Outside of crew, outer railing, and some additional rigging, the ship itself is done (outside of dullcoat.) I've gotten the major portions of the sea base done, though I still need to encase the foam a bit more in the seabase, but it too is almost done.
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Inspiration. I have another view of Sara going flat out in calm seas. Her wake and incredible power are evident.
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This is the base "primed" in black with some surfacing agent painted on. I mainly do this to visualize what I want to do with the wake.
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Base color.
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I'm propagating the main wave back after adding turbulence along the hull. I might switch from cotton to rayon for easier manipulation. Cotton is a PITA with all the little balls in the threading.
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Continuing with the port wave.
....and here's the fruit of my labors.
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In total, this is what I do for water:
1 - Use several layers of semi-thinned gel medium. Sand between every 2-3 layers to prevent a wedding cake look.
2 - "Paint" on the wave pattern using an opaque, thin surfacer. This will allow for easy visualization of the pattern you want. Take a photograph if needed.
3 - Mix your base coat based on photos. Mix several shades of the base color for water coloring.
4 - Begin by mixing in progressively lighter shades of thinned acrylic paint along the base. See my second picture. Mix and blend the different blues to achieve something that represents the discoloration subsurface from air mixed into the water.
5 - Complete cotton along the hull and aft wake.
6 - Begin at bow with the wave separate from turbulence produced along the hull, as per picture and other references.
7 - Expand backward. Use significantly thicker strands of cotton along the wave.
8 - Fill the wake out with slightly thinner bits.
9 - Let dry. It's best to be somewhat conservative with application unless you've had a lot of experience with the cotton technique. The gel tends to apply opaque and dry clearer, so it's often hard to see HOW much actual coverage is down. Example: wake along the stern was waaaay too thin after drying. I added more. Don't be afraid to do two or three coats of thin surfacing agent, either. You want to minimize cotton "fuzz" and blend.
I can't say this is the best water building technique, but it works for me.
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