squiggly lines and accuracy.

[Stroked]

OK just wondering if everyone sucked with accuracy and creating nice clean lines in the beginning?
My practice sheets are really nice. But as soon as I try to follow the lines on the eye practice sheet everything falls apart .
Anyway I guess I'm just venting frustration! Back to practice

 

[Tufty]

OK just wondering if everyone sucked with accuracy and creating nice clean lines in the beginning?My practice sheets are really nice. But as soon as I try to follow the lines on the eye practice sheet everything falls apart . Anyway I guess I'm just venting frustration! Back to practice

I find using two hands and moving from the elbows not the wrist works great. I kept getting curves instead of lines .

 

[Lostcommander]

Og yeah i had the same issues when i started out, i have become better with the accuracy, but i still produce shaky lines especially if i havent painted for just a few days.

Keep at it, it will be better.

 

[Stranger375]

Don´t worry Stroked, we all had the same problems when we started airbrushing. It really takes some practice untill your freehand skills get better.
I airbrush for about 8 months now and it still happends that some lines are shaky. Just keep on practicing, that is the only way to improve .

 

[AndreZA]

I use my other hand to stabilise the gun hand and then I also extend my pinky of the stabilising hand against the surface to help with distance.

 

[RebelAir]

I try to follow the lines on the eye practice sheet everything falls apart

try not actually following the lines, follow the basic shape concept instead, try practising say the top eyelid which in reality is just a semi-circle/oval shape on a piece of practice paper, when you do it a few times well, swap immediately to your artwork as the muscle memory will hang around long enough to complete that basic shape..Also try leapfrogging, in other word don't watch the line that your trying to follow, make a mental image of the shape you want to create and then flick your eye straight over to the lines endpoint, you'll be surprised how well this works and how close to the actual shape or line you'll get..GL

 

[EDGECRUSHER]

^What he said

I was always into black ink drawings before started ABing and had developed my 'style'. At first I was very frustrated because all of a sudden my work looked like a preschooler's and my 'style' was now non-existant. I wondered if I had what it took to AB. After some persistence I realized worrying about was making it worse and my work got better when I was having fun 'learning'. Sometimes it's just finally getting past a small hurdle that used to limit your work that makes it so rewarding, I mean anyone can scribble with a sharpie! Granted there was a lot I never showed anyone because I was so embarrassed. And then I started pinstriping..... eek!

 

[EDGECRUSHER]

Oh by the way. Try not to get to technical all at once. Yes a straight line is nice, but rarely occurs in nature anyway. With some experience, when that AB feels like an extension of your arm you'll be pulling straights with ease

 

[Stevie G]

OK just wondering if everyone sucked with accuracy and creating nice clean lines in the beginning?
My practice sheets are really nice. But as soon as I try to follow the lines on the eye practice sheet everything falls apart .
Anyway I guess I'm just venting frustration! Back to practice

I've just tried the eye for a second time and it actually looks like an eye ..... the thing is I wasn't trying to make it the eye of someone who had just done ten rounds with Mike Tyson !
I could improve it by painting a big steak over it :black_eyed:
I'm going to give it ten minutes and try again.....
Keep practising, Stroked.
I'm sure we will both get there in the end :encouragement:

 

[Squishy]

Keep at it guys. You need to try and not think too hard about what you're doing with the brush, and focus on what you're trying to create. I know it's crazy, because when you're learning that's all you do. But all the practicing will help you be able to do all the strokes, start/stop where you want, and with the amount of paint you want without even thinking about how you did it. It will just become second nature, and that allows you to focus on what you want to create. So just relax, don't over think it, keep going, and you'll have it down before you even realised.

 

[Stroked]

Thanks everyone for the motivation.
I can relate to "don't over think this" as sound advice. As a musician starting out, music theory is such a scary thing, but before you know it your brain shuts off and you can pull off the things you've been practicing for so long. Its a weird Zen like moment. But of.course it takes years of strict practice to get there . But if I can do it as a musician than I KNOW I can do it with the AB.

 

[ignis]

I've just tried the eye for a second time and it actually looks like an eye ..... the thing is I wasn't trying to make it the eye of someone who had just done ten rounds with Mike Tyson !
I could improve it by painting a big steak over it :black_eyed:
I'm going to give it ten minutes and try again.....
Keep practising, Stroked.
I'm sure we will both get there in the end :encouragement:

Steve, if you manage to stay in the ring for ten rounds with Tyson, perhaps you should consider doing something else instead of airbrushing, .

@ Stroked. Just move your hand without spraying along a part of the line. Your brain will remember the movement, then spray that part. I always keep a small piece of paper in the left hand (I spray with the right), stabilize the spray on that then spray on the surface. You can do the most complex lines in that way.

 

[Chris g]

As has been said, keep up the practice.

I've kidded myself doing the practice dots and lines and thinking ok I can do that and then found out oops not quite got it !!!

But that is all part of the process of getting better.

Keep it up, and keep your old work as a comparison if you don't believe me, and you will see how you are improving.

It's worth it honest