Basic Airbrushing Tips

AIRBRUSHDOJO MAGAZINE BASIC AIRBRUSHING TIPS

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www.airbrushdojo.com Triggering for Freehand Airbrushing

When airbrush technique comes to mind, many artists envision elaborate processes where stencils and frisket film, found objects, and secret techniques are employed to develop images.

In reality, however, many artists utilize nothing but the manipulation of the airbrush to develop their images, e.g. the portraiture of Chuck Close and the fabric designs of Jurek.

To develop competency in strictly freehand airbrushing, much practice is required, primarily the same type of practice that is used in the basics of airbrushing. This entails spraying dots, lines, and gradations after learning the triggering techniques and becoming familiar with the manipulation of the air source for a variety of effects.

To start, triggering is important, and we will assume that the student is at a basic level and is using a dual-action airbrush.

1. First, make sure the airbrush is held correctly (like a pen or pencil). Then depress the trigger completely to release air; and pull back on the trigger (while depressed) to release paint. Start practicing dots by pressing down for air, pulling back for paint, and then releasing the trigger to shut off both air and paint. Listen to the spray--on/off. Look at the dot that is developed. The closer you are to the surface of the work, the smaller the dot; and the further back you pull the trigger, the more paint comes out. Practice spraying until you have the command of spraying small dots; and then large dots. Take grid paper and spray dots inside the squares.

2. Once you feel comfortable with the on/off triggering, move on to triggering the airbrush by pressing down on the trigger for air, pulling back for paint, and then pushing the trigger forward to a shut off position while the air is still on; then removing your finger from the trigger to shut off the air. Use this system of triggering to develop dots within your grid paper.

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4. Another method of triggering is to press down for air and pull back for paint; when you reach the point that gives you the volume of spray you require, you can keep the trigger at that position and control the on/off of the paint by allowing the trigger (which is spring-loaded) to pop up at that position for shut-off. Then you can simply push down for that same amount of

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3. Now that you have become familiar with the forward and backward method of triggering, move on to the method that you will utilize in all your freehand work. Depress the trigger for air; pull back for paint; spray your dot; move your finger forward to shut off the paint; pull the finger back for more paint without shutting off the air. If you have had the opportunity to watch a professional T-shirt painter working on a boardwalk or in a mall, you will notice that the air is constantly on.

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paint each time. Again, spray dots into your grid. Experiment and become comfortable with all the methods of triggering that you can utilize when needed. Once you are settled into your preferred method, you can begin to practice line work, dagger strokes, and gradations that will be used in developing your picture without the use of stencils.

Drawing for the Airbrush Artist The reference drawing that the airbrush artist works upon is extremely simplistic in the sense that it consists only of line. No shading is required because it will be applied with the airbrush.

Normally, the less pencil work done in the development of an airbrush rendering, the better.

The drawing that the artist works on is a well-planned guide that gives him the visual information needed for the development of a painting, as well as where and when frisketing (stenciling) is needed. Several drawings are usually completed before the airbrusher is ready to execute the line contour reference drawing.

To begin, thumbnails are small preliminary sketches in which the artist develops the initial composition. Several small and quick thumbnails are done, and then one is selected.

Next the artist develops a more complete rendering called a “rough” drawing in either black and white or in color. This is an elaboration of the selected thumbnail, where more detail is applied and shading is used to develop a complete drawing of the proposed rendering. If done in black and white, the rough drawing is used as reference for the artist in developing the threedimensional shapes to be painted. If done in color, it can be used as a guide for the colors to be used in the final airbrushpainting.

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While airbrushing, keep the thumbnail, rough and detail drawings at hand and refer to them for the development of the image. The contour line drawing is simply a guide as to what the shapes are and where they exist in space. In airbrushing you usually work from the background to the

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Then, if necessary, detailed drawings of specific areas of the rough drawing may be executed.

These will aid the artist in working out textures, highlights, etc. In airbrush technique, the artwork is usually pre-conceived. The artist must know in what order he will paint. After the preliminary information is determined (composition, textures, light sources, color schemes, etc.), the artist is ready to do the line contour drawing upon which he will paint. This can be developed from the rough drawing. If the rough drawing is the size of the painting, tracing paper is placed over it and, using a fine-point black felt tip marker, the line is traced onto the tracing paper; then it is transferred onto the work surface by using either transfer paper or covering the reverse side of the tracing paper with carbon from a pencil. If the rough drawing is either larger or smaller than the end image, the line contour drawing can be enlarged or reduced on tracing paper with the use of an overhead or handheld projector.

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foreground, and the line contour drawing tells you which shape is closest to the twodimensional plane and the order in which the shapes recede into space.

