That water looks very realistic. Much more so than the mirror look. Somehow though, the mirror does look really cool. In the end, I'm pretty sure I will add some texture. The Mississippi in this location moves very slowly. As you can see in the photo below, the ripples on the Mississippi are much smaller than on Kevin's river. Right now I'm thinking to just lightly dab the gloss medium on an area and see how it looks.
That's some really nice work there. I spent some time railfanning the BN along the WI/MN boarder in the mid-90s, it's a fantastic spot to watch trains in with the Mississippi in the background. She's a wide one though, I'd bet you've got close to 40" of bridge there. I will say this about the smooth water though...the bridge reflections make for some awesome photographs!
Beautiful scene Daryl. The photo backdrop works well. Hey, if you're feeling ambitious, I have a set of original prints for the US 30 suspension bridge should you want to scratch build that too. (grin) Jim
I'll pass on any more scratch building of bridges for now. Thanks though. Here's a final look at the bridges with the photo backdrop properly trimmed and trees planted to hide the edges. [video=youtube;jwScrbP8zIU]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwScrbP8zIU[/video]
Man, I realize that adding ripples would make it more realistic, but how else are you gonna show all that underside detail. Glassy water actually happens on very calm days. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/mississippi-river-mirror-like-water-kent-lorentzen.html http://www.bucktrack.com/Mississippi_by_Canoe/Still_Waters.jpg
Wow- fantastic scene! I say leave the water as is, at least for now. Something about the smooth glossy finish just really works in that scene. I think it may be the darkness of the trees, bridge and the river bottom. The reflections look really really good. Jamie
