If you want to start airbrushing, you are wondering what is the right airbrush setup for beginner you obviously need an airbrush to start with, but not only. An airbrush equipment list consist of few others elements, some of them absolutely necessary, some other more optional:  You will need an air-hose,  an air source (most likely a compressor), some paint and also something to paint (Minis, RC Car, T-Shirt, Plastic Model, Cake decorating..etc).

There are also lots of airbrush accessories that will make you life easier for cleaning your airbrush. or to mixing your paint. And of course I want also to speak about airbrush safety, something that is very important and that you shouldn’t overlook.

Here I am going to make a list of airbrush material that you will need to consider.

The Airbrush

Double action, single action, gravity feed or siphon feed, there is plenty of airbrushes to choose from out there.Each airbrush has different characteristics that would suit some application better than others.

What am I going to paint?

The airbrush is a fantastic tool can be used in numerous different arts going from model making, t-shit or shoe airbrushing, to cake decorating, illustration or even make up or nail art. What really matter here, I mean the question you should ask yourself when you start airbrushing is what are you going to use to for?What do you want to do with your airbrush? You won’t need the same type of airbrush whether you are going to airbrush t-shirts or if you are going to airbrush minis. Are you going to pain small surfaces, large surfaces? So first, make sure you identify the type of work you are going to do with your airbrush.

Cheap Vs Branded Airbrush?

I personally think that rather than buying a low end airbrush model, you should invest a bit more money and buy a quality airbrush from a reputable brand .That way, if you have an issue with a part (needle bent, damaged nozzle…) you will be able to order spare parts. Something you won’t be able to do if you buy a low end airbrush. I know some people think the opposite and are just fine using a cheap Chinese airbrush, but it is my personal view. Ultimately they are made of poor materials and will either brake or end up frustrating you and maybe even discourage you in your airbrushing journey. Well-known airbrush brand are for instance IWATA (Iwata-Medea Eclipse HP CS, Iwata Revolution, Iwata Neo), Badger (Badger patriot 105) or even Paashe (Paasche Talon) and Hannsa. Those brand offer a wide catalogue of quality products and an equally wide price range.  

Check out also the Airbrush reviews I have done on this website.

Paasche Airbrush Talon Double Action Gravity Feed Airbrush Precise and Versatile, Can...

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Iwata - Revolution Cr Airbrush (4247)

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Badger Air-Brush Co. Model 105 Patriot Fine Gravity Airbrush, Stainless Steel

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NEO CN Gravity Feed Dual Action Airbrush

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The Air Source

For your airbrush to work, you will need an air source to be able to spray. An adequate supply of air is a crucial factor to the performance of your airbrush. So before you start airbrushing, consider those different types of air source.

Airbrush Air propellant cans:

They are compact and silent but of limited capacity, so if you plan to spray quite often with your airbrush, this solution will become a very expensive one.

You can probably only expect 10 to 15 min usage time with a airbrush air propellant can. So if you need to paint a lot, this is definitely not the cheapest solution.

Airbrush air propellant can be use by airbrush beginners that want to learn how to airbrush but that don’t have the money yet to buy a compressor,

If you are planning to paint models, you can expect an air propellant can to last for about 1 or 2 models depending on size/coverage/etc.

I would rather advice to invest a bit more money in a compressor.

Paasche Airbrush 12oz Pressure Can, 0.5 Liters, Black

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CO2 Tanks:

Co2 tanks can be refilled. They can operate at higher pressure than air propellant cans so an air regulator is essential. Good things about them is that they don’t require electric power and they are very silent.

Co2 tank size

The Co2 air tanks can be bought in different sizes: 5lb (pound) , 10 lb up to 100 lb Co2 air tank.

If you are airbrushing plastic models or if you are a railway modeler, a 5 lb Co2 tanks should be enough.

If you are airbrushing t-shirts, you will need to get a larger Co2 tank as  you are going to use more air.

Co2 tank refill cost:

Have a look at some of those frequently asked questions about Co2 tank usage

A Co2 tank for airbrush is portable, can be used if you need to work at an outside event for instance where electricity or noise could be an issue.

