Paint Sea (Underwater)

[BenSCR]

How can I paint Underwater Sea, like in this still from a film called 'The Red Turtle'.

[Nancy OShea]

Start with a gradient background.

Add some noise.

Copy the figures and add some distortion.

Adjust layer opacity.

[rayek.elfin]

I re-watched the sequence in the original film, and as far as I can tell, most sea surface effects in that film are done in a 3d application. Or at the very least a displacement with lighting.

In any case, it is NOT hand painted.

The basic approach is explained in tutorials such as these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZ6fShUxtoo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnO3nvmPouE

Or you can fake it in Photoshop:

https://www.wikihow.com/Draw-a-Sea-Surface-in-Photoshop

Or use a stock photo of the sea surface from below, and use that.