TIPS:—To prevent smudging, make light pencil lines when preparing drawings. —Refrain from using a fixative on the work surface; it will fill in the pores of the paper, resulting in a different look from where no fixative was applied.

The Inner Workings of the Airbrush When you use specific equipment or tools on a daily basis (such as a computer or an airbrush), you sometimes take basic information or knowledge for granted and forget that a novice may be full of questions. As an example, while examining an airbrush in an art supply store recently, a consumer inquired: "Which end does the paint come out of?" This is certainly avalid question for someone who has never before seen an airbrush up close, so here's a basic explanation of how this tool works.

The airbrush is similar to a pen--the blunt end is the handle and the pointed end is the tip. The paint comes out of the tip, and you hold onto the handle. At the very tip of the airbrush is the air cap, which covers and protects the paint tip. The back of the airbrush is covered with a handle, which--when removed--exposes the airbrush needle. The needle runs through the airbrush all the way to the front paint tip. It controls the flow of paint and is activated by the trigger, which is the button or lever located on top of the airbrush. When depressed, the trigger also turns on the air, which enters the airbrush through anair valve located at the bottom.

All airbrushes--whether single- or dual-action--operate on the same basic principle. Inside the body are two channels, one for paint and the other for air. The air channel is tapered and when compressed air rushes through, it speeds up and draws paint up through the paint channel and into the air stream, where it becomes spray. A tapered needle controls the volume of paint sprayed. In a single-action airbrush, the needle is preset to determine the volume and the trigger is simply depressed for paint. In the more sophisticated dual-action airbrush, the trigger is depressed for air and then drawn back to varying degrees to produce smaller or larger volumes of paint.

Paint enters the airbrush through one of two methods: gravity or siphon. The resultant spray of both is of the same quality. In the siphon-feed airbrush, the paint is contained in a cup or bottle that is attached to either the side or bottom of the airbrush. Air rushing through the brush draws the paint up and into the tip where it is mixed with the air or atomized.

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The airbrush is held and pointed like a pen. The difference, though, is you don't touch the paper with an airbrush and you are able to control the amount of ink that's applied.

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In gravity-feed models, the paint is contained in a cup or slot that is situated on top of the airbrush. The paint then drips into a reservoir at the tip of the airbrush where it mixes with air to become spray.

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Airbrushing Artist Acrylic Colors on Canvas Why do many artists who incorporate airbrush technique in their works prefer artist acrylic colors when working on canvas?

There are several reasons. For one, unlike oil paint, acrylic paint dries very quickly. This allows the artist to easily work with stencils, masks and shields when developing images. Acrylics are also easy to clean from the airbrush with the use of only soap and water. In addition, they're also lower in toxicity and waterproof when dry. And, like oil paints, they are colorfast. Why do artists who airbrush acrylics work on canvas? Because it allows them to work much larger than any sheet of paper does. Canvas is very durable and will last for years; it's easy to transport and store (lightweight and can be rolled); and it is the traditional ground for easel painting.

Following are some tips for the artist using airbrush with acrylics on canvas: --Acrylics from all manufacturers can be sprayed through an airbrush. But first the paint must be reduced or thinned to a fluidity that can be sprayed, e.g., ink. Acrylics are available in a variety of manufactured consistencies, from thick to fluid.

Some acrylics are pre-reduced for airbrush technique, but most are not. When thinning acrylic colors, use a thinning agent comprised of 50% water and 50% gloss medium. Mix these together well in a jar and then add a few droplets of a water tension releasing agent. Then use this mixture to thin the paints to the desired consistency. --To achieve a discernible edge in airbrush technique, artists use a wide array of self-adhering and handheld stencils, tapes, friskets, templates, masks and shields.

In some cases the gessoed canvas surface must be very smooth for proper adhesion. This is achieved by sanding the surface with very fine sandpaper to develop an eggshell-smooth finish.

--An innate characteristic of artist acrylic colors is the tendency to clog the airbrush tip, which happens because the paint dries so quickly.

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You must be careful when developing an opaque color to not spray paint on too quickly. Do this by spraying several light overlapping passes and allowing each to dry before application of the next. Otherwise you may blow wet paint where you don't want it. --When an acrylic painting on canvas is completed, protect it with a coating of picture varnish. Either a mat or gloss acrylic varnish or a removable oil-based varnish can be used. In many cases an acrylic painting is done with a combination of techniques that incorporates anything from screen printing to sponging.

All techniques, including airbrushing, work well together when done in artist acrylic colors.

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If you see bubbles appear in the color cup or paint jar, this is a good indication that the tip is beginning to clog and must be cleaned. You can quickly flick the dried paint off with a fingernail and continue working or, if necessary, use a small stiff paintbrush to clean the tip with airbrush or window cleaner. --When working on a gessoed surface, remember that it is not as absorbent as paper.