But because of their size and weight, they wouldn’t really be an option for you if you want to work home .

Compressors:

This is probably the air supply you should consider if you are planning to get started with an airbrush. You can find compressor with tank, without tanks, some of them silent other rather noisy. Low-pressure air compressors (less than 150 or less), Medium-pressure air compressors (151 psi to 1000 psi) or even high-pressure air compressors (more than 1000 psi) Like the choice for an airbrush, the choice the compressor will depend really on the type of work you are going to do with it. Different artist would have different needs.

They are few questions you should ask yourself before buying a compressor:

 Airbrush Compressor for what application?

Do you need to paint large area? Then you will probably be better with a compressor with a tank. Small area? Paint on body? (You are going to need a compressor with very low air pressure, a regulator)Nails? Spray cars?  Or even spray food coloring?

Airbrush Compressor: What about the noise?

Are you planning to spray on plastic models in the evening time when your kids are in the room next to you trying to go asleep? Is your wife or room mate watching TV in the next room? In that case, believe me, you should consider buying a silent compressor. This will help you greatly not having your wife giving out hell to you and your room-mate not asking you to live the house!

How long are you going to spray continuously for your project?

20 0r 30  minutes?, in that case a compressor with a large tank will be required. Or are you only going to spray for a minute or 2?  

Iwata Eclipse HP-CS Airbrushing System with Smart Jet Air Compressor

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PointZero 1/5 HP Airbrush Compressor with Regulator, Gauge and Water Trap -...

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Iwata-Medea - Smart Jet Compressor 1/8 Hp (IS850)

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 The medium

The medium would be the type of color liquid material that can be sprayed with the airbrush. Typically, the medium would be paints, which could be watercolor paints, acrylic paints, oiled based paint, gouache, inks , urethane or even food coloring.

They key point here when you start airbrushing is the use the correct combination of medium for the specific surface you are going to spray onto. You can spray on anything really: wood, on skin, on paper on canvas, but you need to ensure that the medium you use is compatible with the surface.

All paints will have to be thinned to the proper consistency before going through the airbrush or else you might clog your airbrush. But thankfully, most paint manufacturers have a range of airbrush ready paints that won’t need to be thinned

Vallejo Metallic Colors Model Air Paint, 8 bottles X 17ml

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NO-NAME Brand. Airbrush Paint Set - 16 Colors, Made In USA, Including...

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.

A Support

You can really paint on all kind of support with an airbrush. You will just need to make sure that you use the right paint for that specific support. Some example of support can be:

• Airbrushing t-shirt
• Paper or cardboard
• Wood
• Automotive surfaces
• Airbrushing on leather
• Railway models
• Skin
• Cake

Other Accessories

There are also other accessories that you should consider when you start airbrushing. Some are optional and can be bought at a later time but some other are really a must I should be purchased along with your airbrush.

An Air Hose

The air hose is one of those  airbrush equipment that you will have to get. The hose helps connect your airbrush to your air source, likely your airbrush compressor.

Make sure your hose is long enough to cover the distance between you compressor and were you want to use your airbrush.

Also make sure that the airbrush brand you fits your hose or-else you will need to purchase an adapter.

Without going into too much details because this could be the subject of a full article, there are different standards in terms of threads size depending of your geographical location:

• NPT (National Pipe Taper)  is standard for pipe fittings   in the U.S whereas
• BSP (British Standard Pipe) is the U.K. standard for pipe fittings.

BSP  threads are a bit smaller than the NPT threads so you could screw an 1/8 BSP male into an 1/8 NPT female.But you will need a good bit of Teflon tape on top of it to secure the connection and avoid any air leaks.

Master, Iwata, harder & steenbeck  or Grex airbrushes use 1/8″ BSP connection, whereas Badger, Paasche and Aztek airbrushes, use their own  proprietary thread size.

Badger airbrushes have  male M5 0.5 mm thread size, Aztek uses M3 0.3 mm thread size and Paasche  uses  approximately M7 1.0 mm  thread size.

Beware that in the US most compressor  use 1/4″ NPT as an outlet and they often come  with a 1/4″ NPT hose for the compressor.

