How to Detail a Portrait With an Airbrush
An airbrush is a versatile tool that you can use to imitate many textures and give a clean look to your artwork. You can easily use an airbrush to create a portrait, as the soft layering effects of the airbrush are useful for imitating the look of skin. However, making the fine details on a portrait can be difficult. Many artists do not use the airbrush to add the final touches on an airbrush painting, but some details, such as fine hairs, shadows about the nose, eyes and mouth and highlights are all possible with an airbrush.
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Things You'll Need
- Airbrush
- Paint
- Scrap paper
- Tracing film
- Pencil
- Craft knife
- Masking tape
Instructions
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1
Mix a light color in the color cup of your airbrush that will go with the hair color of the portrait subject. Pale yellows, reds and browns are all good colors. Move your airbrush close to the paper to get a fine line. Practice on scrap paper if needed. Look for areas where the light hits the hair, such as on the top of the head or the tops of curls. Make a few thin lines in these areas, creating fine highlights. For a free look, add additional strands of hair about the face in the same pale color.
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2
Put pieces of tracing film or a similar substance over the eyes, nose and mouth. Trace with a pencil along the inside of the eye, the tip of the nose, and the bottom of the mouth. Cut along these lines to create stencils. You will use these stencils to help you form eyelashes, shadows beneath the nose, and the defining line between the lips.
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3
Mix the appropriate colors in the color cup. A dark brown will work for all types of shading and eyelashes, but you may want a blacker tone for dramatic eyelashes and a redder tone for lips.
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4
Place each stencil in the appropriate area, one at a time. Tape it in place if necessary. Paint with the airbrush, keeping the flow light and the airbrush close to the area you are painting. Add a little bit of paint at a time so that you do not create shadows that are too dark.
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5
Cut a small circle stencil and place it over the eye to create a highlight. Choose a point that reflects the lighting direction. Use a bright white color and a fine spray. For a softer highlight, you can paint the eye highlight freehand.
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Tips & Warnings
For extremely fine details, such as individual eyelashes, detail in the iris, or fine hairs, use colored pencils.
Try scraping the paint with a knife to create sharp highlights.
References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
