Create a simple vector style sea in After Effects using a video or C4D animaiton

Hello, I'm making a lino print style animation and need to do the sea!

Here's a rough mockup of what I'm trying to achieve.

What I want to do is be able to take a video or Cinema 4D animaiton of an ocean and apply effects to simplfy it. Imagine if the see was printed in 3 colours. The main body of water, hightlights and lowlights. I would then reflect the sun in the highlights.

I've played around using levels, posterize, thresholds and blurs. But can't seem to achieve the look in my still. What I get are shapes that are either complicated and wouldn't be achievable in the lino-print style world. Or too rounded edged and no longer feel like water.

I really like this animated gif style. Although the edges are too soft.

I have this as a source video, and I can add the sun and reflection in after. I just need to achieve the simple sea;

Does anyone have an ideas? Or can push me the way of a tutorial?

Thanks,
Ryan