How to Airbrush the Chrome Effect
A chrome effect can be used for a number of different applications, from lettering on motorcycles to paintings of subjects such as cars or motorbikes. Use your airbrush to create a chrome effect on anything that has reflective chrome parts. Creating a chrome effect is fairly challenging. Before starting the project, spend plenty of time practicing until you are happy with the results.
Instructions
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Cover the surface you are working on with masking tape, exposing only the areas where the chrome effect will be applied. If you are using a stencil to create lettering, place it on the surface and mask around it.
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Use a bright-white paint to cover the entire chrome area.
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Mix gray with a little blue to create a cool-gray tone. Spray this color onto the upper part of the chrome area, ensuring you do not cover the white at the very top of the chrome area.
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Use a light, transparent-blue hue and spray it over the cool-gray areas. Blend this color into the white, using increasingly lighter amounts of spray as you reach the whitest areas.
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Spray a white line across the center of the chrome area to create a horizon line. Return to the light, transparent-blue and spray another line immediately above the white horizon line, blending the two together. Use the white to pick out the reflective areas on the top half of the chrome area.
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Allow the top part of the chrome area to dry, then cover with masking tape so it wont be ruined by over-spray as you begin work on the bottom of the chrome area.
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Apply a very light-brown hue below the masked area. Use increasingly lighter amounts of spray as you move to the bottom of the chrome area. Ensure that it gradually fades until it is unnoticeable when you reach the very bottom.
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Make the horizon line more prominent by using a transparent-black paint immediately under the masking tape. Fade out the black as you move down the chrome area but do not take the black all the way to the bottom. Lightly mist the light-brown paint over the bottom half of the chrome area, picking out any details such as the edges of letters.
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Work from the bottom up creating highlights with the white paint. Create the reflection at the bottom as well as the top part of the chrome area. Remove the masking tape from the top part of the chrome area.
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Apply shadow details with a warm-gray hue. Use white to create bright, reflective highlights.
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Tips & Warnings
Chrome is highly reflective, so the effect should reflect the colors by which it is surrounded. The colors above are suitable for creating chrome lettering, but if you are creating a picture, the surrounding colors need to be introduced to the lower half of the chrome area. For example, a picture of a motorcycle in a field should have very light-green hues added to the chrome.
Always wear a mask when using an airbrush.
Cover all surrounding surfaces as airbrushing causes a fine mist of paint that travels surprisingly far.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Photos.com/Photos.com/Getty Images
