how to draw water reflection with pencil

Drawing Reflections in Water

You can become confused with so many rules about reflections; however, a few basic observations should be noted.

1. In an enclosed harbor the water often will become as smooth as glass. The boat in this drawing is in water that has very few ripples. Many mistakes are made in thinking that reflections are a reverse of the object.\Notice in the drawing that the reflection is not simply a tracing of the boat turned upside down. You are looking down at the boat, but in the reflection you are looking up. For example, yob. can see the top of the cabin, but in the reflection you see underneath the roof of the cabin. Water is drawn with horizontal strokes to achieve flatness and perspective.

2. As the surface of the water becomes broken by the wind or a moving object, it distorts the mirror-like reflection.

E. How dark or light the reflection is depends upon where the sun is hitting the object. If the side of the boat is in shadow and the sun is hitting the top of the water, the reflection will be lighter than the boat. If the sun is hitting the side of the boat, however, the reflection will be darker than the side (opposite page, top right).

3. When the wind causes the water to break up into many small ripples, the reflection is lost. There is, however, a diffused area in the water under the boat.

G. Notice how perspective is involved in drawing water and reflections. The further the w4ter goes away from you, the less distance there is between the ripples. The same rule applies where the reflections are more definite. The reflection near the base of an object is condensed, and it spreads out more and more as it comes toward you (opposite page).

H. Most of the time the reflection of a black boat will be lighter than the boat itself. This is due primarily to the fact that no matter how dark the reflection, it will become lighter due to the transparency, the density, and the color of the water (opposite page, bottom right).

If the pole is leaning toward you, B., the reflection will be much longer than the pole appears to you.

If the pole is leaning away from you, C. the reflection will be shorter than the pole. A pole is used here as an example, but this principle applies to the side of the boat, a tree, a house or any reflected object.

In D., notice how the reflection leans to the same side as the pole leans. If the pole leans to the left, the reflection will lean, from where the pole goes into the water, to the left. All verticals will reflect straight down, no matter how many there are or how wide apart.

F, When the water is disturbed, it makes a series of hills and valleys. The sky is reflected in the hollows. This breaks up the solid form and makes the reflection longer (opposite page).

Drawing Reflections Water

Continue reading here: Simplifying a Busy Scene

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