Sea-water using watercolor paper-PART TWO - Painting

[JIM BAUMANN]

Hello again all!

following on from PART 1 here;

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37223

The photos below were taken with a flash, indoors, at night.- I hope to supplement the set below with some photos in the near future taken in daylight; the colours are actually flatter and more subtle, but the present set are adequate for illustrative purposes....
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Having brought the model to 'flatcoated-but-not-yet-rigged' stage it was time to apply some colour to the water surface.
I chose a tone similar to that found around the British Isles and Norther Europe on an overcast day; a dull grey-green mix that forebodes worse weather to come!


The previously mounted ship had the immediate perimeter around the waterline carefully painted using a fine brush, ensuring that the 'underbelly' of the ship remained visible.

Once completed, the effect was of a dull sea, lifeless and monotone.

I now applied more of the grey roughly to the still wet surface with copious amounts of thinners and re brushed the surface wet-on-wet

This was then blended using the thinners to keep it all wet and flowing,the idea being to create subtle highlights and darker tones

Next the crests of the bow and stern waves were added-using thick white paint, the initial effect is very crude, but more thinners and dry-on-wet paint will give a fairly satisfactory effect yet...

The contrast of blended and un-blended can be seen to good effect below

once washed and dry-on wet brushed the results start to look a little like foaming sea

after all the mixing and blending the overhead view was quite pleasing to the eye

Not forgetting the water ahead of the ship; the swell would require a little spindrift- important not to overdo this as it can overpower the scene

Overhead views of similar ships at a variety of speed are always the best source; the variance of wake pattern and foam distribution varies from photo to photo depending on sea conditions, speed, and direction of travel relative to the wind.

Bow wave spray was made of the slightly torn edges of tissue paper, and supplemented with white fluff taken from a tumbledryer filter-this being finer than cotton wool!

The fluff was also added to a few crests of the quarter-wave--again ...less is more...- even when its windy, surprisingly little spray gets blown off a wave.

I hope the above is of some help to anyone who has not as yet taken the plunge... haha... to make some miniature water.

Jim Baumann

PART ONE: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37223

[Yevgeniy]

Realistic as real life - I can not belive it is paper, looks like....water!

Very detailed guidance gives me chances I can use it one day.

Thank you for providing information on this great technique!

Yevgeniy

[JIM BAUMANN]

As promised- here are a few better detail photos of the bow wave- using the aforementioned tissue paper and fluff.

The photos are of course very brutal enlargements-but the overall visual effect is pleasing to my eye.

[Miguel]

I'm really excited with this "How to" Jim,you work is terrific,and truly eye inspiring,it look so easy,but gosh.... must be veryyyyyy hard.
Keep on shooting Jim.


Thank You very much

[Serhan Oflas]

Many thanks for sharing this technique.

[newshipmodeler]

Jim,
I too want to thank you. I have a folder of your work for reference and inspiration.

[philk]

An absolutely stunning technique! Thank you for sharing. I have one Q...

Forgive me if you mentioned it in your post...What sort of paint are you using to paint wet on wet, oils, alkyds? With how thin it looks like you're painting I would think acrylics, unless it's slowed with a retarder, would dry too quickly for wet on wet.

[JIM BAUMANN]

Glad you enjoyed the method!


I use almost exclusively Humbrol enamels for seascapes.

I mix them roughly 50/50 with thinners to get them to flow into each other...

Cheers

Jim Baumann

Incidentally-- actually making the water using watercolour paper...

can be found here:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=37223

[Guest]

Brilliant work. Your seas look extremely convincing. Most that I have seen elsewhere look artificial and - particularly the bow waves - look like the cotton wool they are made of. Thank you for sharing your techniques, Jim.

[wolfgang]

Jim,

what are you using to gloss the sea with. And I dont understand how the glossing doesnt fill in the texture of the watercolor paper where there is no more texture. I may have missed it in the explaination. Bottom line- awesome work, professional to the max....thanks

[JIM BAUMANN]

I use Humbrol Gloss-coat - from a glass jar -- applied quite thinly with a brush.

The varnish adheres to the hollows and raised pasrt equally well

ie it does not selflevel.

works well I find

other examples here
http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery ... index.html

cheers

Jim Baumann

[Mike Reading]

That's a fantastic sea effect you have achieved - brilliant in fact.

It's a method I had not considered. My own is having a rigid base, as you say, that the model is screwed to from underneath. Before adding any detail to the hull I wrap it tightly in cling film and fix it to the base. For the sea effect I then apply finishing plaster that I mix up so that's fairly runny but not so that it goes all over the place. I apply this mix to the base and using various implements work the plaster as it dries to the sea state I want to depict.

Once the plaster has set the model can be released. I find the cling film stops the adhesion between model and plaster. Now I go ahead and paint the sea to the colours/tones I want. As you say keeping the paints thin so that they run together is the best way.

Hope you do not mind my adding these few words to your excellent method of representing the sea.
Mike

[wolfgang]

thank you both so much for explaining...Makes sense to me now.

[Hallis]

That effect with the dryer lint is amazing! One of these days you should make a video on this waterscape process.

[biggles2]

To Jim Baumann - what are the particular properties of 'water color' paper that makes it preferable. Would it be just as effective in 1/350 scale?

[JIM BAUMANN]

Watercolour paper has a texture that replicates small wavelets in 1/700 very well

I also use it in 1/350-- it just needs to be remembered there is only half the amount of wind-

- in 1/350 it will only be blowing about 5 knots of wind

see example photos in 1/350 here

http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/sh ... index.html

( completed model images on page 5 )

The scene with my Bouvet below shows the shore party boats returning to the vessel in the evening -- with the land-breeze filling in -- the ship has just started her turn to lie to the wind,
riding over her buoy. ==> she will swing round to Port







another example is here:

http://www.modelwarships.com/reviews/sh ... eview.html

[biggles2]

How do you build such great model ships? Your 1/700's are better than my best 1/350! It's not fair!

[katobase]

Hi Jim,
I just came across this guide and i gave it a try, and it turned out great! Other than the smell of CA... i can't believe it's something i made!! i been staying away from ocean base for years because it looked difficult and messy but this is such a simple yet effective method, thanks for sharing it!

[drasticplastic]

@ Jim Baumann (and readers at large); Not having access to wholesale amounts of CA (nor do I wish to as I would probably end up super-glueing everything, including myself, in one big mess! Also can't stand the fumes!) could you recommend anything else to stiffen the watercolor paper used for the surface?

[JIM BAUMANN]

Ahoi gents

@ Katobase => well done , it looks pretty damn good -- more so next time !

@ drasticplastic... I had not actually given an alternative any thought as such; CA is not thaaaat expensive...

for a 1/700 water base I usually use around 2-3 grammes ( 3 x 1gram tubes ) of glue( spread it pretty quickly with cocktail or plastic spatulasticks)
-in the UK that is � 3.00 for a car of 3 x 1 gramm tubes

I usually do the CA bit outside -- I also use a spray on accelerator these days ( Zap Kicker) for speedy results.
an alternative?-- PVA would work--use the speedy type of woodworking glue such a Evostick


it will stiffen--but won't be quite a rigid as CA

Hope it helps

JIM B