Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2005 11:19 pm Posts: 483 Location: San Diego
After trying other methods, I now use the method that David Griffith shows in both of his books about ship modeling. Here are my notes about Dr. Griffith's method:
Sketch your wake patterns and a scale wavelength of at least 100 feet between swells. Provide for floatplanes, small craft, buoys, a coast, etc.! Those are fun to add and viewers like them.
A user-friendly paste is Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste (a different product than regular Liquitex Modeling Paste). Liquitex Flexible Modeling Paste takes days to solidify so is easy to sculpt, remove, and add to.
For tropical waters I paint the base with three shades of blue: darkest blue for troughs, lighter blue for swells, medium blue for in-between. This method comes from Impressionist paintings. The water base paints should be much darker than in artists' paintings. I use my acrylic model paints for the base.
For colder waters, instead of blue paints I use black and haven't bothered to lighten swells.
For the water surface, Liquitex Gloss Gel works over black paint but glistens distractingly over blue paints. Flat gel looks unreal as water. I've just obtained semi-gloss Golden gel medium and intend to try that on a model in progress.
_________________ If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, [atmospheric] CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm. Dr James Hansen, NASA, 2008.
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