Need a little help, new to this

[sevastra]

Hi, I am an artist, where my normal media is pencil and ink with knowledge and know how in realistic graffiti. But I REALLY want to start getting into airbrushing. My main specialty is realism. I am currently working on a landscape mural of the Hollywood hills, with a city backdrop. I have the sketch all laid out, and I am going to be transferring that to the wall..

I have done some research, and know that certain airbrushes are best suited for exact detailed work, which i do a lot of. I'm more interested in the double action than the single action. Not sure on which feed system.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of what exactly i need to buy. I don't want to go with a kit.

Which airbrushes do you guys recommend, which compressors and hoses? Also, what else am i going to need to buy to get a functional airbrushing system? Sorry for the lame questions, but i am pretty excited to get into this.

 

[bikergranny]

Hey the only lame question is the one you don't ask.
Now as for your questions here:
Knowing how to draw gives you a jumpstart in my opinion as you know where to put what and what goes where.
With an airbrush, it's the technical side that people have the most issues with. Once you get that taken care of you should be well on your way.
I have been doing murals and my goto brushes are Badger Patriot and Krome. One (the patriot) I will use for broader areas. It's a firehose! The Krome I will use for fine detail and the more intricate stuff. Both have served me well and have stood up to painting out of doors in the heat.
For my compressor, I got a really nice one from Sears. The one they had for their black friday sale a couple years back. Cost about 75 usd. It's a nice little oil-filled one. Just need to get an airbrush hose that has the 1/4" on one side and the 1/8" on the other. Or you can find an adapter. I have a 50' regular compressor hose then the airbrush hose, and I also have moisture traps on each airbrush.
Oh and be ready to invest in lots of tape. I use the green automotive tape. I hate the blue stuff and the putty colored stuff sticks too much.

 

[sevastra]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I'm pretty curious and eager to figure out the technical side of using the airbrush. I have worked with tattoo machines in the past, which is a lot different from pencils and pens, but I'm sure that is completely different than that as well. Do you know of any good books or tutorials about operating the trigger and movements with the brush itself? i have looked but some, granted i didn't have enough time for a timely search, but the ones i did find were pretty vague.


Does the size of the compressor matter for each airbrush you use, etc?

Also, respirator masks, when i worked with spray cans, i used one, think i still have it kicking around here somewhere. Is it recommended for these as well?

What kind of paints do you use for your murals?

OH! What sites are good for ordering stuff? I can find nothing in my local area stores. I see i can;t post links but: chicagoairbrushsupply.com/barekr2in1wi.html

I'm not to keen on buying anything that looks like a kit, wondering if its better to buy separately?

 

[ulltraz]

the problem with the krome,as far as i know, is the time you are going to wait for the delivery,almost a month.if you are doing a mural depends on the amount of detail you are going to deal.if it is big, the amount of detail is small or minimal.so you should work with a more work horse type of airbrush.also how many times are you going to change paint,guess is a lot.also what type of paint you are going to use,water based or urethane.so as far as i know the best for that case in particular,you should use a syphon fed gun.so i´ll recommend a paasche vl or an iwata eclipse cs.both are guns proven in combat,reliable and can take a lot of abuse,also that they are easy to clean,hose ,well depends on how high are you going to work,the longer the better.compressor well any between 1/4 to 1 hpwill do the trick.that is because the syphon fed need more pressure to work with.

don´t take me wrong i got nothing against the krome,but waiting is a killer specially if you are on a schedule.you can get it for a future job.also you can order from coast airbrush or chicago airbrush supply,they have web pages so you can see for our self prices and deliveries.

hope this helps!!!

 

[airbrushtutor]

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I'm pretty curious and eager to figure out the technical side of using the airbrush. I have worked with tattoo machines in the past, which is a lot different from pencils and pens, but I'm sure that is completely different than that as well. Do you know of any good books or tutorials about operating the trigger and movements with the brush itself? i have looked but some, granted i didn't have enough time for a timely search, but the ones i did find were pretty vague.


Does the size of the compressor matter for each airbrush you use, etc?

Also, respirator masks, when i worked with spray cans, i used one, think i still have it kicking around here somewhere. Is it recommended for these as well?

What kind of paints do you use for your murals?

OH! What sites are good for ordering stuff? I can find nothing in my local area stores. I see i can;t post links but: chicagoairbrushsupply.com/barekr2in1wi.html

I'm not to keen on buying anything that looks like a kit, wondering if its better to buy separately?

1. Size of compressor - doesn't matter too much - but you want to start with a compressor which does have a tank and the tank size should be a minimum of 10Ltr - 25ltr will provide comfortable operation for up to 8 hrs or so. You can get either budget hardware compressor or a good quality silent compressor.
Bambi - Air Compressors for Dental & Healthcare, OEM & Scientific, Industrial. Quality Guaranteed
Silent Aire Technology’s Sil-Air Compressors Have Heavy Duty Pumps

2. For murals i'd recommend createx illustration colors - they are a good technology while providing great detail for spray.
Createx Illustration Colors™

3. Chicago airbrush supply is good, coastairbrush is good - both American names - google provides quite relevant results though

4. In my opinion you won't save on a kit - generally something is not quite what you need and the kits are aimed towards giving you a budget level entry and not a working level entry.

recommended airbrushes:
http://www.badger-airbrush.co.uk/renegade-krome.html
http://www.iwata-medea.com/products/iwata-airbrushes/hi-line/hp-ch/

I'd recommend a gravity feed airbrush - it's a personal preference but i feel a personal connection with gravity feed airbrushes.. i don't know. there was a poll on facebook and gravity feed is about 80% more popular than siphon fed so 8 out of 10 can't be wrong.
in fact it's not even a personal opinion, gravity feed is better.

Hope this helps you find some eq!