Getting Started Airbrushing

No matter what material you go with make sure that you remember to cut out your areas slowly. By taking your time you can make sure that everything matches up the way it should. If you are doing a stencil for say a dog then you would want to take your time and  make sure that the eyes were the same size, the nostrils were cut out shaped the way they should be and so on. If you rush you could end up messing your stencil all up. The stencil is to aid you in creating your airbrush art and is a big part of the art process. If you have to then practice on a scrap piece of material till you get use to how the knife works and how to properly cut out the areas. This will help to ensure that you create a working stencil for your airbrush art.   

When doing airbrush art there are different types of airbrushes that you can choose from. Depending on what you are actually creating will also determine what airbrush you need. Once you understand the different options that are available and the benefits of each option you will be better able to determine which airbrush you need for which projects. For the paint you have an internal mix or an external mix.

The internal mix is when the air and the paint both mix inside of the airbrush. This will create a atomized fine dot spray pattern. This makes the internal mix a good choice for fine detailed work in your airbrush art. The point at which they come together is in the head assembly. The external mix is where the air and paint come together outside of the head assembly or the fluid assembly. These airbrushes create a large dot pattern. Larger airbrushed areas are better done with the external mix. Since with the larger dot pattern you are able to spray more areas in less time.

Airbrushes also come in single and dual action. This refers to how the airbrush functions. With single action only the air is controlled with the trigger. The trigger will control the air and the amount of paint that comes out is determined by the needle adjustment on the back of the airbrush handle. Dual action is when the trigger on the airbrush controls both the air and paint. The trigger is pressed down for the air and back for the paint.

Now when it comes to the feed on the airbrush there are three types of feeds that you can choose from. The type of feed you choose will also depend on what you are doing as well as what you are comfortable working with. The gravity feed is a top mount cup that uses gravity to pull the paint down into the airbrush. This feed is great for airbrush art designs that call for fine detail as the gravity feed uses less air pressure. The less air pressure means that you can use slower movements when airbrushing. The bottom feed is where the cup is mounted to the bottom of the airbrush and the paint is brought up via a siphon tube. It is for this reason that the bottom feed is also referred to as a siphon feed. Since the artist can attach the cup to the bottom of the airbrush the colors can be changed quickly by using different cups prefilled with the colors needed.  

Once you have mastered your skills in micro airbrush art you will be amazed at the amount of detail that you can place in any airbrushing project. This ability will help set you apart from the rest of the competition and allow you to reach the top of the airbrush art industry. Becoming a truly renowned artist in your trade is dependent upon just how much detail you can capture in your work compared to other artists.  

When you begin an airbrush art project, you will first need to prep the surface. The prep work that you do will be determined by what type of surface you will be airbrushing. The prep work to the surface will ensure that the paint sticks to the surface and that nothing is interfering with the airbrushed design.

Facebook is also a great way to get seen and gain some exposure. With Facebook you can create a profile that is dedicated to you as an artist. Upload pictures of your work and take the time to create a couple of videos as well. Create the videos so that they show you in the act of working on your airbrush art. Make sure to use good lighting so that your videos truly capture the art of what you are airbrushing. With millions of users on Facebook you are sure to get yourself seen by people who are interested in your work

Sometimes when trying to come up with designs your mind can go blank. You find yourself unable to come up with a design for a certain project. While airbrush art can give you endless possibilities it can also leave you stumped on a design project. Finding inspiration though for your airbrush art can come from many forms. The different places that you can look for inspiration can help you when you are stumped on what to do with a project.

When you are feeling the creative block coming on then start looking around you. Anything can be a basis for inspiration, especially if you change your scenery and look around your new surroundings with open eyes. Cooped up in a studio too long, then go out to the park and open your eyes to everything that you see. Derive inspiration from various sights around you and incorporate them into one great piece of art. See two kids on a seesaw at the park? Turn those two kids into angels on a seesaw cloud in the sky. See a couple of kids playing ball? Then turn them into angels and the ball into a cloud. Now put all of this into one art design. See where I am going with this? You just took two things you seen incorporated them both together turned them into something else and now you have a unique  floating cloud playground.

Inspiration can also come from books as well. Go to the library and check out some art books to help you get some inspiration to get you going again with your creative design. Sometimes by looking at other people's works you can get past your creative block and start creating your own airbrush art again. Any form of art will work to give you inspiration since after all you can airbrush any design you see. Take the time to look at the art in the books and see them as your own. Think of how you would have created that picture had it been yours. Then go from there and start drawing out how you would have made it look. Once you are happy with it then airbrush it on to your project to create your own unique airbrush art design.

If you don't want to get outdoors to look at new scenery and you don't want to go to the library then you can just surf the web. The internet if full of inspiration for your airbrush art. Start looking at  various images and keep surfing until you find the one that gets your creative juices flowing again. Print the picture that help you so that you can keep it around as your muse for as long as you need it. It may take awhile but with the limitless supply of images and artwork on the internet it is sure to keep you supplied with some inspiration.