So lets take that following scenario: You have a Badger airbrush along with a compressor from an US hardware shop with a 1/4” outlet and you wonder what sort of hose you should get:

In that case you would need to get  an air hose with 1/4 inch one end and 1/8 inch the other end and buy the Badger Co. 51-042 Quick Disconnect Coupler  to connect it to your airbrush. With this Quick disconnect coupler, there is a 1/8” to Badger adapter on the female disconnect making it possible to connect it to any any standard 1/8” airbrush hose.

Or you could just use a badger hose instead, with the same  Badger Co. 51-042 Quick Disconnect Coupler to connect your airbrush.

Supply Giant I34 PTFE Thread Seal Tape for Plumbers 3/4 Inch x...

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PointZero Airbrush 10' Braided Airbrush Air Hose - 1/8 in. BSP

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Badger Air-Brush Co. 51-042 QD Coupler,Brass

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Master Airbrush Premium 6 Foot Nylon Braided Airbrush Hose with Standard 1/8"...

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Air filter and moisture trap:

It is essential that clean and dry air goes through your airbrush in order to protect your project work. You can buy them cheap enough. Some moisture trap can be connected to the compressor, other can be connected directly to the hose. Without a inline moisture trap, condensation  can build up in the line and shoot through your airbrush directly onto you model, minis or whatever you are working on. . This moisture will over-dilute your paint and ultimately could ruin your paint job!

An air regulator:

Ideally you will want to be able to set up the air pressure exactly the way you want. Can be very important for instance if you are a make-up artist as you will spray directly onto someone face.

PneumaticPlus PPR2-N02BG-2 Miniature Air Pressure Regulator 1/4" NPT - Gauge, Bracket, Instrument Pressure (3-30 PSI)

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The quick  Release(disconnect):

This is a very popular items that is not absolutely necessary but that is SO useful. It’s purely a luxury but I can only highly recommend it. The quick release system  allows you to quickly disconnect your airbrush from   from your airbrush hose.

You can use the quick disconnect to connect the  compressor to the hose, hose to filter/regulator, and filter/regulator to airbrush hose connections.

The quick release system is great for swapping between airbrushes quickly and easily. Also ideal for connecting airbrushes with different thread sizes to one hose system.

The way it works is very simple: it is a spring-loaded mechanism that allows the male end (called the tail) to detached from the female end. The female end is attached to the airbrush hose  and the male end is attached to the airbrush. The other good thing about this quick release system it allows the airbrush to swivels helping to eliminate hose kinks.

Master Airbrush Brand Airbrush Quick Release Disconnect Coupler with Plug 1/8 in....

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AW Mini Airbrush Air Filter For Compressor Trap Water Moisture Hose Art...

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Iwata-Medea Quick Disconnect Set

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Paasche Airbrush Airbrush Moisture Trap for Air Hose, Medium, Red

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Stencils:

In airbrushing, when using a stencils you call this frisketing. You use stencils or  frisket film for masking certain area of your work while airbrushing. If most of your work is going to be freehand, it is always nice to have some generic stencils for circle or curved shapes for instance.

Airbrush Tools:

Hobby knife:

You might want to inverts in a set of hobby knife or cutting knife. They help to get precise, detailed cuts on a wide variety of light to medium weight materials. Those hobby blades are used for delicate, precision cutting, detailing, trimming and stripping.

Cutting mat:

A cutting mat is also something that you should consider, especially if you are into model making.A cutting mat provides a long-lasting, non-glare surface that can be cut and slashed constantly without showing marks or cutting lines. This will save you from damaging the table you are working on.

Airbrush pipettes

Airbrush pipettes are great to transfer small quantities of paint into the airbrush cup. If you don’t use a pipette, pouring paint from the pot to the airbrush cup can be very messy. Plus you will waste paint.You can lso use them for mixing or thinning your paint so that you know exactly the quantity of fluid you add.

Cleaning materials:

Keeping your airbrush clean is essential and they are some basic equipment that you should put on you shopping list. From the basic Q-tips , pipes cleaners, cleaning  brush set to the appropriate cleaning agent that correspond to the type of paint you are using, there are quite a few things you need to think about.

