Aspects of the present disclosure may include methods for assessing high resolution skin friction fields generated by at water moving across at least a portion of an object surface, the method including covering the at least a portion of an object surface with a layer of oil film comprising a luminescent dye; placing the object in moving water; assessing the luminescence of the dye in at least two consecutive time periods, wherein the luminescence of the dye is related to the thickness of the oil film at one or more locations on the surface of the object.