For a quiet lake, artists leave large areas blank, perhaps adding faint, horizontal "lifts" with a damp brush to suggest a soft reflection of a nearby tree. Capturing Movement: The Pattern Techniques

The most essential technique is the use of ( liu bai ). In many traditional works, the water itself is not painted at all; instead, it is suggested by the way it interacts with other elements.

To show a surface ruffled by the wind, artists use semi-circular, curved lines that overlap like scales.