Practice exercises?

[BobRoss]

Another bonus to trying an image, you can identify areas to focus praticing on, so it helps you prioritize your exercises. You may well be one of those who will always do exercises, many of us (me) do them even after years of painting just for warm ups and to test paints etc. But don't always focus on dots. Just my view but I think your fades are not on the same level as your line work. Lines are important but for example in a portrait you will hardly use them. Dagger strokes for eyebrows and eyelashes, and maybe some in the hair, though many use other techniques. Things rarely get outlined as it gives a cartoony look, its all about painting up to the edge of an area, and how hard or soft you need that edge to be, so while dots and lines are a great starting point, they may not be what you will use most, so don't neglect the other strokes.

i dont understand fades not on same level of lines?? i think both are not good and both need improvement. but at the same time, im not being hard on myself, cause i literally just started lines when i did my green dots the other day and my first time airbrush blending is that pic you are referring to. i am a super airbrush novice. i have a long way to go.

i dont plan on doing portraits, its not my thing. at least not at this point in time. the people here inspire me with the things they do realism wise, but its just not my thing right now. i actually like real cartoons, kiddie characters and the such.. abstracts etc... and would like better line work to handle loads like that. just trying to get good control aiming and freehand.. then i will add more things.. some days i only get 5-10 minutes to practice..

but i got to practice tonight cause my 3yr old son was up late.. hes got the flu. normally no practicing after 7-8.. so it really limits my time.

anyway.. this is what im practicing tonight.. just wanted to add more colors and do something not practice related.. but its still practice.. i made up a fake dot plant silhouette of whatever a dot flower is and want to expand on it more.. then i have another back ground i did at the same time not to waste paint ready to go at some point

 

[Vladimir]

The far we go, the less I begin to understand where your brushes are made! And what parts and where you could get for them. Have you asked your seller if they have parts for the ABs you've bought?
Maybe they changed something at the factory. Chinese ABs are terra incognita
From the photo I'd say that it's even not brass but nitride titanium plating. If your camera picked up the colours properly. Parts look very clean for bare brass, as they were made yesterday. Usually brass dulls very fast and doesn't look so bright.

Someone on the forum had issues with similar airbrush. I'll try try find who was that, maybe you could ask that person in PM.

Back handles usually are made with brass, treated like gun metal (forgotten the term for that process in English). You can freely see it inside the handle, if it's brass it's dull yellow inside.

BTW, polish your needles. It gives better performance for chinese ABs, as factory stock needles have poor treatment at the time steel they're made with is very good! I've even installed one properly sanded and polished in one of the microns.

It's good to see your progress! Isn't that more interesting than just dots?

@Squishy, you're totally right about warming up! I do the same thing. And I've heard the same thing from pros for many times. It really helps before painting to warm up by daggering and stroking, lining and dotting for quite a while

 

[BobRoss]

The far we go, the less I begin to understand where your brushes are made! And what parts and where you could get for them. Have you asked your seller if they have parts for the ABs you've bought?
Maybe they changed something at the factory. Chinese ABs are terra incognita
From the photo I'd say that it's even not brass but nitride titanium plating. If your camera picked up the colours properly. Parts look very clean for bare brass, as they were made yesterday. Usually brass dulls very fast and doesn't look so bright.

Someone on the forum had issues with similar airbrush. I'll try try find who was that, maybe you could ask that person in PM.

Back handles usually are made with brass, treated like gun metal (forgotten the term for that process in English). You can freely see it inside the handle, if it's brass it's dull yellow inside.

BTW, polish your needles. It gives better performance for chinese ABs, as factory stock needles have poor treatment at the time steel they're made with is very good! I've even installed one properly sanded and polished in one of the microns.

It's good to see your progress! Isn't that more interesting than just dots?

