I'm going to be making a shark cake soon. I was thinking of doing the shark's head coming out of the ocean with it's mouth open. I'd like to do the cake to look like an ocean (in buttercream) with white caps, etc. Any tips to get this effect would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!

I'm not sure if it is what you are looking for, but because I live near the ocean, I do this type of thing quite often.
This is a cake I did last week for some Danish Visitors who came to our school. The cake says 'Welcome', in Danish.

<http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1803884>

I have several cakes in my photos that also have these types of waves.
I try to write a cursive 'c' or 'r' with the pastry bag with a star tip. I try to go back over it, spacing randomly, a 'coma' stroke with some white icing.
I also use coma strokes to make it appear like a splash.
I hope this helps!

Thanks, your water looks great, but I need it closer up though. I'll try to attach a picture of what I mean.

hi, i don,t have a pic of some i have done with a fish jumping out of the water. When i make my buttercream, i just do blend blue and white. I put it on with my spatula, then smooth out gently. The take my tapered spatula and go in different places and swirl it upward to make the waves. this works great for me. Then i take blue piping gel and and a brush and brush thru out the ocean scene and this makes the effect of water also. Practice on a cake board and see if you like this idea. That is just what i have always used. See it in buttercream demos at the ices convention. hth

That sounds great! Thank you both so much!

Here are two more, close ups of waves I have done. Again, I hope this helps. Good luck with your cake!

http://www.cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1690778

http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&file=displayimage&pid=1761080&sub=1761082

Here is my shark cake pic. I made the waves with buttercream then lightly sprayed with light blue. HTH's!
http://media.cakecentral.com/gallery/719200/normal_1268942393.JPG

psSmith, that's exactly what I was thinking of, thanks! What did you make the shark out of? Is it cake?

u can also achieve the white crest, blue wave effect by putting the blue in one ziploc bag and white in another ziplock bag. snip the tips...then insert both bags into a piping bag that has the star tip in it. when you squeeze, both colors will come out and just position it to where the blue is on bottom and the white's on top. hope i made sense

The shark is RKT covered with white candy melts. I used the melts to help the rkt keep shape and make it smooth. I melted the chocolate and frosted it on the shark form, let it set, then hot knifed it smooth. Then I covered in gray fondant. I used watered down black food color to add shading-blended in. I also sprinkled with a shimmer dust when I was done to add a gleem to the shark skin. The boy I made this for LOVED it! All he wanted to eat was the shark.

Speaking of water and buttercream I need to make a little mermaid cake and am using buttercream a teal color but want it to shimmer...do I add luster dust or pearl dust to the buttercream? Thank for your help.