If you are using water based or acrylic paints you might use the Iwata-Medea Airbrush Cleaner. I recommend that you use this along with the Iwata-Medea Cleaning station or the Iwata-Medea Universal Spay Out Pot. The cleaning station is basically a closed container  with a little rubber hole in which you insert the airbrush nozzle to spray. It also has handle to hold the airbrush. So you can spray in this container and avoid messing up your work place with the over spray.

HIFROM 4 Inch Nylon Tube Brush Cleaning Set Carburetor Carbon Jet Remove...

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Master Airbrush 13 Piece Airbrush Cleaning Kit - Glass Cleaning Pot Jar...

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Iwata-Medea Airbrush Cleaner (16 Oz.)

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Airbrush safety:

Airbrush respirator:

Like it is in most companies nowadays, health and safety is an important factor to consider especially when it is your own health you are talking about! When spraying paints you might inhale particles that can be harmful for your lungs.

For example, if you are planning to airbrush leather dye, you absolutely need to buy a proper airbrush respirator. You are going to atomize a poisonous dye that can do some serious damage if it gets into your lungs .

To protect yourself from the over-spray, use a proper airbrush respirator.This is true also if you use solvent,enamel or lacquer paint. Make sure the face respirator offers a protection from organic vapors (all the nasty chemicals).

Don’t think that using a face mask, like a simple dust mask , will protect you effectively from the over-spay. They are pretty much useless. Get your self a proper airbrush respirator, simple as that.

Those airbrush respirators have a full mouth and noise cover that create a proper seal around you mouth and noise.They also have filters that you can replace.Watch out thought because some model are disposable  and other are reusable (you replace the filters). You will be amazed by the amount of paint that those filters will catch when you replace them

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3M Half Facepiece Reusable Respirator 6200, NIOSH, Four-Point Harness, Comfortable Fit, Dual Airline Supplied Air...

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3M Rugged Comfort Quick Latch Half Facepiece Reusable Respirator 6503QL, Gases, Vapors, Dust, Large, Gray/Teal

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3M Performance Paint Project Respirator OV/P95, Designed For Professionals, Reusable Respirator, Medium, 1-Pack

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Airbrush Booth Kit:

Ideal to avoid messing up the area where you are planning to spray with your airbrush. Although you could make one yourself with cardboard, you might be interested by some ready to buy Spray boot Kit that not only with avoid messing up but have other features like   their own ability to extract and control the mist , turn table etc…

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Master Airbrush Brand Lighted Portable Hobby Airbrush Spray Booth with LED Lighting for Painting All Art, Cake,...

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Master Airbrush Portable Hobby Airbrush Paint Spray Booth Kit with 4 LED Lights, Turntable - Powerful Dual Exhaust...

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VIVOHOME Dual Fans Airbrush Paint Spray Booth with 4 LED Lights Turn Table and Filter Hose, Portable Airbrush Booth...

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There you go, I think I have cover more or less everything that you need to know to get started. If you think I left out something , please leave a comment below and I will add it to the post.  Hopefully you have a better idea now of what is ahead of you and all I can say to you now is : Let’s start airbrushing!

The post The Complete Airbrush Equipment List: Start Airbrushing the Right way first appeared on AirbrushGeek.

Airbrushing fine lines is probably one of the main challenge  for beginner airbrush artists.

I am sure you agree with me when I say :

Airbrushing fine lines is really hard.Paint splattering, discontinued lines, lines that looks like electrocardiogram rather than straight lines…you name it! It can be a nightmare for a beginner.”

Or is it?

In this article I am going to give you some quick tips that you can use to improve your ability to airbrush fine lines and see results immediately. And the end of this post there will be an exercise  (and an exercise sheet to download) which I suggest you do over and over again to improve your technique at airbrushing fine lines, because after all, nothing will replace practice!

If you wonder what is the  best airbrush to do fine lines, I can tell you  that you  don’t necessary need to buy an airbrush  like the  Custom Micron or any Airbrush with a 0.23 or 0.18 mm  needle\nozzle combination to do it. Don’t get me wrong, it is certainly easier to spray a fine lines with the thinner needle, but there is other factor to consider. In my opinion, what does really matter when trying to achieve fine lines is practice, practice and …practice! It is only by practicing that you will become more proficient airbrushing fine lines.

