Your thoughts on blue water

[sfcouple]

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   

[sfcouple]

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?  

Wayne

 

 

[Hamltnblue]

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.

[GP-9_Man11786]

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.