@Squishy, you're totally right about warming up! I do the same thing. And I've heard the same thing from pros for many times. It really helps before painting to warm up by daggering and stroking, lining and dotting for quite a while

eh dont worry about looking for parts.. you went well out of your way as is.. thanks for trying.. .. as long as both abs dont fail im good to go. what or how do you polish your needles.. ive seen someone on youtube use a drill and spin it in a fine grit wet sandpaper.. looks a lil much.. i have both but no lube. what kind of lube could one use?

that wasnt much more interesting not doing mostly dots.. still did dots.. will eventually do a full dot art piece one day ... but doing more than one color felt like work.. more dots and lines it is tomorrow.. im going to starting working towards lines for a giant rose i can put to canvas for a surprise gift for the wife... i have to bust out the ol sketchbook and pencil to learn to draw roses.. been awhile since ive done that.. guess i could make a french curve and try it out..

cheers

 

[Vladimir]

Here's the thread I promised to find http://www.airbrushforum.org/threads/siphon-feed-airbrush-not-siphoning.16646/page-2
I think what. I you even will find the spares just for your model abroad, what would that give you? International shipping costs more than your airbrush. So it would be reasonably to search for such parts locally. Few ways to do it - to ask here if someone has the same brushes, but it seems like not much people have them. Another one - to ask your local AB suppliers.

eh dont worry about looking for parts.. you went well out of your way as is.. thanks for trying.. .. as long as both abs dont fail im good to go. what or how do you polish your needles.. ive seen someone on youtube use a drill and spin it in a fine grit wet sandpaper.. looks a lil much.. i have both but no lube. what kind of lube could one use?

I polish with polishing compound at the final step. First steps are sending as you've mentioned. Drill rotation MUST be at slow mode. I once was stupid enough to put the needle into Dremel. Never I mean NEVER do that! Dremel slowest rotation is 3500 RPM and it's too much. My needle has bent immediately after switching the tool and I'm glad it wouldn't fly off the chuck. In that case it could get into the eye or something. It's real dangerous! Only drill or accu drill, which has lower RPMs.

What kind of lube do you mean? What for?

On the photos you can see mine ABs and the hose just those I was talking about. They're all from Fengda. One is 0.3mm setup, another one - 0.5mm.
Needles are polished.

ABs look very similar to yours, but that yellowish colour on your nozzle and the tip of AB body makes me to wonder where it's made. I haven't seen that before. Again, maybe Fengda has made some changes in production cycle. But it's only my guess.

 

[BobRoss]

Here's the thread I promised to find http://www.airbrushforum.org/threads/siphon-feed-airbrush-not-siphoning.16646/page-2
I think what. I you even will find the spares just for your model abroad, what would that give you? International shipping costs more than your airbrush. So it would be reasonably to search for such parts locally. Few ways to do it - to ask here if someone has the same brushes, but it seems like not much people have them. Another one - to ask your local AB suppliers.



I polish with polishing compound at the final step. First steps are sending as you've mentioned. Drill rotation MUST be at slow mode. I once was stupid enough to put the needle into Dremel. Never I mean NEVER do that! Dremel slowest rotation is 3500 RPM and it's too much. My needle has bent immediately after switching the tool and I'm glad it wouldn't fly off the chuck. In that case it could get into the eye or something. It's real dangerous! Only drill or accu drill, which has lower RPMs.

What kind of lube do you mean? What for?

On the photos you can see mine ABs and the hose just those I was talking about. They're all from Fengda. One is 0.3mm setup, another one - 0.5mm.
Needles are polished.

ABs look very similar to yours, but that yellowish colour on your nozzle and the tip of AB body makes me to wonder where it's made. I haven't seen that before. Again, maybe Fengda has made some changes in production cycle. But it's only my guess.


View attachment 48638 View attachment 48639 View attachment 48640

yes my top feed look very similar to your bottom feed.. except like you say my nozzle is different. i was painting with yellow, orange, red, brown etc and hadnt cleaned it yet. but it is generally has a semi shine to it.. i soak it in my reducer mix everyday (ammonia free windex, isopropyl alcohol, water, glycerin) then hand clean and buff it with paper towel. also the light in here in my room at night is very yellow.

your needles look very smooth and polished. maybe i should get some polishing compound (lube as i called it) and give it a go. i had ordered a 5 pack of .3mm needles a while back to have as spares, when they come in i will experiment with one. shipping to aus from china is not bad if weight isnt a lot.

i mainly just wanted an option for replacement parts.. because i do like this AB.. like i said its all i know.. and both seem fine to me.. wish the second was as heavy as the first one, but its not.. its smaller.

thanks again

 

[Vladimir]

I've forgotten to mention smth.
I've changed a bit an angle of the 0.5mm needle tip by sending it down. So my needles stick out off the nozzle more than they come originally. After doing this more finer details you can get with the same setup. Besides it polishing also does the trick.
You say you're going to experiment with 0.3mm needles. So you can install it in 0.5mm nozzle, but I think it'll stick out too much. So you can sand down the tip to have slightly shorter needle. But it must have very sharp tip certainly.

