This article explains in detail how I paint underwater scenes. As is my usual way, I will also share all the reasoning behind my techniques so that the process will be easier for you to remember.
To paint an underwater scene like the one below, you would show whatever is above the water in the background and a window to the underwater world in the foreground. There might also be an area of transition between them.
Imagine sitting in a boat on a lake. Look outwards and you will see the surface of the water. There may even be objects, such as lily pads, floating on top.
Look downwards, nearer the boat, and floating lily pads are still visible, but now you will also see through the water’s surface to whatever is in the underwater world beneath.
The tricky part is showing what is above and below the water at the same time.
My Golden Rule For Painting Underwater Scenes
When painting water “Horizontal surfaces show what is above and vertical surfaces show what is beneath”
What this actually means is that water should be painted differently, depending on the angle from which it is viewed. In the example above, there are no vertical water surfaces (waves); however, looking downwards into water means you are viewing it at the same angle as a vertical surface would appear in front of you, 90 degrees.
When the surface of water is visible, what we are actually seeing is a reflection of anything above. Often, water looks blue because what you are seeing is a reflection of the sky. At other times, however, the surface reflection will show trees, mountains, buildings or anything else. (For more on painting water reflections, read this article.)
A reflection like this is only seen when viewing the surface of water at an angle of less than 90 degrees, an acute angle. The steeper the viewing angle, the less visible the surface reflection becomes.
Once the viewing angle reaches 90 degrees, or is perpendicular, the surface of the water is extremely difficult to see. When you look downwards into water, you will see through the surface to whatever is beneath. Objects suspended in the water, such as fish, plants or coral, will be visible. You will also likely see the sand, rocks or mud at the bottom. The further into the depths you look, however, the less visible objects become. The art principle we use to show exactly how deep underwater objects are in a painting is atmospheric perspective.
Atmospheric perspective
On a clear day, where the light source comes from above or behind the viewer, objects in the background of a landscape painting are generally bluer, paler and have a smaller tonal range than those in the foreground.
The farther away an object is, the bluer and paler it will appear. Think of mountains viewed from a distance. The way I remember this in my head is that the sky is blue, so the more sky between you and an object, the bluer it will appear. Also, light is white, so the more light between you and an object, the paler it will appear.
Small particles in air (or water) obstruct your vision slightly, so distant objects cannot be seen as clearly. We show this in a painting by making the difference between the lightest and darkest tones (tonal range) less in objects that are far away.
Making colours paler, bluer and reducing the tonal range is an easy way to move objects backwards in a painting to create the feeling of depth in your artwork.
In the Paint Stunning Seascapes course, I refer to this principle as aerial perspective. It is also known as atmospheric perspective, which is probably a more correct term to use when referring to water.
Underwater Perspective
Objects in underwater scenes also appear bluer as they recede into the distance. However, instead of gradually becoming paler, they appear darker. A way to remember this is that light comes from above the water, so the further you get from the surface, the less light will penetrate.
When painting underwater scenes, therefore, the colours should be adjusted continually as objects recede further into the distance. The hue becomes bluer and the tone becomes darker. The tonal range, or difference between lightest and darkest tones, is also reduced because fewer details will be visible.
It should be said here that the clarity of the water plays a huge part in how much colours should be adjusted to show depth. I have been on a boat in the ocean where the water is 100 feet deep and the sand at the bottom is clearly visible. At other times, I have been unable to find a golf ball in 6 inches of rainwater.
Therefore, if you were painting a coral reef, for example, you might make colours only slightly darker and bluer as they recede into the depths. This lets the viewer know the water is quite clear. On the other hand, if you are painting turtles in a pond with lots of algae, the change in colour between objects near and far might be a lot greater. The distant objects may also take on more of a green hue, rather than blue.
Small details like this are how you make your artwork look “believable” because the viewer can get a feel for what the water is like in addition to seeing what is in it..
Examples of How to Paint Underwater Scenes
The following are examples of how to paint underwater scenes from 3 different viewing angles.
Lilipads on a lake
In this painting, the viewer is positioned above the water’s surface, such as in the boat I described at the beginning of this article. In the background, you will see a reflection of the flowers above the surface as well as a reflection of the blue sky. The stems that are underwater are only faintly visible.
Underwater objects, such as the lily stems and the bottom of the lake, are seen much more clearly in the foreground, and the actual surface of the water is not really visible at all.
Lili pads are visible on the surface of the water throughout the entire painting. However, in the foreground, two of them appear to be underwater. The reason you can tell which leaves are underwater is that they are much bluer and have less contrast between light and dark.
In the middle of the canvas, there is an area of transition between the surface reflection in the background and the underwater view in the foreground. As we begin to view the water at a steeper angle, the reflection starts to fade out because the surface becomes less visible. The technique used to create the fading effect is glazing.
A glaze is a transparent layer of paint that you can apply over an existing painting to adjust the tone or the hue.
Diving Lessons
In this painting, we can see both above and below the water’s surface. It is like looking at a cross-section of the ocean. Imagine someone snorkelling with goggles half in and half out of the water.
We can’t see much of the surface reflection because our eyes are basically at the same level as the surface. In other words, the angle of viewing is too acute. Instead, I have shown the surface of the water by painting a small line of shadow beneath.
Notice that above the water, the colours of the whale are much warmer. That is, they lean more towards the warm colours of red and yellow. Beneath the surface, the colours are cooler, being closer to blue. The deeper the whale extends beneath the surface, the darker and bluer it becomes. Also, the fish at the bottom are brighter than the whales because they are nearer.
Whale Shark
In this case, we are viewing from beneath the water’s surface. The underside of the surface is a reflection because we are viewing it at an angle. This time, however, the reflection is of everything beneath the water, rather than above.
The colours of the whale shark become bluer and darker towards the tail because that is the farthest away. This is essential to making the shark appear as if it is swimming towards us rather than across the painting.
The secret to painting believable underwater scenes is the same as for any other subject matter.
“Paint What You See, Not What You Know It To Be”
If you have already completed any of my painting courses, I am sure you have heard me say this previously. We often presume to know what colour an object is because we have seen it many times before. Our brains record the colour we think the object should be, so we fail to look at it objectively. As a result, we keep painting it the same way over and over again, even though the colours may be significantly different.
Colours change according to atmospheric conditions and the way light reflects off different surfaces.
Key Points To Remember When Painting Underwater Scenes
- Water should be painted differently according to the angle from which it is viewed
- The surface of water is seen as a reflection of its surroundings
- When painting underwater scenes, atmospheric perspective makes objects appear bluer and darker as they recede into the distance.
- Showing more contrast in the foreground and less in the background will add depth to your water paintings.
Realism Essentials
Three qualities are essential to mastering the art of painting anything in a realistic style:
- Good powers of observation
- Commonsense Logic
- An understanding of the core principles of art
The first two are already within your grasp.
If You Need More Help With Painting Principles and Techniques
My painting courses contain in-depth explanations of all the core art principles, along with practical demonstrations of painting processes and brush techniques. I also share all the logical reasoning I use to make sense of painting any subject.
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