First let's look at how to clean your airbrush. One rule of thumb to remember is the type of cleaner you use will depend on the type of paint you use. Solvent based paints should be cleaned with a solvent based cleaner. All water based paints can be cleaned with water or a commercial cleaner designed for airbrushes. Windex is useful when cleaner your airbrush between color changes while using your airbrush. Never soak or leave your airbrush exposed to Windex for any real length of time. You should not have to take your airbrush apart every night to clean it, it is alright to only do a complete break down and cleaning once a month. Just make sure you do not go any longer than that. When you take it apart to clean soak it in a commercial grade cleaner overnight. The next morning take an airbrush cleaning brush to it. Make sure to oil your airbrush up before putting it back together.

Most artists find the using their airbrush without the needle cap gives them more control. Removing the needle cap is fine but should you hit your airbrush against something or drop it you could end up damaging the needle itself. So to take care of your airbrush make sure that when you are not using your airbrush that you replace the needle cap back onto it. This will give a little protection to the needle itself should the airbrush happen to fall. A damages needle can be disastrous to your ability to create high quality art, because if you are unable to straighten a bent needle back out or the needle should break completely you will not be able to finish your airbrush art until you can get a replacement.

If you do end up bending your needle you can try and straighten it with either pliers. Place the tip within the pliers and gently try and straighten it back out. Remember to do this gently so that you do not break your needle.

The great thing with airbrush art is that you really do not have to know how to draw. All you need to know how to do is successfully use the stencil that you wish to use for your design. The main key is learning how to control the airbrush gun so that you can get the paint only where you want it and not overcast the paint where you do not want it. Once you master that then your options are endless with the vast array of stencils out there.

A bottom feed or siphon feed airbrush works best when putting airbrush art onto a t-shirt. You should always stick with a name brand airbrush when airbrushing. The best name brands to go with are the Iwata or Badger. The Paasche is also a good quality airbrush to go with. You will save yourself money in the long run when using a name brand versus a generic airbrush.  When choosing an airbrush compressor keep in mind that put airbrush art onto t-shirts does require a high psi. The psi setting should be between 40 to 60. Make sure that your compressor is rated for the type of work you are going to be doing. In this case it will be airbrushing t-shirts. When doing airbrush art onto t-shirts as a business then invest in a commercial air compressor. It will be worth it in the long run.

Most of the times you will need to heat set your paints so that they can be washed without fading or bleeding. There are a few ways that you can heat set your airbrush art onto the t-shirts so that it lasts. One way is all the design to fully dry then place a cloth over it and iron the shirt with the cloth between the t-shirt and the iron. Always keep the iron moving though so that you do not burn the material. Another great way if you are doing this at home is to allow the design to dry then turn the shirt inside out and throw it into the dryer for about 40 to 45 minutes on the highest heat setting. After this your design will hold up to laundering.

Airbrush art kits give you the necessary tools to get you started creating your own airbrush art tattoos. These kits come in a variety of sizes and price ranges depending on the dealer you are purchasing them from. Some dealers also will offer low grade products for a low price making you think you are getting a deal. With low grade products you are not getting a deal at all.

A good starter kit comes from Airbrush Bodyart. The kit contains everything you need to get you started creating airbrush art tattoos and then some. In their starter kit they include 2 single action ABA airbrushes, 2 hoses, 9 glass airbrush bottles, a 2 outlet air manifold, 7 60ml airbrush tattoo ink in red, blue ,white, yellow violet, fuchsia and green and the kit includes a 120ml of black airbrush tattoo ink. The starter kit also give you 50 Vynalaser stencils that can be reused over and over again. Airbrush Bodyart's starter kit runs around $293. Individually all the same products that you get in the kit, would run you around $346.

If you want to step your airbrush kit up then Airbrush Bodyart offers a professional kit. This kit includes a 4 outlet air manifold, 4 single action ABA airbrushes, 12 glass airbrush bottles, 4 air hoses, 10 60ml of airbrush art tattoo inks in white, blue, red, yellow, violet, fuchsia, green, fluorescent green, fluorescent yellow and fluorescent blue and 1 120ml of black airbrush tattoo ink. Also added with this airbrush art tattoo kit is 1 120gm holographic glitter pack and 100 Vynalaser stencils that are reusable.  The kit runs around $544 where as individually purchased these items would cost you around $639.

For those of you who have experience in airbrush art tattoos and want a kit that will allow you to open up your own business doing airbrush art tattoos professionally, Airbrush Bodyart has you covered. They offer the Airbrush Volume Parlor 2000 kit. This kits gives you everything that you need to open up shop and start creating great professional airbrush art tattoos.  The Airbrush Volume Parlor 2000 kit contains a 4 outlet air manifold, 4 duel action ABA siphon feed kit, 4 glass airbrush bottles, airbrush holder, 1 regulator filter moisture trap, 10 60ml airbrush art tattoo ink in white, blue, red, yellow, violet, fuchsia, green, fluorescent green, fluorescent yellow and fluorescent blue as well as 1 500ml of black airbrush tattoo ink. Also included in this kit is 1 120gm jar of holographic glitter, 300 Vynalaser stencils that are reusable and a CD-Rom that gives you Flash displays for your customers. This kit will run you around $994 where as the items purchased individually would run you around $1,242.