Simulating water
Have you ever wondered about how to create a realistic looking water scene, like a medium-sized stream…
… I might have a how-to for you.
![](https://canderr.nscaleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/12/IMG_20211127_120340-1024x573.jpg)
We start off modeling a smooth river base. I have a plywood sheet as a base and smoothed it out with plaster putty. Little sanding to get an even surface.
After this, I primed the base with some beige acrylic paint, working in streaks along the flow direction.
After the primer dried, I applied the water shading. I used Burned Umber, Raw Umber and Light Ocher and dabbed the colors on the base with a fine sponge, starting with the Light Ocher from the river seams.
Working towards the middle switching from Raw Umber to Burned Umber.
![](https://canderr.nscaleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/12/IMG_20211204_090046-1024x573.jpg)
With the acrylics dried I started to create the water surface with a glossy potch medium.
Using a wide soft brush and working in thin layers from the seams towards the middle and from the back to the front – it starts to create some minor waves and ripples. I applied several layers, each after the previous has dried.
![](https://canderr.nscaleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/12/IMG_20211204_200329-1024x573.jpg)
For some more depth in the waves, I applied one layer of a thicker potch medium in lines between both seams. For this I use a smaller brush and spread out the line of potch medium to the back and front a bit, keeping the line visible.
![](https://canderr.nscaleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/12/IMG_20211206_195033-1024x573.jpg)
I finished the water with two additional layers of glossy potch medium to smooth out some ripples from the prior step and recreate the glossy surface.
![](https://canderr.nscaleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/12/IMG_20211211_194553-scaled-e1639316353985-1024x746.jpg)
![](https://canderr.nscaleworks.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/12/IMG_20211212_150310-scaled-e1639317914439-1024x644.jpg)