Getting Started Airbrushing

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.