Realistic Ocean Resin Art: Make it yourself!
Interested in making you own realistic ocean resin art? You are in the right place. We have included a video and written tutorial in this article, as well as a complete list of links to products you will need to complete this project on your own. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments you may have in the comments section below. We would love to hear how your project turned out!
Ultimate Ocean Resin Art Video Tutorial
A Beginner's Guide to Creating Realistic Ocean Art With Resin
One of my favorite types of resin art is an ocean piece. I love how realistic the ocean looks when it is created with epoxy resin. I learned this technique watching hundreds of YouTube resin artists’ videos.
Unfortunately, I was not able to find one video that had all the steps laid out for creating an ocean resin art piece. Luckily, I pieced the process together using many videos from different creators and added some of my own techniques to the process.
I figured it would be nice to have a complete guide to creating Ocean Resin art pieces in one video!
So here you go!
All the supplies you will need are linked below.
Quick Tip on Video Settings
Note: If you feel the video is too fast, click the settings (gear) icon and select Playback Speed. Set the speed to .5 and the video will play slower. (This may only work if you click the YouTube icon and watch the video on the YouTube platform.)
Feel free to screenshot any parts of the video you need and please leave any questions you may have in the comments below! Have fun and can’t wait to hear how your ocean Resin art pieces turned out.
If you prefer to read your tutorials, you are in the right place and we know you will love this Ocean Resin Art Tutorial.
If you are interested in buying the resin paintings made in this video, or similar art, visit the product page: Ocean Resin Paintings For Sale
Here are detailed directions to create your very own Ocean Resin Art piece, as well as a list of materials, (each with a link) of all the products you will need to create your own resin art.
1. Ocean Resin Art Step One: Prepare Canvas(-es) (Day One)
Step One Materials: Preparation Materials
- 24in by 24in MDF board canvas
- Acrylic Paint Set (this set has three perfect shades of blue for ocean pieces)
- Silicone cups and measuring cup
- Fine Beach Sand (TIP: use kinetic sand for the best results. It is easier to mold and mix when combined with epoxy resin!)
- Epoxy Resin
Step One Instructions:
a. Pick a canvas size, out of either MDF board or Birchwood and purchase.
b. Mix Epoxy Resin according to instructions on the bottle.
c. Mix sand into the mixed resin. This should be a very thick consistency. Spread sand and resin mixture onto your canvas in the area you would like your beach to be.
d. Using three shades of blue acrylic paint, paint the water area of the canvas. Blending all three blue shades together, gradually, start with the lightest color closest to the beach and the darkest blue furthest away from the beach.
e. Let your canvas dry overnight.
Here is a picture of what your canvas should look like after you have finished Step One:
2. Ocean Resin Art Step Two: Mix Epoxy Resin and Add Color Mediums (The Next Day)
Step Two Materials:
- Transparent Blue Color Mediums (Note: You only need three shades of blue transparent color mediums. You can pick from any of the recommendations below. It is okay to mix different types of mediums, such as using blue food coloring, blue India ink, and blue alcohol ink for your three shades. It is also okay to use three of the same mediums, such as three different shades of blue food coloring.)
- Blue Bombay India ink
- Blue Alcohol Inks (This is an affordable set of alcohol inks with plenty of shades of blue to play around with.)
- Castin’ Craft Blue Transparent Dye
- McCormick’s Food Coloring (This kit only has one shade of blue, see below for more blue food coloring options.)
- Wilton Icing Colors (This kit has two shades of blue.)
- White Opaque Color Mediums (Note: You will only need one opaque white color medium. You can pick from any of the recommendations below. I have used each one of these mediums and they all create gorgeous waves!)
- Glitter/Sparkle Mediums (Note: This is optional. You will only need this if you wish to add more sparkle into the water part of your piece.)
- Epoxy Resin (Note: You only need one of thee epoxy resins. These are my top three recommendations for ocean resin art pieces at the moment. See the video for more details.)
- Transparent Blue Color Mediums (Note: You only need three shades of blue transparent color mediums. You can pick from any of the recommendations below. It is okay to mix different types of mediums, such as using blue food coloring, blue India ink, and blue alcohol ink for your three shades. It is also okay to use three of the same mediums, such as three different shades of blue food coloring.)
