Airbrushing Tips and Techniques

Airbrushing can be used to paint anything including toys, cars, trucks, walls, clothing and much more. It is important to know which paint will be appropriate for a specific surface. Water colors, gouache, acrylics, oil paints and sign paints are some of the paints usually used for airbrushing.

Airbrush

In simple words, an airbrush is a sprayer designed to spray color in different patterns that ranges from a thin line to a wide belt or a thin layer of paint to a thick coat. There are basically two types of airbrushes, internal mix and external mix. In external mix airbrush, air and paint are mixed outside the body of airbrush, while in internal mix airbrush, air and paint are internally mixed. These two types are further divided as single and double action airbrushes. Single action airbrushes are those where the air flow can be controlled by the user with the help of a trigger, while in double action airbrushes the user can control both air and paint flow. So, the types of airbrushes can be listed as below:

• Single Action Internal Airbrush
• Double Action Internal Airbrush
• Single Action External Airbrush
• Double Action External Airbrush

Airbrush Techniques

Airbrushing is a skill that takes time to develop and improves with practice. If handled properly airbrushing can give realistic effects. Following are the basic steps of airbrushing for beginners.

Get Familiar with the Airbrush
One should be careful while selecting an airbrush. Research, consult experts and only then buy the airbrush that will satisfy your needs. Then, after getting the airbrush of your choice, get familiar with the components of the airbrush. Many of the airbrush manufacturers provide a diagram that labels all the parts of the airbrush. Understand each part, its functioning and how each part fits to the whole assembly. For beginners, a single action external mix brush is always a good option.

Air Compressor
This is the most important component that will supply the required amount of air for airbrushing. The type of the compressor depends on the place where you will be doing airbrushing, because compressors can be noisy and if you are living in an apartment you will need a silent compressor.

Paint
Type of paint always depends on the pattern you want to paint and the painting surface. For beginners it is always safe to use water based paints. Choose the paint according to the surface you want to paint.

Practice
Before you actually start painting on the surface, practice on some wooden or plastic surface. Distance of the airbrush from the surface and the angle are main factors while painting. Cover the walls and floors to avoid overspilling. Use drop cloth or plastic sheets for the same.

Airbrushing Tips

• The painting may get spoiled because of an untidy airbrush. So, it is always better to clean the airbrush before airbrushing.
• It is recommended that you wear eye protection while airbrushing, as the paint may have harmful chemicals.
• Paints and dyes are harmful and can health problems if inhaled. So, use an industrial dual filter mask while airbrushing.
• It is necessary to let the overspray go away. Use a ventilator or a spray booth for the same. Spray booths are expensive, they have filters that draw all the paint vapors.
• You should know how to dismantle and assemble the airbrush properly.
• If you are a beginner, start by using water-based paints and later move on to other paints.
• Wear gloves while cleaning the airbrushes. Many of the solvents are made from chemicals that can cause skin problems.

Airbrushing is fun and there are tutorials that guide you with all airbrushing techniques. One should learn how to handle the airbrush properly and then airbrushing gets easy with practice. Airbrushing has a wide application and can be used to paint anything. All you need is practice and the skills will develop eventually.