How to Airbrush Lightning Bolts
Airbrushing is a drawing technique that implements air and paint, leading to an even amount of color and the absence of brush strokes on a surface. You can airbrush lightning bolts onto clothing or fabric, your nails, walls or the exterior of your car for an updated and customized appearance. You can airbrush lightning bolts with one color of paint or add layers of different colors of paint to create a three-dimensional effect. Using stencils assists you in airbrushing accurate lines and shapes for your lightning bolt project.
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Things You'll Need
- Dish or laundry detergent
- Warm water
- Iron (optional)
- Ruler
- Lightning bolt stencil
- Masking tape
- Airbrush gun
- Acrylic paint
Instructions
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1
Clean and dry the surface to which you are applying the airbrushed lightning bolts. Iron clothing to decrease wrinkles when airbrushing. This assists in the even application of paint.
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2
Measure and mark the center point of the surface with a ruler and pencil. Place your lightning bolt stencil on the surface. Tape the sides, top and bottom of your stencil down to the surface to prevent shifting while airbrushing. Measure to the sides and from the edge of the stencil to the top and bottom of your surface to ensure your bolts are centered.
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3
Cover the area outside of the stencil with plastic bags or drop cloths to prevent paint from spraying upon other surfaces.
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4
Shake your paint bottle up and down to reduce clumping and air bubbles. Load the paint into your airbrush. Test the paint color and airbrush compressor out on a piece of paper before applying it to your project. This ensures that the airbrush is working and that the paint is the correct color for your desired effect.
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Hold the airbrush 8 inches away from your lightning bolt stencil. Hold down the airbrush trigger to release the air and paint onto the openings of the stencil to paint in the bolts. Move your wrist in a circular motion while airbrushing. Bring the airbrush closer to the surface to apply darker layers of paint.
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6
Allow the paint to dry from one to two hours, depending on the surface material. Peel the tape off the surface and remove the stencil.
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References
- Photo Credit paint tubes image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
