question about fine detail

[Squidge]

One more question and hopefully I'll be able to start really painting something. I've seen a lot of great work on this site and I've noticed a whole lot of them use super fine lines and detail work to do things like hair and eye lashes. I believe the dagger stroke is what I would need to perfect to do those kind of things, but I'm not sure my brush will do it. It's a .5mm. I know it has a lot to do with control but even when I make the finest lines I can, its still not even close to hair-like. I've also seen techniques which involve using your thumbnail as a guide to block part of the paint for eye lashes. I think I would have to do that instead. So my question is, should I expect to be able to do those things with lots of practice and my current airbrush, or is my brush just not capable of it?

 

[wmlepage]

Depending on the size of the piece you are working on yes, t shirt, larger items. You want to do a face the size of a golf ball hell no. The size you have now is perfect for a beginner. Smaller tip sizes in the beginning are way more frustrating. It takes time to figure out paint reduction and air pressure. Going small need more reduction, and for fine detail, low air pressure, like 15 psi or lower. Make a detail brush a second or third airbrush purchase. Worry about it more as you progress.

 

[Squidge]

Thanks for the advice. Man, I wish this wasn't such an expensive hobby . At the moment, I'm wanting to do a portrait for the contest that's running and It seems like I just can't get the airbrush to do crisp, thin lines without using shields. I've always taught myself how to do things and I've learned that if you don't learn it the right way first, it will be that much more work later so I just want to make sure it's not just my skills that are limiting me in this case.

 

[splasha]

There's nothing wrong with shielding.
It is a part of the way you create the things you want to see on, or rather replicate on, your artwork.
If you could not shield, I'd imagine there would be things that could not be done by even the very best of us.
Don't discount an obvious aid to what you want to create.

 

[ad fez]

not so much with hair, but certainly with lashes, you can also use frisket, pencil them in, or evenuse a very fine hairy brush and reduced paint.... atthe end of the day its your art and you are free to create it with whatever means you deem fit.
be warned though, if you are attempting to paint and eyelash (that is the size of an actual eyelash) it is very tricky and probably you do need a better detail brush.

the badger krome is a great detail brush for the beginner /intermediate/ even pro use and comes at an acceptable price.

 

[Talla]

As much as I try I can only pull off a airbrushed lash if the portrait is 6 foot square and thats using an Infinity 0.15. So I found a couple of work arounds ...

1. Use a fine hairy brush
2. Masking
3. Paint skulls (they dont have lashes!)
4. Invent creatures that dont have lashes, hair, feathers etc

Problem solved! :wink-new:

 

[jagardn]

Your going to have a hard time with lashes using a .5mm, but it depends on the size of the piece. I can pull a real fine line with one, but most larger nozzles just don't have the shallow taper you need for fine control. As said above, just use a hairy brush or colored pencils.

 

[ad fez]

hey jeff.... which of your girls are you gonna take to marissas course this year??? looking at your signature list and there are some beauties there...

your becoming like the heff of the airbrush world

 

[jagardn]

hey jeff.... which of your girls are you gonna take to marissas course this year??? looking at your signature list and there are some beauties there...

your becoming like the heff of the airbrush world

Probably the AL Plus and the Micron.

 

[rab3rd]

Heck, why not take them all... like a little field trip....

 

[Squishy]

Hey Squidge, you won't be able to get super fine lines (that's why they have microns I guess.......drool! I so want one!), But you will be able to get something pretty good. If you don't mind me saying some of it is more to do with experience and trigger control, and also perfect paint reduction. It all comes with time, so just keep practicing, and as has been mentioned there are many other methods you can use to help out for now. So keep up the dagger exercises but dive into that painting too, you learn best by doing, and experimenting. Seeing what works and what doesn't, while creating a piece is only going to inspire you more!

 

[Squidge]

Hey Squidge, you won't be able to get super fine lines (that's why they have microns I guess.......drool! I so want one!), But you will be able to get something pretty good. If you don't mind me saying some of it is more to do with experience and trigger control, and also perfect paint reduction. It all comes with time, so just keep practicing, and as has been mentioned there are many other methods you can use to help out for now. So keep up the dagger exercises but dive into that painting too, you learn best by doing, and experimenting. Seeing what works and what doesn't, while creating a piece is only going to inspire you more!

Yea, that's what I figured. I'm gonna buy some of that packaging newsprint paper (like 10 bucks for what appears to be thousands of sheets) and fill quite a few of them up with loops, daggers, and dots. I'm really anxious to see how it turns out once I get started on it but school and work keep getting in the way xD

 

[RebelAir]

I tend to not use dagger strokes for such an area (Eyelashes), main reason being that no matter how good and confident you get with the stroke, likely the odd one just wnt go the way you want and you'll end up with something that's added in the final layers and is very hard to fix if it does go wrong and will stand out big time..these days if I want a good eyelash, I just cut a series of eyelash shapes into a piece of paper and spray each one individually..You can use a fine detail liner brush as mentioned but they can tend to stand out to much in comparison to the rest of the piece imo..If I want to do them quickly I generally just use my finger nail as i find the curve suits well but you do have to control the overspray carefully, and you get dirty fingernails LOL..GL

 

[Tat2missyj]

Over spray is a fact of life in airbrushing, therefore, so are shields. I'd say don't become dependent on them, but use them when their needed. I made my own out of thin cardboard, but there is lots of great advice here on things to use.

I'll be entering the face contest too. And I also use a .5 needle/nozzle set up. I have no shame in using a small hair paintbrush for lashes. As my brother would say, use the best tool for the job.

Take a look at the tips and tricks sub forum. I went through it and read everything I thought could possibly be relevant to my learning. It helped.