How to get fine lines with airbrush?

As I previously said, the needle size is not the only factor that will determine your ability to airbrush fine lines.There are many different elements that you need to take into consideration if you want to be able to airbrush fine lines.

Experience & Skills

The more you practice the more you will build confidence and improve the control you have over the airbrush trigger. This is true for beginner airbrush artist but also for experienced artists. It is always recommended to warm up and practice few stokes before starting a new project. An experienced airbrush artist is able to airbrush fine lines with any airbrush really. Using a quality tool will just make the task a bit easier.

Distance from the artwork

To airbrush fine lines, the airbrush need to be very close to the surface you are painting. Sometimes you need to be just few mm from the surface.The farther away you are from you project, wider the line will be.

Airbrush Lesson: Broad spray from distance

Speed

The trick here is not to be hesitant. Keep moving, slowly,  but never stop. Try experiment and see how the speed affect your lines.

Angle

It is best when to hold your  airbrush perpendicularly to the surface.

Needle\nozzle  size

Even though skills in my opinion has the biggest impact on your ability to airbrush fine lines, the use of a quality and suitable airbrush would help producing fine lines. Smaller nozzles  size reduce over spray. This means that there is less “fuzzy” spray and therefore finer lines. But the nozzle size does not dictate the thinness of the line, it just makes it easier to accomplish.

Properly thinned paint

It is important to get the right paint texture and viscosity. Your paint should have the consistency of milk. For this exercise I would recommend you use paint that are ready-made for airbrushing like Iwata Comart airbrush paint, Createx paint, Dr ph martins airbrush paint or Golden airbrush colors.  If using and airbrush with a very thin needle like the Iwata Custom Micron , you might need to thin the paint a bit to get a finer line.

Clogging

Clogging happens when  a small quantity of paint dry at the needle tip. It will build up  and eventually clog the airbrush. When you notice dry tip, just pinch the dry paint off the needle and keep going.You can remove the needle cap (end cap to protect the needle)  of your airbrush to expose the needle so that you can remove the dry paint easily.It is also allow you to get nice and close  and do fine details. Just be careful not to damage the needle or prick yourself with the tip.

Remember when using a dual action airbrush, keep pressing the trigger (releasing air) until you cut of the paint release by moving the trigger back to the starting point. This will prevent your airbrush from clogging by leaving paint inside the needle. If you have regular clogging issues and know that you are using the right technique, you can try using an airbrush thinner or a flow improver.

Needle condition

If your needle is bent for instance, this will prevent you to airbrush fine lines.

Air pressure

To achieve fine lines, you need to airbrush at a consistent low pressure. Try to set up your compressor at approx 20 PSI and see how it goes. If you are using an airbrush like the Iwata Custom Micron with a 0.23 mm needle, you would be able to drop the pressure and thin the paint a bit more than if using an airbrush like the Iwata HP-CS with a 0.35 mm needle. If you find that the paint is splattering, just increase the pressure a bit. With the experience you will be able to find the right balance.

Exercise: Airbrushing fine lines.

In this exercise you will learn how to airbrush fine lines. By doing this exercise, you will improve your triggers skills. You will learn when to pull the trigger to release the paint and when to close it.

Download the Airbrushing exercise sheet. There are two parallel lines on the exercise sheet. Try to airbrush lines in between those two lines.

Proper sequence of action when using a dual action airbrush for fine lines:

1. Air on

Hold your airbrush about 1/2  inches from the surface. You can use your free hand as a guide or a spacer. Press the trigger down and keep it down up to sequence number 6

1. Air on: hold you airbrush 1/2 inches from the surface

2. Start moving

In order to be able to airbrush thin lines you will have start moving the airbrush before you start pulling the trigger for paint. Give yourselves a run up of  about 2 inches and always keep moving the airbrush. By doing so you will avoid one of the most common mistake for a beginner:Dog bones.

