For the sea foam I used a cotton ball and pulled small amounts off like a spider web and applied them to the wave crests and troughs with the acrylic gel. I shaped the cotton to the desired effect and let dry.
After drying, I applied more gel to the cotton to cut down on the “fiber look” and to simulate the appearance of water. At this point things turned rotten. I tried to increase the glossy look by spraying gloss paint on the water foam/churn. This turned the cotton to a yellowish shade. I airbrushed an acrylic white (flat) on the cotton and tried again. I had to apply gloss because of the flat white. Vicious circle. This occurred 3 times trying different sprays, each time turning the cotton yellow.
In frustration I turned to the internet for several evenings of research. The answer came by using Liquitex Pouring Medium mixed with water, around a 2 to 1 ratio, water to medium. This airbrushed on like paint, dried glossy and clear and most importantly, didn’t turn the cotton yellow. As it turn out, spraying the cotton white to remove the yellowing looked good in the end anyway.
I set the plane in it’s hollowed out area and glued it down with Golden Heavy Acrylic Gel, forming an area of splash. The spray was made using the same cotton technique as before, I just used more this time. I attached the cotton to the base with the Heavy gel. Once the gel was tacky, I pulled the cotton to the desired form with a sharp tool and sprayed the cotton and parts of the model with the pouring medium/water mixture. The medium on the model creates a glossy effect and resembles the wetness from water. The cotton does lay down a bit with this process, but I just reapplied more cotton and repeated until I had the desired effect. Spraying selective areas of the plane with the glue mixture resulted in a glossy/wet appearance.
This concludes the acrylic water technique. The gel can be a little pricy, but I found some that was on sell, and I actually used very little. I used Golden because of the sell price, any manufacturer would work, just make sure it’s rated transparent and glossy. Try it yourself, it’s very easy.