Looks like smoke going behind some sort of patterned glass to me.

Hmm...

How about now?

This may look like water on a sandy beach ?

That's what I'm going for, but my abilities still seem limited (._.)

Here's my current one:

I lack a reference image. I'm trying to remember the beach from an airplane (can't find one on the web!), and all I can remember are a WHOLE lot of waves that kind of look metallic.

Anyway, I think I'm getting the ocean bottom and the water ok. Just the water surface and the surf are giving me trouble...

Well, without a reference, I think this is the best I can do for now:



Thanks for looking! (And back to my other projects...)

http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en ... 59&bih=844

http://www.google.com/search?um=1&hl=en ... 65l2.3.3l8

Ah! Search-fu requires the correct combination of words. Excellent shot there! Will definitely see if I can add some variation to the coastline when I need to make more parts!

And I'm glad that what I'm trying to portray is coming out (that's why the original question--sure, I'M thinking beach, but IS it a beach?). It's taken fiddling with the software on and off for 5 hours (teaching myself on breaks), but to get from the first shot to the fourth has been not just frustrating but fun. To go from kitbashing WWG stuff to making my own--FREAKY!

But as I'm going for a more minimal look (rather than the rich, WWG textures), I think that I've got just the right level of detail to match up with what I need. I'll leave the uber-awesomeness to the pros (^_^)

Thank you all for checking in and contributing input!

Progress...

That looks much more like a beach

my comment, depending on scale, ie how far up the shot is, the waves seem really close togther, too close for 1 inch=5 ft but if the scale is farther out could work.

The waves look too uniform, or maybe they are too conspicuous? Have the waves blend more into the water, and reduce their frequency. It would look more realistic IMHO.