Have my river bottom ready to paint… What colors, textures to others do for their river bottoms prior to adding casting resins…
Dark Blue? Black? Grey?
Looking for any examples? experiences?
Thanks -
The present issue has some help on coloring a river bottom.
I am almost ready to place a small fishing whole and a small creek in my layout. Since the small fishing whole is up against cliffs, I am going to use darker colors like a dark blue and maybe even some black since I am getting my idea from a small body of water in my region (Central KY). The water there is deep, and so it will try to appear so on mine.
I am not sure which creek I will try to model mine after. Elkhorn Creek in Central KY comes to mind since it is so long, it just falls short of being classified as a river. Some sections are stagnant, and are more brown in color, other sections have rapids. I may model the more stagnant area since I think that will fit better with my layout.
I hope this helped.
For a painted bottom, you want to use black, browns, tans, olive green and maybe a hint of blue. Too much blue doesn’t look much like a river. I used Delta Prussian Blue and Territorial Beige to do this river:
Another option for a shallower creek, is to use coarse ballast or talus to make a more detailed bottom:
Nick
Assuming you’re after clean water, I’d suggest you use dark green and a little dark brown for the deepest parts, and creamy greys for the shallows, blending the area where they join. Try a green such as Sap Green or Hookers Green and sneak a little black into it. That should get you off to a good start. That’s only a generalisation though, because to a fair degree your colours will be determined by the terrain and the nature of the river. Mine’s an English trout stream so it can be as clean as I like. Add more brown or even a little earth pigment such as yellow ochre for more turbid streams. Experiment on a scrap of board first.
If you want shallows with protruding boulders, for example,or even driftwood, you need to add them before adding the water. Plaster and modelling clay both make good river boulders.
Surface ripples can be added as your chosen water sets. I used varnish.
Mike
VERY nice work Mike, that is exactly the effect I am trying to capture on a creek on my layout. Shallow water, greenish stuff on the rocks in he water, brown mud near the banks.
I am not sure what shade Hookers Green is, but I will try to ask all the local hookers what they recommend. 
Dave Nelson
Awesome suggestions… I now see what “blue” would look like, and am heading out to buy some grays, greens, and cream colors…
Thanks.
Mike that is a beautiful scene. Excellent photography as well I might add. How deep is the scene, I get the impression that the back-drop is not all that far away?
Where are you modeling? If you’re modeling a minor tributary in the eastern mountails, the whole river should be bright RUST colored. If you’re modeling a shallow western stream, the color should be whatever the bottom surface is (in other words, clear water with a visible bottom). If you’re modeling the Midwest, use a dark mud-colored bottom.
Remember, water really isn’t blue; that’s just the reflection off the sky. Usually, water DOESN’T look blue, especially with shallower water. If it’s not clear or tainted, it usually looks gloss black.
This is an unfinished project…I have a long way to go toward what our Edit -Auzzie [:I] gentleman has accomplished (congratulations!), but I wanted clear water with just a bit of silting on submerged rocks and branches. I used some local sand and dyed plaster of paris for the bed, and then painted the darker centre with some burnt umber and some gray mixed with some white to brighten it a bit. Then, I poured three layers of Nu-Lustre 55, a two part epoxy made by the folks at Swing Paints (they have a website and an interactive forum for discussion and quesions). You can judge my success for yourself. If you want green, you will need to paint the river bottom to that effect, although the folks at swing paints say their product can be tinted. Just not with paints or other solvents or water-based pigments. Perhaps an ink that is mostly alcohol.
Modeling East/Midwest (Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains) Like the example above, mixing greens, tans, browns into the river bottom…
It depends on what kind of water or how deep the water is you want to model. For a deep, slow moving river or lake, I like to use a sandy tan color close to shore and then brunswick green for the deep areas away from shore. Brunswick green is about a dark a green as you can get and not have it be black. Stay away from blues and greens, they just won’t look right. If done correctly, you’ll only need about an 1/8 - 1/4" of resin on top to made it look like a deep body of water.
Dave - [:)]Hookers green is quite dark, but a bit rich if used straight. If greens come out too strong, you can always wash something else over them once they’re dry. Red does a good job at neutralising green - as a glaze over the top or even in your mixes.
Nick - I like your talus/ballast river bed.
Simon - the backscene is about 12in behind the bridge. The whole scene is 2ft deep.
Selector - that looks great. I’d really love to see some more pics of it, especially down at water level, with the sky reflecting. I reckon you’ve got it spot-on.
Mike
Thank-you for your kindness, Mike. I hope you will remain so disposed when you see my close-ups! [(-D] They are not good shots, but perhaps you can see enough of the detail and colouring.
They look very good indeed. That 2nd shot is very convincing I know rivers like that one [tup]
I get the impression the stuff you used is more reflective than my varnish - makes me wish I had room for another stream.
Mike
when painting a river bottom, use dark colors, and paint the middle black if you want that part to look deep.
I just painted my river a dark blue, since I had some left over from my previous layout.
For what it’s worth, here’s my method. Also, I recommend you get the Woodland Scenics basic Scenery manual. I use acrylics from the local craft/variety store as follows: If there are bends I vary the dark parts to the outer 1/3 line and straight parts to the centerline but not straight, more meandering a little. Shallow areas I put a little glob of creamy yellow, and some brown, and darker areas a litlle dark green and for deep areas dark blue. Then I mush these areas into each other so there is a lot of variation, you don’t want a uniform yuck color. Leave some areas the basic colors as they will appear to be shallow sandbars and deep holes when finished. Now add any logs, rocks, etc. that will protrude from the water. If the river goes through the layout side(s) you will need to leave a dam about 1/8" high. Start at the middle and slowly pour in the Woodland Scenics EZ Water, working both upstream and down, and out toward the edges. don’t overdo as it will try to level out. Let it set for a day or two then go back and add to any dips or holes. The learning is in the doing. Enjoy! jc5729
Good ideas there John
I am going to be trying out the “Magic Water” product that I bought this weekend at a train show. I have been advised by those who have tried it that you HAVE to make sure there are no leaks because the stuff is literally as runny as pure water when it is poured. Using acrylic paints might actually help seal the surface.
Dave Nelson
When building scenery we use forced perspectives to overcome the limits of the available space. I tried something like that with the body of water on my layout. I scenic the riverbed like the dry area. Then I pour several layers of black tinted Woodland Scenics Realistic Water. Because WS Realistic Water dries and does not harden one must consider that the tinting get more intense with every cast. Thus I take a clear plastic cup for mixing Realistic Water with tinting paste. If the water level in the cup is at least double the deep of what it would be in the creek on the layout it is about right. Then I stir in tinting paste until the bottom of the deepest spot of the creek looks good through this mixture. This is the sample for further mixtures for the same water body. I am content with the result. I can take a photo and post it to your private email.
Rene.
Good advice from all so far. Dark to simulate depth - lighter for shallower areas. Talus is essential. IMHO blue-black += clear warer; brown = murkey. Blend lighter as you get to the shoreline.
JT
Here’s how my creek/river turned out… Scroll to the bottom.
http://www.ihoff.com/projects/train/train.htm
Thanks for the advice, turned out great!