Realistic Water™

A calm surface straight from the bottle

This liquid serves for casting still and slow-moving stretches of water, that is ponds, lakes, pools and quiet reaches of rivers. It is poured straight from the bottle and levels itself, so nothing has to be smoothed out. Once cured it stays clear and solid, it does not crack and it shrinks only minimally, thanks to which the surface does not end up sunken at the banks, as happens with a number of other products.

The surface sets and clears in roughly twenty-four hours, and the exact time depends on the humidity in the room. The product is nontoxic and can be washed off with water before it cures, which simplifies cleaning up the tools. One 473 milliliter bottle makes a surface roughly 43 centimeters across if you pour it to a depth of about three millimeters.

The color of the surface is set by what is underneath, not by the liquid itself. A darker bottom gives an impression of depth, lighter edges suggest shallows, and a smooth transition between two shades painted before the pour is all it takes. Cloudy water is made with a minute amount of liquid pigment stirred into the first layer.

Preparing the bed

The bottom has to be perfectly sealed beforehand, otherwise the liquid will run underneath and it will only show once everything has dried. The proven method is to line the hollow with plaster cloth and to paint it with fully acrylic paint or with liquid pigments from the same manufacturer. Pour in thin layers, never the whole volume at once. Ripples, surf and foam are left until the end and are made with a thicker gel.

The package consists of one bottle of the liquid. The base, paints and plaster cloth do not go with it.