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How to Paint Those Wiggly Reflections

How to Paint Those Wiggly Reflections

Water reflections appear spontaneous and gestural, but they follow definite laws.

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James Gurney
Feb 08, 2024
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How to Paint Those Wiggly Reflections
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As we learned in the first installment in this series, light objects reflect slightly darker in water. That’s why, in this painting from Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara, the sunlit wall appears a little darker in its reflected image.

Let’s look now at how the images are broken up by the wavelets. Edges with strong contrasts, like the brightly lit wall aga…

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