[Brain]

I scored myself a nice little airbrush set for Christmas, and I quickly realised I'd never had any experience with it. So, while I sit here with no paint to use with it (cruelty at its best. Like getting a Playstation with no games and no money to buy any @:-) I was wondering if there are any experienced airbrushers out there, or any tuts or tips I could get (paints, techniques, etc).

[[Shizo]]

Hehehe brain. I didn't like it much, but you might. (that's the only technique i know heh)

[ceenda]

Well, IMHO, "Airbrush: the Complete Studio Handbook", by Radu Vero, contains really everything you need to know about airbrushing. There's a link to it below (not that I'm an advocate of Amazon, it just has all the details there).
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0823001695/o/qid=100955310 3/sr=2-4/ref=sr_bt_4/202-6569964-5023816

Also, www.airbrush.com has a messageboard, though I don't use it myself. I actually tend to do everything digital thesedays.

Also, don't think that other equipment needs to be expensive and that you need the 'right brand' of paints etc. This was done using sugar paper and Parker Quink Ink watered down.

I don't recommend using watered down guoache or acrylic in your airbrush... it will wreck it!!! Try and be disciplined about cleaning the airbrush regularly and always (especially when using opaque white) test on a bit of newspaper before spraying on your final image. Many an image has been wrecked by a big spatter of white paint which accumulated in the head of the airbrush.

Also, don't be afraid to experiment with airbrush and other mediums. This pic was done using a mixture of airbrush, charcoal and goauche.

Hope this helps and, once you get past certain annoying airbrush features, have a lot of fun!

[ December 28, 2001: Message edited by: ceenda ]

[Steven Stahlberg]

Acutally it's offtopic here but I'll try to help out, I used to airbrush a lot.
You can use almost any paint, it just has to dilute smoothly, to a consistency somewhere between milk and half&half (experiment). I've even used oilpaints diluted with turps, but I wouldn't recommend it, the mist kinda fills the room [cough - gasp]. Dyes/colored inks flow best, buy a whole set of bottles, and a special cleaner fluid, but you'll also need some opaque colors. Some bottled colors are kinda opaque looking, but nothing beats gouache for covering power, so buy a set of those tubes as well. Try to avoid acrylics since it makes cleaning the brush such a pain. The more different colors you buy the less physical mixing in a pot you'll be doing, and more optically, on the board. That physical stirring and mixing is the worst hassle... well together with spitting, dripping, spilling, cleanup, paint crawling under your mask, mask ripping your painting, breathing paint, slicing fingertips with scalpels, etc etc...

Yes, the masking, you'll need some mask film too, both tacky and non-tack for loose masking. And a scalpel and cutting board to cut it, a lightbox to trace the lines where to cut, or a lucidograph, and a xerox machine might help too. If you cut your loose masks in a durable plastic vellum you can reuse them again and again, in fact if it's thick enough you can make your own permanent "french curve" set for loose-msking. Early in my career I made a square piece of thick plastic with different curves along the edge, and a few different kind of holes in it, this turned out to be my most trusty tool in airbrushing.

Edit: yes as Ceenda says, anything you have to mix to get it liquid will eventually ruin the airbrush (with heavy use and good cleaning say in a couple of months?), when that happened to me I just bought another one, but I just realized you may not want to do that. Still, for some applications, nothing beats a very thick mixture of gouache.

[ December 28, 2001: Message edited by: Steven Stahlberg ]

[hovair]

a great publication which I found extremely helpful when i first started out is Airbrush Action Magazine. Also the site that Ceenda mentioned (www.airbrush.com) is great. they also have a section with tips and tutorials.

I didnt see anyone mentioning an air source/compressor which is uaually the most expensive piece of equipment in airbrushing. do you have one? without it you can't spray the airbrush. there are different grades of airsources too. if you just want to do illustration work with thinner type paints you can get away with a less powerfull compressor like a anything under 1/3 horsepower. but if you want to do t-shirt airbrushing it requires higher airpressure and i recommend at the very least a 1/3 horsepower and up. good sites for ordering airbrush equipment and supplies are Bear-Air and West Coast Airbrush.

like the other guys said, keep your airbrush clean. dont ever put it away with paint still inside it. with time and practice it'll get easier to control. some airbrushes work better as you break them in, others need some tuning up to get them to work better. good luck

[Malachi Maloney]

Ok, so I thought had all this great insightful knowledge about airbrushing I was going to "bestow" upon you........then I read ceenda and Steven's replies.
So, you're pretty much covered.
I will add, that the book ceenda recommended is AWESOME.
What ceenda had to say was very accurate, but I would have to agree with Steven that (If done with care) you can use almost any diluted paint in an airbrush. I myself used to use Grumbacher primarily.
I do everything digitally now-a-dayz though.
No paint to clean up.

Malachi

[ December 28, 2001: Message edited by: Malachi Maloney ]

[Brain]

Thanks y'all. Will go looking into the resources posted soon. Thanks Steven for making it sound so fun... @;-)

Hovair - currently I'm just using the propellent can that came with the pack. If airbrushing sets right with me (which I'm hoping it will) I'll then go and invest in a compressor.

Keep any other advice coming.

[bigfoot]

Hi Brain,
I've been a freelance commercial airbrush
illustrator for over 20 years.
You will make mistakes no matter what books
you buy. Just be paitent. It's difficult and time consuming.(to be very good).
Good illustration board and good frisket paper are a must! dont skimp! (Frisk-frisket paper SUCK'S!).Toricon frisket paper is very expensive but in my opinion, it is the best.
Practice cutting. Remember,when you cut your board, if the cut is deep and sloppy the finished piece will also be sloppy.
I have used several airbrushes over the years. Paasche AB is my favorite. It is also the most expensive and most difficult to master. But it is the very best for detail! Only buy a silent compressor.(30psi) is the
air pressure you'll use the most.
The only reason I'm learning how to use a computer, is to download my portfolio to clients, and I'd like to try to blend 20 years of airbrush experience with Photoshop,Illustrator and Painter.
Good luck to both of us.
Ps.If you want to "barter" and have good knowledge of the Mac,Photoshop,Illustrator and Painter. I will share my airbush knowledge in exchange for your computer knowledge.
If your interested...contact me at:
[email protected]