Here is an image taken from an animation I am working on.
Thanks “cog” for the water tutorial. I have tweaked it alot for my purposes, but it was a great primer.
There is much to do. 
I will post updates.
The sea looks really cool, I wonder how much time were you rendering it… seems like a lot of time, actually. The waves look a bit too predictable. The ship is OK, as I’m assuming you’ll get it more detailed. Good start, definitely.
Nice so far. How did you do the wake?
Thanks, Yetzero. It took about six minutes to render. :-? If I had used AO it would have taken a couple hours. 
I think I am going to give up on the waves and use a flat plane with an animated texture. I used the “wave” effect for the waves, but it just doesn’t look right. Right now the waves are moving in one direction(X). That is why the waves appear as lines across the image. In two directions(X,Y) the waves appear as large ripples which does not work either. 
Is it possible to animate individual grid vertices? Maybe that would create a more realistic ocean. I am open to suggestions. 
The wake is just a texture I painted in Photoshop and “masked” on top of the water.
I have tweaked the water more, added detail to the tanker, and added some additional lights. I decided to keep the wave. C&C welcome. Thanks.
Now the water looks fantastic, well done. Looking for more.
Very nice! I really like the way the waves look. Just one sugguestion; the sky gives off a very bright color. You might want to make the wave’s “contrast” relavent to this (making the sun shine on the waves). There doesn’t seem to be any light given off onto the waves. But overall, very nice work! How’d you make the waves anyway? I’ve always wanted to do something like that… But I really just can’t figure out how.
Thanks, Yetzero! I’m working on it. 
Thanks, Dragon31 for the comments and the suggestion. I will try increasing the reflection (mirror).
I used cog’s great tutorials on the following site to learn how to make basic water. I tweaked the settings alot, but the tutorial was a good starting point. Here is the link: http://www.litster.nildram.co.uk/tutorials.html
There are other good tutorials if you search Elysium.
Look great!!! Some things I would like to see:
albatros or seaguls. Crustacean on the ship hull(not to detailed just so we have the idea). more verticle running rust stains. a little more dirt on the ship.
That is just what I was thinking was missing as I looked at it. But I think it is great as is personally.
Minor update
Thanks for the suggestions, Woodman5k. I plan on adding more detail to the deck area, first. It needs life boats, anchors, winches, etc. I would like to weather it more once I have finished with the deck area.
I plan on adding more detail to the deck area, first. It needs life boats, anchors, winches, etc. I would like to weather it more once I have finished with the deck area.
I can’t wait to see it, the new clouds are a big improvement btw.
Hi erich,
Very impressed by your design and I’m glad you found my tutorial of value. I think the modifications you have applied to your work are just right. I am particularly impressed with your latest version of clouds with the ocean and also the wake of the boat.
I hope to update my seascape tutorial soon to include new discoveries reference wave caps and a more random wave motion.
Anyway I look forward to seeing more of your excellent work.
All the best.
Cog
Cog
The water looks very good. THe boat is good too but, depending on what sort of boat it is, has still a lack of detail.
The boat shape, the boat texture and the sky looks very good.
Is this the camera shot for the final render or is just for the modelling process? I think some closer shots could look good. And remember to experiment changing the camera lens as well, that can improve a lot. Try some teleobjectives (don’t know if that’s the english word), of let’s say 70-120 mm or so. I say that because I want to try it myself but don’t have a good looking model to work on 
Thanks everyone for the comments.
Here are some images of a different ship that is part of the same project. Part of the animation takes place underwater. Still much to do.
