Underwater Colours

Having mermaids as a subject matter means that a lot of my illustrations will contain water or be set underwater. With this in mind I started some research into how colours look within the water and whether there is any difference to when they're above sea.

I found two online sources that were very helpful, one was focused on photography underwater and the other on scuba diving. So I had the same information from two different points of view which was interesting to see how and why they used it. It also helped assure me the information was truthful. 

The first website: http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/underwater-photography-lighting-fundamentals

Gave useful information explaining the different wave lengths of light:

"Water absorbs different wavelengths of light to different degrees. The longest wavelengths, with the lowest energy, are absorbed first. Red is the first to be absorbed, followed by orange & yellow. The colors disappear underwater in the same order as they appear in the color spectrum. Even water at 5ft depth will have a noticeable loss of red. For this reason, strobes are usually used to add color back to subjects."

"Don't forget to add in the horizontal distance. If you are 10ft underwater, and you are viewing an object 10ft away, the light has actually travelled 20ft, and all of the reds will be filtered out.

Your brain will compensate for the loss of color underwater. This is why you still think you can see reds and oranges in deeper water, but when you take an ambient light shot with your camera, they aren't there!"

At what depth underwater does color disappear?

• Red - 15ft

• orange - 25ft

• Yellow - 35-45ft

• Green - 70-75ft

The second website: http://thedivingblog.com/colors-underwater/

helps explain why the light and colour disappears:

"One of the first things you notice as a new scuba diver is the surprising lack of color. Discovery Channel specials and magazine layouts have brilliant colors. Where'd they all go?

Don't feel ripped off. The fact is, water absorbs light rapidly. So rapidly, that after only 300 ft (80 m), no visible light remains. 

What is doing the absorbing exactly? All water contains microscopic particles. Light strikes these particles and scatters, with some of the light absorbed. What remains is what color you see. As the light travels farther, only blue light remains, with it eventually being absorbed as well^1^. Of course, flashlights reintroduce "white" light, which contains the entire spectrum, making all colors visible again."

This has made me think about the colours I use for my final images. Any scenes I create above water will have more colour, or brighter colours to contrast with underwater scenes which will have more muted colours. I hope that this will highlight the different settings to the audience as well and give a more atmospheric, true feeling to my book. I have been using a lot of blues and greens in my colour palette so far and will continue to do this even more now that I have discovered they are the colours that reach underwater.