So it has started....

I have now huge respect for those who are involved with lighting in the industry, hardest thing to accomplish, I think it is going to be my biggest accomplishment once achieved. Still have a while to go yet.

LIGHTING!!!

Ok found something I need to really practice on, I've never experienced such frustration from one element; lighting. It is driving me mad, anyway getting closer to cracking it, I've now finally got shadowing around the chopping board which I didnt have before as the work surface and back wall were all one piece, which drastically affected the lighting setup. So I've made the back wall seperate and it has helped things between the work surface and chopping board. I think I'm getting there, I also got rid of the lid as it just didnt need to be there and felt out of place for some reason. So instead I've added a butter dish and knife along with some butter, I've again kept it simple like the plates and Knives as I don't want it to distract from the bread. I'm so relieved to have the chopping boards shadowing just about done. I have been at the lighting set up for over a week now, its an important factor otherwise the board has no weirght, its just floating. Half asleep I took some photos before breakfast of the new loaf we got:

 There is a shadowing that goes all the way round the board, something I previously could not get, until now I've re evaluated the light source too. It is a mixture of daylight and an above indoor light from above, a ceiling light. I've been staring at this image so long, I'm slowly losing the plot. Everytime I change something, something else goes wrong. Anyway I prefer having the butter dish there rather than the lid, it fits with the idea and scene.

I'm glad all the objects have base lighting, but the chopping board is now too light, so the next update will hopefully have that fixed. Then finally i can begin with my four shots and maybe add some crumbs in there if things work out.

It had to be done

Ok after a lot of tossing and turning last night, I couldnt sleep properly at all and the reason is because of this still life project. I knew I hadnt worked my best, i did at the beginning but slowly I've just gotten more lazy. So today I kicked myself into gear and re done the scene and surroundings, no longer is it just a rubbish picture I took on my phone, it has been completely re modelled:

I've used my own kitchen as a reference, like the surface and side boards. I didnt want to go over the top with the plates and knives as they're just a background feature although while I was modelling I did a quick render and got this cool shot:

I really like the reflection from the steel border, especially as you can see how much detail i've put into the loaf of bread. Anyway I'm gradually becoming more proud of my work again like I was at the beginning, just think I hit a rut at one point, hopefully will pull it back before the deadline.
I still have to sort out the lid and the fact it looks a little lifeless.

latest Updates on Still Life

So sorted out the glass thank goodness!! And kinda sorted the Knife blade and spoon. Just have the handle also going to re-do the lid I think, as I copped out and was lazy with that too. I'm gonna finish this right I've decided, I'm so close why be lazy now?!! Anyway here is the latest:

Also tweaked the background again too. It is getting there, just everytime I redo something another element needs tweaking. Anyway I've got a lovely cold so think I'm going to have a lie down and get on with some sketches.

Still lifes background

Here is just a quick update, I've sorted out the background, looks a better already now that I've spent sometime on it. I was being lazy and Roma picked up on it straight away and made sure I worked on it, I should have done it in the 1st place rather all slap and dash. Still need to sort out the reflection on the Knife and of course the glass Jar. I'm not sure how to go about the jar, and I should have finished the background properly before showing Roma as she would have been able to see what needs tweaking etc. Oh well onwards...