How to Airbrush Tutorial - Paint Freehand with a Double-Action Airbrush

You are on your way to successful mastery of the double action airbrush by learning to manipulate three basic control elements.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• •Double action airbrush with air hose. •Paint and appropriate reducers. Water reducible paints are best for beginners. •Air source. Silent compressors are nice. Canned air is usually not a good opti

1. 

   •Control #1 - Distance - Paint from the airbrush comes out in a conical shape. The atomized paint particles become more disperse as they leave the tip of the airbrush. For this reason the closer the artist holds the tip of the airbrush to the art surface the smaller and more saturated the spray pattern becomes. Typically, pencil-thin lines are created by moving the tip within ½ inch of the surface. Soft and pale spray patterns are obtained by holding the tip several inches away. Really crisp and hard edges are obtainable by using mask and frisket - but that's another lesson.

2. 

   •Control #2 - Volume - The finger button on top of single action airbrush allows the artist to control air flow only. Pressing the button turns the air on, releasing turns it off. Dual action airbrushes allow the artist to control air flow and paint volume with the finger button. Pressing the button turns the air on and pulling the button back opens the paint valve, hence, "dual-action'. The more the button is pulled back, the more the valve is opened and in turn, more paint released. Dual action airbrushes permit the artist to control the volume of paint sprayed "on the fly". Air control is not variable; it's either on or off.

3. 

   •Control #3 - Speed - Time is a factor in airbrushing. Moving slowly over a given space will deposit more pigment than moving rapidly over the same space. Maintaining the distance and volume at a constant and varying the speed of movement will yield a variation in color density between the slow and fast regions.

4. 

   Good airbrush technique is realized by learning to master all three controls at the same time. Beginners may find it very helpful to practice controlling one element at a time. It lets the user see precisely the effect of each individual control. For example, the Volume control can be isolated by holding the airbrush at a steady Distance from the surface and maintaining steady Speed. Vary only the Volume by pulling the button back and forth as you move across the surface (keep the air on constantly). Do the same with Speed by keeping Volume and Distance steady and vary the pace of movement across the surface. To demonstrate the Distance control, maintain steady Speed and Volume and vary only the Distance. Practice until you can clearly see the effect of each individual control. There are other factors that control spray patterns, but distance, volume and speed are primary. Although the Speed control has the least visible effect on the spray pattern, it is perhaps the most important for mastery. This can be easily demonstrated: Hold the airbrush about ½ inch from the surface and take ten seconds to draw a circle. Next, draw the same size circle as quickly as possible. Even though each circle may not be perfect, the one drawn rapidly will have much smoother contours and will likely appear more pleasing. It takes a long time to learn to airbrush with quick strokes, but it is essential to produce well formed lines and tones.

Tips & Warnings

• The following tips are for beginners. More experience will permit greater variance. •The importance of practice cannot be over stated. •Close the paint at the end of a stroke, but leave the air on for the next stroke. •Set air pressure at a moderate rate (35-45 psi). •Paint should be as thin as milk. •To avoid puddles and runs, spray with a light volume and move quickly. •Use paint appropriate for the product and compatible with the substrate. •Sketch with the airbrush by using soft, broad strokes to lay out basic shapes and proportions. Refine sketches by progressively hardening the soft lay out shapes. •Search online for "airbrush tutorials".

• Protect your health and safety at all times. Always wear a respirator or employ a 100% effective vent system. High pressure vessels (compressors) can be dangerous. Read and follow user guides. Over-spray can travel great distances. Be sure to protect any surface you want to remain unpainted. Vent systems can contain over-spray.