Diorama FX Water Texture Tropical Water

The turquoise shallows of a tropical coast

Tropical Water gives a water surface the deep green-blue tinge we associate with coral shallows, lagoons and moorings in the warm belt. It comes into its own in landing scenes in the Pacific, with a floatplane at anchor, at a jetty with fishing boats and where an amphibious vehicle crosses a lagoon. The shade works best over a light sandy bottom, where the color lights up, while over dark rock it thickens into a bottle tone.

Combining with the bottom

Prepare the bottom in stages: lightest at the surf line, darker toward the deep. Suggesting the transition with blended paint is enough, and the texture unifies it once poured over. Apply light doses repeatedly and let the surface dry completely between them, otherwise moisture is sealed under the new layer and the surface stays hazy. The last layer can be refined by drawing fine wave crests out with bristles in the direction of the beach.

What to watch out for

The more saturated shades act more strongly on small areas than on a large cutaway, so on a small lagoon it is better to reduce the thickness. The material is bound on a water base, is cleaned with water and, once cured, can be locally polished with a gloss varnish so that a sharp shine appears where the sun reflects.

Mixing shades

The individual tones of the range get on with one another, so within one cutaway you can move from light shallows to a darker channel. Make the transition while wet: pour both tones side by side and blend the border with a flat brush before it starts to set. Once dry the joint can no longer be blended and the boundary stays visible as a sharp line.