How to Make Airbrush Templates

Airbrushing is an art form that has been around since the 1970s, which has been popularized by people airbrushing scenes onto the sides of vans, cars and motorcycles. An airbrush is simply a compact blower that resembles a tattoo needle. There is a small cup which houses your paint. The airbrush is connected to a hose that is plugged into an air compressor. When turned on and the trigger pressed the air shoots through the airbrush taking a mist of paint with it. Somethings require freehand airbrushing but other things, like fire, are so common and easily done that a template can be made and used in order to lay it down on whatever material you are airbrushing. This article will show you how to create an airbrush template of fire.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Plastic Sheets, clear with grid
• X-Acto knife
• Scissors
• Design
• Computer
• Printer
• Graphics program
• Masking tape

1. Go online and search for images that you would like to airbrush. For this exercise will be using fire so do a Google images search for fire or flames. You can also look at tattoo sites online.

2. Save the fire image you would like to use and open it up in a graphics program. Change the image property to index color and save.

3. Print your image out onto normal printer paper but under the printing options change the output to black and white.

4. Place the plastic on top of the design and tape them together.

5. Use your knife and slowly trace the pattern. Notice how the flames are reduced to different shades and only cut out one shade. Remove the plastic from the paper and affix another and cut out another shade. Continue doing this until each shade is cut out.

6. Place the top stencil on top of your work area and spray it with paint in short, controlled bursts. Place the second part of the template slightly below the first and repeat the technique with another color but slightly and light spray just beyond the template. Continue until all templates have been used. You are then free to freehand corrections.

Tips & Warnings

• These same techniques can be applied to other templates, not just fire.
• Airbrushing is a learned art of shading and layering of colors. Never rush a work and never use a heavy hand.