patrickparker 14 Dec 2007No Comments 502 views Print Email

  Art, Headline, art-feature, surf, surf-feature

To most surfers, a dream wave occurs at or around sunset when the light is the most vibrant. The waves are backlit to reveal the beautiful color of the water as the light penetrates through the back of the wave. In this article I will be explaining how to accomplish a desired look that will have viewers of you art frothing and booking their next surf trip.

Atmospheric perspective is always key when setting up your waves. For instance, if you want to make a pointbreak look realistic, the waves in the distance should not have as much vibrancy of color, otherwise it will flatten the space. During sunset, light illuminates the particles in the air and are much more noticeable, thus causing things further away from the viewer to look a little washed out or not as defined. To accomplish great atmospheric perspective, fade the color of each further wave to match the color of the sky, and use the darkest and lightest colors in the foreground. This will make the viewer believe that the waves are at a greater distance than the waves in the foreground.

The next step is the wave itself. Choosing the color of the water that will be illuminated will determine the color of the rest of the wave. I have learned that visually it works best to use yellows and light greens as illumination for skies that are yellow, orange, or red. Turquoise or light blues work better when the sky is more of a purple or blue color.

The light will penetrate the wave the brightest and will stay the brightest near the lip as it starts to break. This is where that illuminate color should be painted. The color will start to fade to a darker green/blue as you move towards the bottom of the wave because less light will be able to penetrate. The smooth blending from illuminated to darkened will help give that curved wave face look.

Giving the wave face reflections will make it look even more curved and realistic. This is done by using a toned back illuminate color towards the bottom of the wave face. That portion of the wave is facing back up towards the lighted lip and reflects that light to the viewer.

Painting the falling lip of the wave a darker color as it starts to fall, but an illuminate color as it is halfway down and close to hitting the wave face, will achieve the desired effect of a lip coming towards the viewer. This will enhance the three-dimensional effect, as well as the backlit look.

Use my example to answer any further questions or visit my site at www.patrickparkerart.com fore more art or to ask questions, I would be glad to help.