Airbrush, Paint, and Equipment
The airbrush was the first tool that provided the artist with the ability to create perfect fades of color that are found in photorealistic paintings and photograph retouching. This tool provides the artist with incredible control of the paint that was previously unheard of and even today this technique is practiced by artists and designers around the world. At airbrushartistry.com we don’t promote any one brand or product, but showcase different airbrushes and supplies and provide useful tips and techniques for users of this incredible tool.
An airbrush applies ink or paint using pressurized air and a specialized nozzle. An airbrush compressor is needed to provide the air pressure that will propel the paint out of the nozzle. Attached to the nozzle is a grip and a couple of air and paint controls. The air pressure can be increased separately from the paint flow and visa-versa. High amounts of air combined with tiny amounts of paint will produce airy atmospheric effects and subtle color fades while large amounts of paint with low air pressure will produce splatter effects rivaling any Jackson Pollock creation, but just like a brush the technique is important for creating what the user desires.
Learning how to use and then master an airbrush may not make anyone a better artist, but it will make a good artist produce better art. One of the major advantages for this artistic tool is the speed and ease that paint is applied. Smooth, soft fades caused a lot of headaches to artists in the past who had to dilute the paint, find their smoothest brush and apply layer after layer in thin transparencies to achieve a realistic looking fade. Even when this is achieved there are still brush strokes visible that can detract from the purity of the gradient.
Before computers and ink-jet printers became common, the airbrush artist was one of the only professionals able to produce perfect gradients and fades. Even the ink jet printer is similar to the air brush, but instead of one color at a time and a hand controlled nozzle, there are four colors and black that can be applied at once from five separate computer controlled nozzles.
There are a number of different techniques that an artist can use with an airbrush. Free hand is the most obvious and easy. The artist simply starts with a blank canvas and applies the paint without using any stencils, masks or other tools. With practice this technique can produce incredible results, but it is much more difficult to get clean, sharp lines which is why many airbrushing artists will use stencils and masks. The stencils can be pre-cut, but are usually created by the artist themselves specifically for the task at hand. Paper, cardboard, and Mylar are useful materials for stencils and masks and can be easily cut and modified with craft knives. Masks are similar to stencils, though they are typically used to prevent paint from getting onto much smaller areas.
However you choose to use an airbrush, we at airbrushartistry.com hope to provide you with beneficial information and helpful tips and equipment reviews. Take a look around, enjoy the art and inspire new techniques.
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