questions for air brush artists

[peterjames]

Hello.. I have been drawing all my life mostly realism.. and I want to fruther my art in airbrushing .. My questions are how long should i be practicing lines dots and strokes? how do i know that my paint is reduced enough? what obsticals should i be looking to aviod so i dont get frustrated. My fear is that i am so set with pencil drawing that will have alot of trouble controling the airbrush and give up.. What are the main things i need to keep in mind while airbrushing that will ensure a healthy habbit of doing it correctly. thanks guys

 

[Mr.Micron]

All good questions, As far as how long to practice dots and daggers , Never stop even Dru Blair still does them
Paint reduction depends on the paint you are using , the color of the paint. and what surface you are spraying it on. No set answer on that one. It mainly comes from learning everything about the paint you are using and the airbrush you choose.
Main obstacle is you, yourself. Why I say that is because many artist who can draw think using an airbrush will be a walk in the park, But for most it is not. For a few it is. Keep a positive outlook . Keep pushing yourself and learn as many different style and tricks as you can.
You state you main do realism I suggest you take a class from a master him mr. Dru Blair Airbrush Workshops | Home
As far as control , It is a different animal than a pencil. but can get the same if not better results than a pencil with practice. I am sure you have spend many hours learning to draw with a pencil same with an airbrush.
After a while you will be able to make portraits faster and more realistic with an airbrush than with a pencil.
Also look a our very own Marissa http://www.airbrushforum.org/digita...27-short-video-clip-building-up-portrait.html
or Carlo http://www.airbrushforum.org/works-progress-finished-artworks/3208-portrait-keith-richards.html
or our self taught airbrush master Visual Realm http://www.airbrushforum.org/works-progress-finished-artworks/2682-dave-matthews-finished.html

 

[Diegojavbau]

My fear is that i am so set with pencil drawing that will have alot of trouble controling the airbrush and give up.

That is not about the airbrush itself , this is about your personality , how you take the challenge and how hard can you persevere and work.
I paint in my free time , (not a lots of hours , not even every day) and start 6 months ago , (I never draw before , not good drawing , not "gifted" nether) , at the beggining I can't do a simple straight line and now I'm pàinting , not very good , not realism , but I made a good progress , I think that if you are good drawing , you have potencial if you have the patience and will

 

[RebelAir]

Micron and Diegojavbau are pretty spot on m8, its a hard beast to judge..For example I've seen some come into the hobby and it can take them a fair time to really start having it click for them, yet I've also seen some come in and withing 2 or 3 works their creating some amazing work..I feel a lot of this has to do with desire and also some past art experience and some good research, I believe airbrushing has little to do with the actual dot and line technique (Some may disagree with me LOL), there's only so many dots you can paint before you've mastered a dot, normally one page and your pretty proficient, lines may take a little longer though to come to grips with..For me its all about an understanding of how a picture needs to be built up, good understanding of color theory, knowing your paint and gun well to avoid or cover any potential mistakes that will happen at any time in someones experience, no matter how long they've painted for..but saying that its good to warm up with dots and lines every paint session, but I prefer my students to really come to grips of them on an actual artwork, plus its more fun ..You'll get to know paint reduction in time, it can be different each day depending on what your painting or the conditions your painting in so trial and error is a bit of a must there, expect frustration to some degree but also understand that if you over frustrate yourself you only constrict whats possible, relax and have fun with it and don't worry about stuff ups, its just a learning curve we all go through, don't allow yourself to give up, conquer it instead and only those who want to give up do..Those who don't generally will succeed and on your last question...Just have fun with it, learn from every resource you can and expect to have to put in the hrs to get joy back out of it..GL

 

[AndreZA]

Ho long did it take you to be good with pencils? It is not an instant thing. The best part about an airbrush is that is does fades very easy unlike a pencil that take forever to get a smooth blend. SO I would say your obstacles will be control and colour. I know pencil drawing helped me a lot seeing values.

 

[simonarvestrand]

I always ends my painting sessions with dots and strokes , the last paint in the brush when i complete something must
be used sp why not practice som dots and strokes
i'm still a beginner so i need it but i think i will continue doing it even if i get better, everything can always get a little bit better