Paint the waves for the sea using watercolors.
Watercolor paints are the ideal medium to use for painting waves on the sea. Watercolors create a translucence that will compliment the light coming through waves, and create a watery swirling effect that will echo the flowing of the waves. Waves are sometimes considered difficult to paint and draw, because they do not have defined shapes and forms. By finding the shapes that are within the waves, rather than looking at the entire span of the sea, you can work in small sections at a time to create realistic waves.
Instructions
1. Locate a photo of the sea for reference. Your photo can be a close-up of waves, or a photo that includes a broad view of the sea.
2. Sketch the ripples, arch and foam of the waves onto the cold-pressed paper using a drawing pencil. Look at different sections of the water and the shapes that the waves create at different stages. Sketch the shape and direction of the ripples, the height of the round arch of the wave and the curls it creates as it arches. Then sketch the shapes that are created after the wave crashes.
3. Paint the outline of the sketch with a light blue watercolor paint, using a thin watercolor brush. This will establish the sections to paint within. Outline the areas where the water is foaming to establish boundaries. The white of the paper will be used to fill the white foam areas of the waves, not white paint, so do not paint within these boundaries.
4. Paint the first wave section. Waves are typically the lightest and most translucent in the top and center, where they are arching, because this is where the light shines through. Dip the paint brush into the water, and paint the water onto the paper to fill in the top and center area of a wave. When watercolor painting, paint the water on first and then add the paint. Dip the paint brush into a light blue color, and dab the paint onto an edge of the wet area of the paper and allow the paint to flow across the paper.
5. Paint the other areas of the wave using the same technique to fill in the lower base and front area of the wave. Reference your photo to find the darker and lighter areas, and use whatever colors you see to fill these areas. Paint all of the other sections of the water that you sketched to create your waves.
6. Paint the shaded area of the foam of the waves using a watercolor fan brush. The foam area will be a mix of pure white, which is the paper untouched, and light to medium blue-gray colors. The gray foam will pick up on the surrounding hues of the water, so mix a small amount of those hues into some gray paint. Paint the shaded foam areas using the technique of painting water and dabbing paint to the edges of the area to flow.
7. Add highlights and details to the waves by dry brushing the edges of the waves. Use a fan brush for highlighting and a small thin brush for detailing. Use light blue and gray for highlighting and dark blue and gray for detailing. Dip the paintbrush into the paint and brush it onto a paper towel until it is almost dry; then fan brush the highlights and details to add depth to the painting.