Step Two Instructions:
a. Mix Epoxy Resin according to instructions on the bottle.
b. Separate into 4 equal cups:
c. Mix three of your cups with three different shades of blue transparent color mediums. (See some options for these mediums above in the materials list.)
d. Optional Step: If you would like to add a glitter medium to make your water look sparkly like the sun is reflecting off the surface, then add your glitter medium to these cups of resin.
d. Split the fourth cup into two equal parts. One will remain clear, the other you will mix your white color medium into. (See material list above for white color medium suggestions) 
Here is a more detailed image:
3. Ocean Resin Art Step Three: Pour Resin Onto Canvas
a. Pour your first layer of resin onto the ocean area of your canvas. The lightest transparent blue you mixed goes over the lightest of your blue acrylic paint and the darkest goes over your darkest acrylic paint. (See image below.) Blend these together well for a realistic ocean look.
b. Next, pour a thin layer of white-colored resin across your canvas in the area where you would like your first wave break. (See image below)
c. Pour a line of clear resin on either side of your white resin.
d. Use a heat gun or torch lighter to pop all the air bubbles in your resin. Lightly expose the heat source of your choice to your canvas. Pass the heat gun or torch over the resin, careful not to get closer than a couple of inches from the canvas. It does not take much heat to pull the air bubbles out of the resin and pop them.
4. Ocean Resin Art Step Four: Making Realistic Waves
a. Run a heat gun or torch over the white and clear resin you just poured in the previous step, just enough to heat it up a bit, allowing for more movement over the other resin on your canvas.
b. Using your heat gun or a blow-dryer, push the white resin over the clear resin. You will see lacing start to form if you have used any of the white pigment materials we recommended above. Careful not to overdo this step. You just need to push the white resin a little to create your wave break. You can experiment with pushing your pigment in different directions, toward the beach, as well as away from the beach in different areas of your wave.
c. Pour your next white resin line in the area you want your second wave to break and repeat Step three.
d. Repeat step four until you have as many wave breaks as you like. (We did three in this piece.)
e. Let dry for six hours, or half the time it takes the epoxy resin brand you are using to cure. This is very important. If you wait too long, you will have to sand down the first layer of epoxy resin before applying the next layer and this can be a big pain in the butt!
5. Ocean Resin Art Step Five: Resin Layer Two (Approximately 6 hours later)
a. After a partial cure, mix up some more epoxy resin. Mix some white pigment into about a fourth of the resin you mixed up. The rest of the resin should stay clear.
b. Repeat Steps 3a-4e, adding wave breaks in the same areas you put your first layer down. You don’t want the lines to be identical, but they should overlap. This creates depth. Here is an example of what I mean:
Adding the second layer of white:
Pushing white over clear on the second layer:
c. Let dry for six hours. (or half the cure time)
6. Ocean Resin Art Step 6: Flood Coat (Approximately 6 hours later)
a. Mix another batch of epoxy resin.
b. Pour resin onto the center of the canvas and spread it out to the edges with a silicone spatula or Popsicle stick.
c. Make sure epoxy resin is covering the entire water area. (You do not need to coat the beach area.)
d. Let dry overnight.
Tip: Put a box over your work so dust does not blow into the resin while drying.
Final Ocean Resin Art Piece
Here is how our ocean resin art piece came out! Good luck and we would love to hear how your ocean resin art pieces turned out. Please leave us a comment below and do not forget to share this with your friends on social media! We sure do appreciate you.
Thanks for watching and reading. Please leave us a comment below and share this tutorial!
20 Responses
Hello Ashley
You have completely demystified this incredible art form, i was always interested in trying it but I struggled to find a good source for learning, until now!
Is it possible to change a layer you’re not happy with after the resin has already set? or would it be best to start again from the beginning?
James, it is possible, You can let the resin cure completely and then sand the layer off that you do not like. However, I find if I do not like a layer, adding another usually fixes the issue! Plus, give it a few days before doing anything too drastic. You may end up loving something you thought was a mistake.
This art form is not for perfectionists, but that is what makes it so brilliant. I have found it meditative. It forces my brain to accept defeat with regard to being able to control everything I put on the canvas! If you have any more questions, let me know!
Ocean resin art is incredible. So many people enjoy the ocean and value having a art project that brings them so many memories about this remarkable resource. It makes me smile just to look at the fantastic images that were created using this technique. You lay out incredible step by step instructions on how these can be made. I am impressed by these instructions as you have made then so easy to understand. As I feel so many enjoy these types of pictures, I am sure that they would also make fantastic gifts!
Toplink, I agree. Ocean resin art is a classic and so many artists are creating some beautiful pieces now adays. I absolutely love experimenting with this technique. There are so many possibilities. I mean just think about how many different ocean landscapes we have on our beautiful Earth. Each can be replicated using this technique of resin art.
You did an excellent job on the paintings and the Youtube tutorial video. I cannot take my eyes off your painting process, which is so captivating. What I love the most is that you use a heat gun or a blow-dryer to make realistic waves, and the outcome seems real. It would be a good hobby if I could get my hands dirty to make one following your step-by-step instructions, so thanks a lot for this post. I love it.
