How to Airbrush Clothing

Anyone with a little creativity and artistic ability can airbrush different clothing items. In this article, you will learn about the necessary preparation, materials and supplies that you will need to get started in airbrushing on various textile surfaces.

Things You'll Need

• *Clothing that you don't wear anymore *One double-action airbrush *An air hose that connects to an air compressor *Airbrush paint, preferably Createx *Small compressor for small-scale airbrushing projects *Airbrush cleaning liquid, possibly rubbing alcohol to blow through the airbrush to clean between colors *Thick cardboard or cheap sheets of flat, thin wood to stretch and set up the clothing items on which you wish to airbrush *An easel on which to set up your projects *An old rag or towel to clean up any messes you may make

Instructions

Setting up your workspace

1. The first step is to establish a designated studio space that you wouldn't mind getting messy from time to time. An ideal space is one in which you have room to move around and possibly store your work materials. Depending on how loud your air compressor is, you may want to plug it in another area and use a long extension cord to minimize the noise in your studio space. You will need to have all of your paint and supplies at an arms' reach in your studio space. There is nothing worse than being unable to find a tube of paint that you need because your workspace is a wreck.

2. Your easel is your best friend. Without one of these, you won't be able to set up any projects that you wish to airbrush. Adjust the height of your easel so that you can comfortably reach from top to the bottom of the piece that you are working on. This way, you won't have to stretch too high or bend too low to airbrush, especially if you are standing for long periods of time.

3. Now that you are all set up and ready to work, it is time to identify which fabrics are suitable for airbrushing. If you are a beginner who has never airbrushed, you will need an abundance of scrap materials for practice, as you will undoubtedly mess up numerous of times. Check your closet, attic, garage or local thrift store for old sheets, towels, pillowcases and curtains. Basically, you want any fabric that is mostly made of cotton. Other materials that are good for airbrushing are denim, leather and maybe silk as your skill becomes greater. Any fabric made up of mostly polyester is not good for airbrushing. The paint will not hold and will begin to flake off.

4. One thing to remember about airbrushing on clothing is that everything is permanent. Once you put the paint on the fabric, it is there forever. Therefore, it is advised that before you undertake any airbrushing project, you develop some sort of plan of action about how you will design it. For example, when taking custom orders for people, make sure that you know and understand exactly what they want and what they are looking for. Be specific. Ask questions about colors, how to spell names, and any other special request that they may have. You can always add on new things, but you can't take away something once it is added onto the fabric. For airbrushing on T-shirts, try to use ones that are pre-shrunk and made of 100 percent cotton.

5. When you are finished airbrushing, there are things that you must know about preserving the life of your project on the fabric. Rule No. 1 is that when you are finished airbrushing, it is highly recommended that you turn the clothing article inside out so that you can run a hot iron over it. This is to ensure that the paint is set within the fabric. You may want to invest in a small heat press, which will make the process easier for you and less time consuming. Also, turn the clothing inside out when washing, and wash in cold water. Do not use bleach, because bleach will destroy the color in the fabric. It is also best that you hang dry your airbrushed clothing to avoid shrinkage and to keep your clothes as fresh looking as possible.

Tips & Warnings

• Airbrushing on black is a bit different than airbrushing on white or another light-color fabric. For starters, you may need double the amount of paint than you would on anything white. The reason is that before airbrushing your design on a black textile surface, you have to spray white first. Then, after that dries, you have to spray the desired color on top of white. This must be done so the color will show up clearly. Of course, using just white on black fabrics can create beautiful compositions. The white serves as a highlight, and the black fabric can be utilized for shadows to create depth in your project.