How to Airbrush a Snakeskin
Airbrushing is a decorative technique that combines the use of color with a greater variety of surfaces than traditional brush painting. Clothing, motorcycles, collectors' models, cars, fingernails and much more can be airbrushed. The range of available effects runs almost endlessly from photo-realism to complete fantasy, including the intricacies of a snakeskin pattern. With some good stenciling material and just a little practice, you can add create scales on almost any surface, large or small.
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Things You'll Need
- Airbrush gun
- Paints
- Heavy poster board
- Stencil material (pre-cut stencil, produce netting or fishnet stocking)
- Utility knife
- Masking tape
Instructions
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1
Lay down a simple base coat on a piece of poster board in black or white to use for this practice session. Paint on three layers with drying time in between so that you have a flat surface to paint on later.
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2
Rinse out this color by flushing the airbrush gun with warm water.
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3
Cut out large, random pieces from a second piece of poster board with the utility knife.
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4
Lay the stenciling material onto the painted base, turning and stretching it until you see a pattern that you like. Tape down the stencil around the edges with the masking tape.
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5
Set down the cut board over the net attached to the painted board and tape it down as well.
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6
Paint on another coat in another color over the layered setup and let it dry before continuing. Clean out the airbrush tool again.
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7
Thin white paint with water and use it to fill the airbrush tool.
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8
Turn the nozzle to a fine setting and turn on the airbrush tool. Hold the tool perpendicular to the board's surface when spraying so that the lighter color will create highlights instead of a solid coat. Practice working at angles on different sections of the meshed areas to get the effect that you want.
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9
Allow the board to dry before removing the over-stencil and the mesh to see what you've achieved.
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Tips & Warnings
Turn the airbrush gun away from the project when turning it on and off to avoid heavy spurts of color.
References
- Photo Credit Rat snake in front of a white background image by Eric Isselée from Fotolia.com