Thanks, Matt! I hope you get a chance to try out resin art. It really is a rewarding hobby!
This is so well explained that even I can do it 😉 I am clumsy and not very good at art but if I follow these steps exactly, maybe I can create an ocean resin art as well 😉
The video explains it really well, step by step. I would love to have this hanging on my wall. The end result is simply stunning! It looks like you paid a lot of money to buy it when you made it yourself.
You will definitely be able to make one yourself if you put your mind to it. If you want a more beginner-friendly project, you could start with this one: Easy Wine Butler and Coaster Set Out of Resin
Look forward to hearing if you tried it out!
If you are interested in purchasing any pieces, please visit the Craftelot Resin Art Shop and if you would like some custom work done, contact me at craftelotresinco@gmail.com.
Hi Ashley,
Wow, the final product looks amazing!!! And your tutorial is extremely detailed and easy to follow. And thanks for the list of materials as well. It is time-saving and low-risk to buy from your list rather than taking time to check many options online. I’m just wondering if it’s just me and my laptop, that I couldn’t click to any link you’ve provided. When I put the mouse over, it didn’t change and link to anywhere else. Let you know just in case.
Cheers,
Grace
Thanks, Grace. I have checked all the links and they seem to be working now. I made sure everything was updated on the backend of my site so hopefully, this will not be an issue for anyone else. I am honored that you enjoyed the tutorial! Have a great day.
Hi Ashley
Thank you for the informative article on how to make you own realistic resin ocean art. Resin art has always been something I wanted to try and do myself one day and now I can with your very detailed instructions. I just hope mine will turn out as beautifully as the one you did.
Marlene! Good luck. Remember, practice makes perfect. Start small and then size up as your confidence grows. Would love to see your work!
Hey Ashley, this turned out so so beautiful! I am sure it looks even more great in real life than in pictures and videos! I watched your video and am so glad you put up a video because I was getting kind of confused reading through the instructions (i am a super visual person and I like to just imagine things lol).
I absolutely love the blow dryer idea to create movement in the water! I have seen so many epoxy countertop videos on youtube that I rarely see any with a detailed how-to epoxy painting! So glad you did one! 🙂
Do you sell your paintings too?
Hello Sasha. I am so glad you enjoyed the video! I do sell my art. Infact, these pieces are available online now. I also do custom pieces. You can visit the shop at Resin Art Shop or use the Contact Us form to discuss a custom piece. Thanks for reading!
That looks so beautiful! I am a little clumsy, so I’m not sure how well I’ll do with the sand and resin 😉 but it looks worth a try. It doesn’t look very difficult. And the end result is stunning! I would love to have this hanging on my wall. . Making the waves may be the only thing where I might mess up a little, but it’s a good thing that waves don’t have to look perfect. The beauty of it is that you can really go a little wild with waves, create the perfect surfer waves or a storm or hurricane even, or a rogue wave – that last one would make a great painting too.
Absolutely Christine. Trust me, the waves are not as hard as you think. It is a great idea to start on a smaller canvas however so you can practice without wasting resin. There are so many different ways you can do this too, like a black sand beach or even pink waves! Do fun. Also, if you do not want to create this yourself and would rather just buy one, check out our resin art shop to purchase an original piece or contact us here to order a custom piece for your home. Thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for sharing your process with creating this realistic ocean resin art. I recently found myself falling down a rabbit hole of diorama’s being made with resin and the painting of resin figures. Just something about people working with resin just fascinates me, although I’m sure if I were to try it myself I would make quite the mess. I’m really happy I stumbled across this article and your website.
I won’t lie to you..resin is definitely a messy endeavor. However, there are great ways to mitigate that mess. If you decide to do another project, check out Best Silicone Craft Mats For Resin Artists. The silicone craft mats on that list are perfect for keeping your workspace clean. There are also some recommendations for other silicone tools you can use while making resin art. It makes a huge difference when a project is simple to clean up. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!
Such a beautifully crafted piece you’ve got here. I honestly can not paint or do any type of artwork on my own because it always ends up in a mess, but during this whole covid situation I have found so much peace of mind going through various artists who create magic just like the ones shown in this article. It is also so aesthetically pleasing to see each step and the progress being made so you can take notes on certain parts so you can get it as perfect as you can.
I also love watching other artists create beautiful artwork, especially other resin artists. There is something very soothing about watching the resin piece come together. We are glad that people are enjoying watching our videos, even if they are not interested in creating their own resin art. Thanks for stoppingby!