How to Free Airbrush
Free airbrushing refers to the act of painting with an airbrush, without using stencils, outlines or other items to direct the flow of paint. It could be compared to freehand drawing something vs. tracing an outline or using a stencil. Free airbrushing results in softer blending and edges than one might see from stenciled airbrushing, and requires a high level of skill to do well.
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Instructions
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Practice controlling the flow of air and paint through your airbrush. Practice moving your entire upper body, not just your wrist or arm, as you air brush. Also, experiment with how air brushing close to and distant from the paper affects your results.
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Carefully plan out the design you intend to airbrush. Think through where the light sources for any possible shading will be and where shadows would logically be as a result. You might find it helpful to sketch the design on a separate piece of paper so that you can refer back to it.
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Follow through on the design you planned out, working from the edges inward and keeping in mind that you'll get smooth results if you follow the lines of the objects. In other words, if you're airbrushing a circle, make circular strokes.
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Pay careful attention to how different colors of paint overlap and shade together. The closer you hold your airbrush to the page, the finer the stream of paint; you might want to work very close in certain areas to keep different colors of paint from running together too much or edges from blurring together.
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Tips & Warnings
There's no way to erase an airbrushed mistake unless you can airbrush over it, so stay flexible and be ready to work with the emerging product.
Always follow manufacturer's precautions when airbrushing: Inhaling the finely dispersed paint particles could be very dangerous to your health. Always work in a well-ventilated area. Use a respirator mask and follow any medical recommendations if you have respiratory problems.
