For my final piece, I began experimenting with how I could portray water in my model. I started brainstorming ideas on what materials would best replicate water in colour, texture and movement. Finance was a huge problem. Most models that include water use resin. Although resin would be one of the best substances to use, it is also the most expensive. Using resin to replicate the water is not the most practical.
As my brother is an architect that has created models that includes water, I asked him what he has previously used. He suggested I use Perspex. I chose to use clear Perspex as I felt blue look too unrealistic to represent water. To try and replicate the texture and appearance of water when the waves break or it ripples over rocks, I glued stones and pebbles to an angled piece of MDF, to portray the natural slope of a beach, and using a heat gun, I heated the edge of the perspex until it began to bubble, then butted it up to the stones until it started to flow over and around them. Doing this did cause some of the stones to break off under the pressure, so I used more glue from a glue gun to stick them back down.
I did not like the look of this water sample once it was complete as I felt it was a poor representation of the ocean. The plastic did not mould around the stones as well as I had hoped they would, therefore I will not be using this method in my final piece.
The second method I tried was inspired by a video I found on BuzzFeed. It used glue from a hot glue gun that had been painted with nail polish. In the video the end result of the water looked quite good so I thought I would have a good. I used a plastic wallet for a base for the glue to go on. The video made this look very easy, however I found it very hard to get the glue to come out and in the right places I wanted it to go, as it was also hot glue it cause the plastic to melt underneath it which was not displayed in the video. When the glue had dried I went over the holes that had been created through the melted plastic and then painted it using blue and white gauche paint. I had no access to nail polish like the video suggested. I mixed the paint until I had a range of blues that I could work with. I then dabbed the paint on the glue to try and replicate the blended colours of the sea like the way it had been done in the video. I was not successful. The paint would not stick to the glue when first applied, making it very hard to blend in other colours. The paint also dried looking very dull, so maybe using nail polish would have been the better option, however, if the sample was turned over, the plastic wallet gave a glossy effect making the samples look slightly better. Although I do like the texture the glue gives, I do not like these samples and will not be using them in my final piece as I do not feel they are of a good enough standard and replicate water as well as i was hoping they would.
The last sample I collected of water was using Tyvek. I was introduced to this material by my tutor who showed me that when it was heated, the material warped and shrunk into different positions. The Tyvek could also be dyed to display different colours.
I started with a strip of white Tyvek, using brusho inks to dye it. I gave the strip a wash of blue adding in greens and purples to give the effect of light and dark sections as the sea is not one solid colour. After I had left this to dry, I used a heat gun to heat the Tyvek up, causing it to distort and twist until I got a rippled effect on top.
Although I find this process fun and interesting, I do not feel using Tyvek to portray water is one of the better samples. Despite like the crinkled effect the heat gives this material the colour and appearance does not match that of waters.
After experimenting with different materials to replicate water, I don't feel there are any that will work as well as real water would. Therefore in my final piece, I will add real water to my model, adding a few drops of blue food colouring to give it that blue colour the sea has.
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