Your thoughts on blue water

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

I was wondering what your thoughts were on coloring water. On past layouts I’ve tried blue water but it’s never looked right. This seems odd to me because when I look at lakes, rivers or the ocean on a clear day, that water looks blue to me.

On my current layout, I followed Woodland Scniecs advice and poured clear, Realistic Water over a bed painted yellow ochre around the edge and then getting darker toward the middle. This looked much more reaistic to me.

An additional complication is my choice to model South Carolina, where we have lot of black water rivers. In these rivers the water is uniformly coffee-colored due to tannins from decaying leaves. This is somewhat unique to the Deep South however.

2

The color of water in lakes, rivers etc is clear, and if there is any sediment in it, brown or greenish. The blue color you usually see is a reflection of the sky.

3

The blue you are seeing in lakes or rivers is actually a reflection from the blue sky above. The bodies of water act almost like a mirror to reflect the blue sky…with all the “muck” in ponds and stagnant waters this reflection is disrupted.

Now why is the sky blue? A long topic but it has to do with the gas molecules comprising the atmosphere (Nitrogen, Oxygen etc.), suspended particles, water vapor, and the absorption of various wave lengths by the gas molecules and the reflection of scattered light. For those who are interested this phenomenon is called Rayleigh scattering. . Just a little “light” reading for a Sunday afternoon.[:-^]

Now, why am I bald? [sigh]

Wayne

4

Oops, I never really answered your question.

I’ve always “painted the water” deep blue, almost black, in the middle and then gradually lighten the blue color until it gets near the edge, which is then painted a light brownish color. All these various colors are just blended in with each other, there is no distinct area of one particular color. I’ve had good success with Acrylic Paints that come in tubes, something like toothpaste. I just squeeze different colors on a palette, and with water acting as a solvent, various blends, shades are created and then applied by brush to the “water area.” This is all done prior to pouring the water with Envirotex, which is my favorite artificial water.

Wayne

5

I use Envirotex, too, and I add a bit of paint to lightly tint the water. This makes the water “optically thick” and avoids the clear-as-glass look. For shallow running water, you probably want it to look crystal clear, but deeper ponds and lakes look better if you can’t see clearly to the bottom.

6

I would urge you to mix two parts medium grey paint with one part blue, and paint the bottom of your river with that. When it dries, add some black to the first mix, not much, and paint a broad band near the middle of the first layer, but vary its edges a bit, not jagged, but flowing. If you wish for a deeper look, use black to make a thinner streak dead center, but also flowing.

Once that dries, use painters’ tape to dam any open edges, and then use your medium poured over the painted bottom, trying for no layers over about 1/8" thick. Two layers should be lots, but you may want more. Also, if you want a more natural look for brackish water or water with silt and organics suspended in it, you can dye your medium with a little dollop, say 1/8 tsp, of Hauser Medium Green from the crafts section at Wally’s, the small plastic bottles of acrylic liquid craft paints, and add about half as much again, just a tiny drop, of yellow paint to that. Your water will look like slower moving summer water. Otherwise, leave it clear.

Over the cured surface of your medium, paint a thin layer of gel gloss medium, looks white like cold cream and comes in a white jar often, like Nivea Cream. Spread it, and then turn your foam brush on its side and gently stipple. Turn the brush handle to different angles.

The gel medium can take several days for the last of the whitish peaks to go clear, so don’t be alarmed.

For low angle photographs of your lake or river, you should hope that you have a white or a slightly sky-blue reflection showing on your stippled surface. From a canoe or a boat, even standing on a bridge, as you look further away from your position, the water will be a stippled reflection of the sky. Only looking down, with your back to the sun, will you see brownish lake water due to tannins, maybe greenish river water.

You should have brought your fishing gear!

Crandell

7

On the basis of the reflection of sky theory, I painted the ceiling of the layout room blue. I actually painted the whole room blue and them worked it progressively lighter down to the almost white at the horizon. If I’m on schedule, which is seldom, I’ll get the river done this winter and see what it looks like. Scenery maste rGeorge Sellios took several attempts to get the water in his harbor right, so I guess you just keep experimenting.

8

Mike…that sounds cool. I’m getting ready to paint a wall for a backdrop and I really like your idea of a lighter color near the horizon.

I’d love to see some photos when you are finished, thanks for a great idea.

Wayne

9

That is why water is blue. That is a metallic cardboard “silver” balloon. An application of that idea:

Even experimented with mylar sheeting:

Visit:

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/scenery/ballon_pond/

Thank you if you visit

Harold

10

Yup, water can appear blue, green, brown, or clear - or any mix you can imagine. As indicated, the sunlight definitely plays a part in the water’s appearance “colorwise”. I recall being at Lake Taho years ago and was amazed at the various colors - and the clarity. What looked 2 ft deep was closer to 10 feet.

Anyway, in coloring your water you might want to experiment with undercoats of various greens/browns/blues and then layers of the clear water material over that. Obviously there are lots of variables, so I would recommend some experimenting on a smaller scale first.

11

I like to add the haze to distant backdrop hills/ trees as well. Even though you may paint the backdrop hills, mountain and distant trees that will be sharp in contrast, it really looks good to “fog” or haze those distant features. I will find this easier done by airbrushing thinned wash of white, blue or gray mix. Many times some closer forground tress etc I will clear/ wipe w/ a paint brush to remove the fogged paint to allow to show much sharper. Additional forground items can always the painted or touched up later as scenery is done toward the backdrop.

12

Very nice work! You’ve got the “reflected surroundings” concept dead on!

[bow][bow][bow]

13

Harold,

You would have made a great science teacher…but then again maybe you are?

Great work! [tup]

Wayne

14

Here is a close-up of gloss medium on silver Mylar wrapping paper:

An HO Prieser horse

Harold

15

Here is the resulting ‘water’ in a river scene I built a few years back. It is a painted bottom with sprinkled pebbles and some sand, three layers of epoxy, and a topping of stippled gel gloss medium. The epoxy was tinted as I described earlier, and to make it a bit murky or opaque, I added a pinch of plaster of Paris to the last pour.

This is my latest water, completed about a week ago. Same method, but this time painted grey and blue on the bottom. In the far distance, the water is actually salt water in the Strait of Georgia on the east coast of Vancouver Island. I had set the diorama up on the railing of my ocean view balcony. I left most of the vertical edge of the ‘water’ visible in this cropped image, at the bottom, so you can see its thickness and true colour.

16

“Oh black water, keep on rollin”

None of the examples given above are a good representation of deep south black water, you need to experiment by painting before you pour, sandy color around the edges then gradually to black. Make a couple of test dioramas and compare to some pictures of your local waterways. I would use Modge Podge instead of WS, but that’s a preference.

South Carolina

17

Here are two pictures of the same lake. First one is my mistake, waaaay to blue. Second pic it how it looks now…Mike

18

You must be modeling the low country – water as black as cold coffee. I’m modeling the up state and often the Broad River there ran red. People wouldn’t believe it if I made a river that color on my layout, so usually I try for a shade of green.

19

kind of a time lapse of small pond.

20

small “frog” pond

with suprise visitor