Airbrushing dog bones

Let me explain. You don’t want to wait for the paint to come out and move, then stop. keep moving all the time

3.  Paint on

Once you go past the first vertical blue line, pull the trigger backwards to release the paint and keep moving your hand to the right.

4. paint off

Once you reach the second vertical blue line, push the trigger forward to stop the paint, still keep moving away from the artwork.

How to airbrush thin lines

5. move away

Move airbrush away from the artwork

6. air off

Now you can stop the air by moving the trigger up

Conclusion

In this lesson you have seen few tricks that hopefully will help you to master the thin lines. Keep practicing over and over and you will improve your muscle memory.

Keep experimenting with distances, pressures and speed. Notes the effects those variables have on your lines and try to find the limit of your airbrush. Try to draw a lines releasing more paint at the same speed. Now keep the same amount of paint and go faster…Experiment!

Drop me a comment and let me know how you are getting on!

The post Airbrushing fine lines [Free Airbrush Lesson 3] first appeared on AirbrushGeek.

Airbrushing Dots:

Distance & Paint density

The spray of an airbrush has a cone shape. When airbrushing a constant level of paint , the distance you hold the nozzle of the airbrush from the artwork will have an  impact on the density of the paint. The closer you are from the artwork, the more concentrated the paint will be. On the contrary, the farther you are from the artwork, the more diffuse the paint will be.

Practicing the Dots

For this exercise, you can download the Airbrush Exercise 1 practice sheet. . The dots is one of the basic exercise that you need to do in order improve the way you control your airbrush.

The distance between you sheet and the nozzle should be between 1 or 2 inches. You can use you free hand as indicated in the airbrush lesson 1 to support your airbrushing hand. That way, it will be easier to keep the distance the same all the time. Try to target exactly the point were the lines are crossing each others.

Run a line of dots from left to right, and then from right to left. Always keep the dots consistency in size and density. You can,  every 2 lines, increase the size of the dots, but always keep the dots size the same for the entire line. To do so, just increase the distance a little bit. Remember that the spray pattern will become more diffuse and light. You can compensate by spraying a bit longer.

This is a very good exercise for your hand-eye coordination. You will see how good you are at aiming a specific target. Print several of the Airbrush Exercise 1 practice sheet    and practice , practice, over and over again.

Set the air pressure on your compressor to 25 PSI.

Start by pressing down to trigger to release air, then slowly pull the trigger back to release the paint.

REMEMBER: Keep the air on! keep pressing the trigger to release the air  until you cut of the paint release by moving the trigger back to the starting point. Work slowly and to avoid being hesitant.

Sequence of action with a dual action airbrush when airbrushing dots:

1 Air on (Press the trigger down and keep it down up to sequence number 6 )
2 Aim at your target (target the points were lines are crossing)
3 Paint on (slowly pull the trigger backwards )
4 paint off (When you are happy with the dot size and consistency, push the trigger forward)
5 move away (move airbrush away from the paper)
6 air off (trigger up)

airbrushing dots

The post How to Airbrush Dots [Free Airbrush Lesson 2] first appeared on AirbrushGeek.

This first lesson will teach you how to hold your airbrush properly.

I suggest that you use some sort of inexpensive support to practice on at first (like newsprint) or even some large sketch pads. Make sure you buy large ones as you want plenty of space to practice.

Once you will get the hang on it, you will be able to move on and use better quality.

As for paint, don’t use craft paint but rather use airbrush ready paint like Createx airbrush paint, Golden airbrush colors  or Dr ph martins airbrush paint. It will make your life easier.

Material Needed for this series of Airbrush lesson:

•  A dual action airbrush
• An airbrush compressor or a CO2 tank for air source
• Airbrush paint like Iwata Comart airbrush paint, Createx paint,  Dr ph martins airbrush paint or Golden airbrush colors.
• An easel if you want to practice standing up.

How to hold an airbrush

Don’t be intimidated by the airbrush. If you practice the right way, you will be able to start using an airbrush in no time. It is crucial that you develop good habits from the start when you begin to use an airbrush.

First, it is important that you learn to hold the airbrush the right way. It doesn’t matter if you are right-handed or left-handed.

