[Richie_Rich]

I have a WIP that I need some help with, I'm hoping someone on this awesome board can lend some advice. I'm doing a sort of relief carving with a fly fisherman casting into a river. My trouble is, I can't seem to get the water to look real or at least attractive. I've included a photo of the water in question ( in red ). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Rich

[Kenny_S]

Try some gouge marks to represent the water or way the strem is flowing short strokes not linking together, and if you paint it, Not straight blue but Blues, greens and a little white wash to represent caps here and there and then try Dimensional Majic from Hobbly lobby.Makes it look like water and shimmer sort of speaking.
Lynn Doughty has in his Blog how he did water using risen, painted and looks real. Take a look.

[AlArchie]

Rich, try and get a good photo of a flowing river with rocks in it, and note how the water piles up ahead of the rock and leaves a low spot below. Then note the "wake" formed below, much like a boat cutting through the water. I'd practice this on a spare board till I got it like I wanted, then work on the fisherman carving. Getting those ripples down in relief will be a challenge, no matter how you do it, because of the depth you will want to achieve on a fairly flat surface.

Al

[Lynn O. Doughty]

The best thing for making waves, and believe me I'm known for making waves, is hot glue. CHeck out my blog on doing the river scene it explains how I did it. Once the glue is down and painted a couple coats of clear epoxy really brings out the action of the water!!

[squbrigg]

If you are looking to carve the water, begin by looking at some good art work on river scenes. Check your local library on books of painting scenery. You can gain a lot by this. Then you'll need to establish in your mind, what type of flow you want to represent: soft meandering slow water, rough white water, or something in between.

Sketch the flow of the water onto your wood, paying attention to the buildup around rocks and the eddies formed by the waters flow around the rocks and bend of the river.

The carving part will be a challenge, as the grain will have a great influence in the final outcome. Keep your tools sharp and strop often, bent gouges will work best.

Bob

[Ashbys]

And remember sometimes less is more. I would use the flat and just run a few current lines just to show movement.

But you could also look at Bob water on his ships Another option is casting resin clear I know there are a couple pics in the gallery where it was used .

Ash