thought it'd be interesting to evaluate an image in "real time" to better help us with our project planning.

First of all, let's take a look at our image, titled Three Red Apples on Wooden Surface by Suzy Hazelwood, provided courtesy of Pexels.com (Figure 9.1):

Figure 9.1 – Our reference image, courtesy of Suzy Hazelwood via Pexels.com

In an atelier setting, still-life studies usually consist of a variety of stationary objects (such as vases, skulls, books, flowers, or other odds-and-ends) stacked and situated in a specific way, under specific lighting conditions, for students to draw from life. Students can find seating arrangements and move to get various vantage points of the materials to fully understand how light, shadows...