Airbrush

Tips for the Airbrush Artist

Hang it Up - Anyone who has ever used an airbrush realizes immediately that you just can’t set the airbrush down on a surface when it contains paint.  The brush will tip over and the paint will flow onto the work surface.  Even with the wide bottle on a bottom feed airbrush, the weight of the hose can cause it to tip.  Therefore, it is essential that the artist have an airbrush holder—and this would make an ideal holiday gift for a beginning airbrusher.  Several types of holders are available, ranging from the very simple flat metal holder that attaches to a drawing board or easel and comes with some airbrushes to the more elaborate double holders that have air regulators and moisture traps.  These attach with a clamp to an easel, the edge of a table or other work surface.  Most elaborate is the type that is held in place by powerful magnets and is designed for use in the automotive industry or by artists working in a metal spray booth.  The Karajen Air-Port Airbrush Work Station, distributed by Iwata-Medea, is a great example of this holder.  Most holders have two hooks between which the airbrush is held, which prevents tipping whether the brush is gravity, side or bottom feed. 

Keep it Moving - Globs of paint are created whenever hand movement is hesitated while making a spray pass with an airbrush.  Sometimes this results in what is called the “barbell” effect – more paint in one area than another; or in a type of spray that resembles a spider called a “freak drop.”  Remember that once you begin to paint you must continue a smooth, consistent hand movement to prevent these effects from occurring.  They are the result of too much wet paint on the surface.  Splatters, on the other hand, are created by releasing the trigger too quickly.  A drop of paint will be carried to the tip of the brush on the needle; when you depress the trigger for the next spray pass, that droplet will inadvertently be blown onto the work surface.  So remember to slowly release the trigger, which will eventually become automatic.  If you watch a T-shirt painter you will notice that he will constantly blow that droplet of paint onto a paper towel, rag or even his hand between sprays.

New Newsletter - See the latest FREE edition of AirbrushTalk at www.airbrushtalk.com, which includes the following articles:  Opportunity Knocks—Stenciling Addresses and Phrases for Fun and Profit by Thomas Adams; Baby, It's Cold Outside:  Winter Airbrush Projects by Janean Thompson; and Combining Brush and Airbrush by Shen.

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 22, No. 2 — December 2011