What are some tips for painting very realistic water with acrylics?

Question

I'm working on a painting of a duck in water that I want to be very realistic, but the water is really giving me problems. What can I do? Thanks in advance...

Answer 1

when I was in high school I painted a picture of a log cabin, set in the woods a little ways up from a river. what i did to make the water look more real was to add a few "white caps" and varitations of blue to give it an appearence of movement.
you could show the water rippling away from the duck to show movement, hope that helps

Answer 2

Water can be tricky...people tend to think of it as the color blue when in reality it reflects the colors that are above and surround it. If it is open water like an ocean the blue sky is reflected. If it is a pond surrounded by tall trees and thick vegetation the water will reflect those colors which might look brownish green. There is a lot going on in water's reflection. The best way to apply acrylic paint would be in thin washes building up all the different reflections layer upon layer. Scarcely paint in the objects seen in the water then apply washes over top. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I hope that you are using some good reference material. The best way to understand water is observe it from life. Observe how light penetrates the surface and some of it is reflected back.

There is no magic water filter when you are painting in real life. Yes, there is a Photoshop filter for water but you'll be able to create something no computer will ever come close to.

I suggest that on the technique side of things that you use your acrylics like water color for your water. Build it up with a series of washes and glazes. Work from thin to thick and take your time.

So you be adding water to your paint treating it like water color.

If it helps go out and buy one of those rubber ducks and place it in a bowl of water to look at as you paint. You will be able to understand a lot from doing this. You will see how the color from the duck permeates the water and the reflection is less distorted the closer it is to the actual object. It becomes more abstract the further it gets from the subject.

If you have the means, buying and even making an exact replica of your duck and putting it in water to paint from would be ideal.

Again, the only way to do a good job is to paint from life. Doing it from your imagination would be like making a xerox copy of a fax of a picture of you. Too many layers of distortion.

Get to work and have fun :)

Answer 4

Realism?....don't work from a photo or you may end up with a painting that looks like a photograph, not real water and a duck. A photo cannot reveal all the secrets to light reflections ( if reality, all you "see" is reflected light). You need to observe carefully and forget about water, You are trying to capture light...so concentrate on what you see, not on what you think you know about water (such as, it's blue and has white caps on it) Paint an overall color impression and then go in and examine the local areas...what color do you really see? Same goes for ducks, people, glass....it's all reflected light. Get the values right and it will look real.

Answer 5

i agree with refrence photo, fnd a good one on the internet an print it out , then put it right next to your painting, an try to do the same thing. if the duck an everything else is distracting you then cover everything else with paper except where your painting an focas

Answer 6

Go to the art shop near you and ask for a flat and fan brush for painting fur; it has some hairs that are longer the ones that hold paint... designed for painting fur and similar effect.

Answer 7

http://www.bobross.com/howto3.cfm?type=Landscape&Page=Autumn&ExpandHowTo=True
Check out this link.. it may be a bit distant but it should help get you in the ball park ... you could check out his PBS broadcast
one technique he uses is to put some white where objects meet water and then lightly pull the paint down .. then dry brush (2'' brush) side to side.. it gives a nice reflection
hope that helps a bit

Answer 8

find a pic of the type of water surroundings that you are looking to achieve in your painting.
for instance if you want rushing water then go for that,,,if you want calm still waters,,,then use that pic. pay very close attention to detail ...
you should have a sloppy copy,,,so before doing that final print ''stroke'' you should practice on separate canvas.

Answer 9

Use less paint when you are painting something and then if it is not dark enough paint over it again. It really helps me.