Hold the airbrush in your hand just like a pen or a pencil, your thumb and middle finger are for support on the stem, and the index on the trigger finger form a pyramid .

The key thing is to be completely relax, and let the airbrush fit comfortably into your hand.

The index finger on the trigger forms a
pyramid which bends inward

It’s important not to let the index
finger being out because the finger must
slide with the trigger not pull it

Make sure the thumb is not parallel to the axis of the air hose.

What to do with your other hand?

• If you coordinated enough and manage to airbrush using only one hand, you can use the other free hand to hold stencils or masks…or maybe drink a cup of tea!.
• If you are using and airbrush with a large bottom feed cup, you could use your other hand to hold the cup to give an extra support and help you a bit when you start to get tired.
• Some people use their free hand to hold the wrist of the airbrushing hand.This will improve the stability when airbrushing
• Another way to improve the stability is use your free hand to support the airbrushing hand:

How to hold your Airbrush: The support hand

•  If the air hose gets in the way, you could wrap it around your airbrush hand

How to hold your airbrush: wrapping the hose around your arm

 How to control a double action airbrush

With a double action airbrush, the airflow is controlled by pressing the airbrush trigger and the paint flow is controlled by pulling the same trigger back. The more you pull the trigger back, the bigger the paint flow is, making the spray pattern wider.

Set the air pressure on your compressor to 25 PSI.

Start by pressing down to trigger to release air, then slowly pull the trigger back to release the paint.

IMPORTANT: keep pressing the trigger (releasing air) until you cut of the paint release by moving the trigger back to the starting point. This will prevent your airbrush from clogging by leaving paint inside the needle.

Also, don’t try to control the air pressure by moving your index finger up and down on the trigger. Remember that you are pressure is set to around  25 PSI on your compressor.

Proper sequence of action when double actioning:

1 Air on (Press the trigger down and keep it down up to sequence number 6 )
2 Start moving (Always keep moving the airbrush)
3 Paint on (pull the trigger backwards and keep moving)
4 paint off (push the trigger forward, still keep moving)
5 move away (move airbrush away from the artwork)
6 air off (trigger up)

Proper sequence of action when airbrushing

Airbrush Practicing:

It is important to practice, even if you are an experienced airbrush artist. before going ahead with your piece of artwork, it is a good idea to warm up a bit and perform some basic airbrush exercises.

If you keep practicing over and over again some basic airbrushing exercises, you will notice that they will become second nature over time and you will be able to do them without thinking.

Airbrushing TIPS:

There are four different elements that you need to consider when practicing your strokes :

• The distance from the tip of the airbrush to your artwork: the further away you are,the more diffused and lighter your spray pattern will be. The closer you are , the thinner the lines will be and the less paint volume you will need.
• The speed at which you are moving across your work. The slower you work, the more concentrated the paint will be.
• The amount of paint coming out of the airbrush. The more you pull the trigger, the more paint is coming out.
• The Air pressure use to spray the paint

Practices lines

Use the proper sequence of action to draw a precise line. Open the air, and go slowly from one side of the sheet to the other, gently pull the trigger  and gradually increase the flow of paint. Briefly fix the position of the trigger keeping the line thickness and finally slowly reduced the paint flow of the line fading it out until there is no line. Close the air and once

Do it one more time: open the air pull the trigger slowly, fix it return it back and close the air

Open the air, pull the trigger slowly, fix
it ,return it back and close the air.

At first, you might draw lines that looks more like electrocardiogram than straight lines. This is perfectly normal because you are not used to work free hand at slow speed. With a bit of practice,this discomfort will pass  and your muscles will get used to it,the arm will stop shaking. The lines will be smoother and smoother as you go.

It is important that you train yourself to work at slow speed, especially if your lines turned out jagged. Train your trembling hands and suppress the temptation to draw at a faster speed until you manage to draw straight lines.

What you need is stable control when you use your airbrush, so only increase the speed when you know how to control the airbrush.

The post How to use an Airbrush: Holding an airbrush properly [Airbrush Lesson 1] first appeared on AirbrushGeek.