 

[BobRoss]

i finally broke my streak of practicing everyday and missed the past two days.. life

anyway started two pics today.. was gonna post them in the finished artwork but its not finished... one is basically a practice concept run.. the other background ill try and do better.. will add some more pink and then orange to the clouds..make a better flowing tree.... need to correct the colors.. lighter pink and some darker browns.... improve flowers and add yellows.. more flowers.... i combined some brush strokes in there to try and save it.. need to plan better if im going to brush flowers i guess.. or just use brushes..idk. was going to cut of left edge of paper if you are wondering about the left edge stuff......anyway.. bobn ross styles..

this is my muse for the next 6-12 months id say...

 

[basepaint]

looks great to me compared to lines and dot's its a lot more fun too!

 

[BobRoss]

looks great to me compared to lines and dot's its a lot more fun too!

thanks i was just messing with some homemade cheap cardboard french curve with varying sized curves.. so still practice.. its meh in person.. some of the flowers are bad.. but the the skin/bark looks pretty good.. the details come through okay.. best part of it imo..

idk what im doing today.. maybe making a stencil, a color wheel or just doing a second tree.. maybe nothing and spending the day just sketching flowers and the such from different angles so i really know what they look like.. im in no hurry..

ill get back to lines and other effects soon enough.. just tryin some other things.. wish i had some masking tape.. i wonder if hair spray can be used as an adhesive??

 

[Vladimir]

i wonder if hair spray can be used as an adhesive??

Interesting idea! Tell us when you try it

 

[jord001]

Looks Great Bob, totally less boring than doing dots and daggers but essentially tats what you have made up your picture with.. Just try to do a few before you start painting to warm up and get your paint flow correct. Once you have the muscle memory and you know where the paint is going to hit the page your sorted. Like i said, just use them to warm up.

I once was stupid enough to put the needle into Dremel. Never I mean NEVER do that! Dremel slowest rotation is 3500 RPM and it's too much. My needle has bent immediately after switching the tool and I'm glad it wouldn't fly off the chuck.

I did that ONCE the needle flew out of the Dremel and into the floor, it ended up "S" shaped I use my cordless drill now as its controllable.

Lee

 

[BobRoss]

Interesting idea! Tell us when you try it

i tried some hairspray on paper to paper.. it didnt take.. i only have low hold hairspray and sprayed lightly.. havent tried again.. caught the flu ad havent done much of anything the last couple o days.. well unless puking and peeing out da rear is something.. splatter arts..

 

[BobRoss]

well vlad, theres no needle experimentations going on here for now. those random .3mm i ordered dont fit either gun.. too big or too small.. i guess thats a downside of owning unknown chinese ab. but 5 needles only cost 3 bucks.. so if i were to make a blow dart gun, id be well on me way.

next tool im waiting on is a stencil burner or hot gun.. whatever you want to call them . i paid 27 dollars.. i could get them cheaper from china, but i paid extra to get them in aus.. should be here by friday or next monday, i cant wait.. i just hope one of the tips will be fine enough for what i want to do.. if not ill still use a blade for some things or 50/50 if i can.. just looking for a way to speed up the process.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/37pc-Woo...670468?hash=item4d52163b44:g:mI0AAOSwfVpYs8UM

sold two old gpus and im just putting the money back into art supplies.. im still not getting a name brand ab for now.. but i did get some nice hand brushes...

while i enjoyed cutting paper with me razor.. it took too much time and left the paper piece useless.. cheap paper... i didnt feel like scanning and printing to keep the images... i got transparent plastic sheets i can use with sharpies.. they are cheap, washable and reusable.. roughly 200 a4 for 10 bucks.. may sell a few designs for a few dollars a piece if i can make any good ones..

 

[Vladimir]

well vlad, theres no needle experimentations going on here for now. those random .3mm i ordered dont fit either gun.. too big or too small.. i guess thats a downside of owning unknown chinese ab. but 5 needles only cost 3 bucks.. so if i were to make a blow dart gun, id be well on me way.

I agree, buying things you're not sure they'd fit, is a lottery. The good thing is you can experiment now with them for polishing reasons, so you could polish your needles installed in your airbrushes.