Completely new to airbrushing....

I just wanted to say thanks again to everyone here. I have been trying to practice semi-regularly and while still a long ways from where I'd like to ultimately be, I am starting to feel a little more in control of the airbrush. I'm very happy with the hardware choices you all directed me to and finally built up the courage to try them for something other than practice over the last few days. I used the airbrushes on the model below to try and shade the cockpit to look somewhat naturally lit (rather than just painting it a solid color) and for some simple details like outlining the escape door. It's not exactly museum quality but this is the kind of thing I was hoping to be able to learn when I jumped in the airbrush swimming pool, so it's exciting be able to actually accomplish that goal just a little bit.
 

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Looks good. If you lightly shade the fuselage you can really make it look round. But it needs to be very subtle.
 
Hmm, hadn't even thought about that. So you mean a light shade along the top and bottom bottom edges? Black?
 
We’ve created a monster muah-ha-ha

Just kidding, happy you are enjoying your new equipment. You’re off to a good start.
 
Hmm, hadn't even thought about that. So you mean a light shade along the top and bottom bottom edges? Black?
I’d guess that black would be the colour, but it wants to be a very transparent black, so plenty of reducer or you can add some transparent base which is simply paint without any pigment, so clear resin almost. It thickens the paint and dilutes the colour, so any transparent base added needs to be considered when adding reducer. And go very lightly. Shadows are surprisingly tricky to capture.


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Looks good. If you lightly shade the fuselage you can really make it look round. But it needs to be very subtle.

I’d guess that black would be the colour, but it wants to be a very transparent black, so plenty of reducer or you can add some transparent base which is simply paint without any pigment, so clear resin almost. It thickens the paint and dilutes the colour, so any transparent base added needs to be considered when adding reducer. And go very lightly. Shadows are surprisingly tricky to capture.

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It does sound a bit tricky and may be a bit advanced for my skill level but I can make some practice pieces and give it a go. Even beyond developing the physical skills, I'm still developing my ability to visualize what actual effects are needed....so, are we talking about subtly shading a relatively small region of the edge (like maybe 4-5mm) or are we talking about a subtle blend across the entire side of the fuselage with pure white/base color in the middle and gradually growing darker as one moves towards the edges (with the darkest at the edges still being barely noticeable)?

With blends in general, is there a preferred method to create a good one in terms of primarily using trigger vs using distance, or is is a question of learning enough control to use both simultaneously? I am struggling with blends, in addition to consistency in distance and trigger control (and all the other variables too!), perhaps because I'm waiting to "see" the effect as I'm painting rather than trusting that it will be there when I'm done....not quite sure. Mine tend to either look "stripey" or, if I try to fix that, digital (i.e. a light area and a dark area without much gradation in between).
 
It does sound a bit tricky and may be a bit advanced for my skill level but I can make some practice pieces and give it a go. Even beyond developing the physical skills, I'm still developing my ability to visualize what actual effects are needed....so, are we talking about subtly shading a relatively small region of the edge (like maybe 4-5mm) or are we talking about a subtle blend across the entire side of the fuselage with pure white/base color in the middle and gradually growing darker as one moves towards the edges (with the darkest at the edges still being barely noticeable)?

With blends in general, is there a preferred method to create a good one in terms of primarily using trigger vs using distance, or is is a question of learning enough control to use both simultaneously? I am struggling with blends, in addition to consistency in distance and trigger control (and all the other variables too!), perhaps because I'm waiting to "see" the effect as I'm painting rather than trusting that it will be there when I'm done....not quite sure. Mine tend to either look "stripey" or, if I try to fix that, digital (i.e. a light area and a dark area without much gradation in between).
Sorry if I made it sound complicated, essentially the second method you described would be good. It’s worth giving these things a go as they can always be wiped away. Think of where the shadow would fall on a horizontal cylinder and give it a whirl.
 
Ah, ok. Thank you both. The actual fuselage of this aircraft has some interesting shapes to it rather than being a more or less round cylinder so I'm going to have to give some thought to how the shading would look but now at least I know what I'm thinking about!
 
