Color For Water

Here are some good tips for making water: http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/54816-different-methods-of-creating-water/

I’ve spent a lot of time both on our two local beaches on the shores of Lake Erie, and on the banks of the river that cuts my home town basically in two. I’ve also spent time on beaches on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic ocean. The color of these bodies of water seem to vary not only day to day, but often hour to hour depending on things like time of day, flood or storm conditions, cloudy or sunny days, and season, from a light milk chocolate or sandy brown through beautiful shades of blue to some fairly distressing shades of brownish grey.

Probably the most interesting water color I’ve ever seen was in Santarem, Brasil. This is an ocean going seaport around 1000-1200 miles up the Amazon. River looks to be at least a mile across there. It’s actually the confluance of two rivers, the Amazon and the Tapajos. The Amazon is a medium brownish color from all the vegetation in it’s bed, and the Tapajos is a black from the minerals along it’s bed. And for some reason, they don’t fully mix for something close to a hundred miles downstream. Whether flying into the airport over the river, or taking a tour boat on the river, it’s like there is an actual barrier between the two rivers, a wall dividing the two. The boat actually crossed the dividing line several times while showing us around. The line is very straight, and very sharp, amazingly well defined. If you were to try using this on your layout, people would probably ask you what you’re on.

Hi! Great topic!

Water colour is something I know a bit about! Firstly, the colour has a lot to do with the environment. If you are near the tropical regions, coastal waters will be “greenish” whereas as you go further into cooler climates, coastal waters become “blueish”. This is to do with the relative biological productivity of the waters.

The colour of water is also influenced by the sea floor. If the water is clear enough and shallow enough, the sea floor will reflect sunlight. Coral and sand will provide a brighter colour while sea grass and mud are darker. Light only penetrates to the sea floor in very clear waters but as a rough order of magnitude, the influence of the sea floor on the water colour decreases rapidly when the waters are 8 metres or deeper (~ 26 feet or deeper).

To complicate matters more, you need to consider the influence of rivers into your port. Are they sediment laden or clear? This will also influence colour.

For the port area, the photo above is a good indication. If you look closely, the water at the bow of the ship is a “green” colour but if you look behind the ship, the water looks “blue”. The blue you see behind the ship is actually an optical illusion as it is reflected light from the sky. The true colour is the green at the bow.

That said, you need local variation. To the right (photo right, ship’s port side) of the ship you will see a darker green which may be deeper water next to the pier or, the central channel where the ship is, holding more sediment.

The original post suggested large ships for the port area. The wharves/piers that these ships berth at are often dredged to 10 metres (~33 feet) or deeper. In these areas the water will be quite dark. Depending on the environment, you may or may not have any influence by the sea floor.

So, dependent on the region you are modelling, I’d take the above guidelines and apply them to your situation. Feel free to apply them liberally!