Discovered by accident that isopropyl alchohol will take dried Com-Art paint right off of a non-porous surface. Handy to know for future reference and yet annoying in this case....:eek:ops:
 
Discovered by accident that isopropyl alchohol will take dried Com-Art paint right off of a non-porous surface. Handy to know for future reference and yet annoying in this case....:eek:ops:
Haha, there’s not much that iso won’t remove :)

I forgot to get back to you on the H&S mac valve .... mine does shut off the flow totally.
 
Haha, there’s not much that iso won’t remove :)

I forgot to get back to you on the H&S mac valve .... mine does shut off the flow totally.

Ok, thanks. It's always good to have another data point!
 
Well, I'll be as good an experiment as there could be re reducing Com Art paint with ignorance!

Speaking of ignorance, here's a potentially embarrassing question:

Different manufacturers (Creatix, Com Art, etc.) have different color palettes yet they don't all have (at least that I've seen) individual color wheels to tell you how their specific colors combine. So you just try to "find" their colors on a standard color wheel and go from their? I'm guessing that's where the book that JackEB referenced will educate me on...but still wanted to ask.
Little late to the party, and I seen bunch of people already helped you with this, but just in case. I had similar question like you, and I went to solve this like this:
WP_20190317_002.jpg
I can mix quite big number of colors from primary ones right now. And I don't waste my time. This was my issue. Wasting time. Many people here, which are pros are doing this in their head. I'm noob and this works for me.

Didn't read the whole thread, but I think Jackie posted that glass video? Didn't know Jackie is a girl -.-
Well glass is pain in the :D, but when I am bored I print color books and put them inside and I spray cute color books :)
6838e5450b26d1496220d7a7fa4abeba.jpg


Much more fun then just dagger strokes. I do dagger strokes on glass, but they are boring to me if I do them for to long. This was idea from bunch of forum members when I started. I didn't notice anybody mentioned in this thread, but like I sad, I didn't read the whole thread.

It's just cool to spray cute girl on glass instead of dagger stroke lol
giphy.gif
 
@huskystafford
Thanks for all of that information and tips. I like the coloring book pages behind the glass. With your paint mixing, are all of those color chips/recipies ones that you created? That's a great idea, it must have taken some time!
 
@huskystafford
Thanks for all of that information and tips. I like the coloring book pages behind the glass. With your paint mixing, are all of those color chips/recipies ones that you created? That's a great idea, it must have taken some time!
I had a problem when I was mixing colors. Each color I mixed it looked like diarrhea -.- So I decided to do something about it.

Yep, all of those cards are my mixes made from primaries. Except few of them where I sprayed primaries so I know if I buy some weird new primary and I wanna check if something is off. The biggest time wasting was when I was ''developing'' my system. Now, when I know ''how'' it goes fast. I don't do them each day. One day I made 3 different ones and then one week not one. It depends. But as time goes, looks like I get more and more of them.

I am also in process of spraying colors which I buy: for example wicked apple green sprayed on one of those cards. So I get original color on a card. And then with my rest of mixes I am trying to find ''recipe'' for that apple green. This also gives me few more mixes in my collection, when I am looking for some color. Sounds weird, but I would like to make ''recipe'' for all the colors which I can mix from primaries so I save money on the long run. It's more wallet friendly if you buy 960ml bottles of paint. For example set of primaries in 960ml bottles. In my case those cards are used quite often. I don't waste any more time trying to figure out how to get some color, and I can color match quite precisely. But like I told you, pros here are doing this with their eyes and head. No cards :)
 
Makes sense to me! At my current ability I can tell when a color is off but, more often than not, I can't say what needs to be done to "fix" the problem. The same can be said about most things I cook....
 
"I can't say what needs to be done to "fix" the problem"

I fall into that category and the eye will get better over time and experience. I have bought the cards that Husky has, I just keep forgetting to get them out of the box when I sit down to paint lol
 
LOL, but now I'm confused. I thought husky made those?

If one is making their own, what is a good media to create them on? I suppose the best answer is "whatever you will be painting on" but since I have no idea, that doesn't help me much.
 
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