Starting the line frustrations

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Pastello27

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Double post alert... Anyways, I feel pretty confident in my lines up to this point, they've made some serious strides in the last few months. The only problem? > Starting them is always a bitch. I'm taking a few attempts at facial features lately and once the line is "in flow" it comes out great, but getting the darn thing started sometimes makes me want to puke. This isn't so much with thicker lines as there is obviously alot more room for error. But it happens frequently with very thin fine lines like eyebrows, teeth, etc... Sometimes I feel like I know EXACTLY where the ideal flow point is to start the line, I push down for air, pull down for paint and here's usually what goes through my head: "Here it comes... yep real soon, little farther back on the trigger, come on paint I know your coming! damn not yet? little farther still?... almost, almost!.." = [BIG SLOPPY BLOB] followed by adequate line.

So in essence, the root of my problem is it always SEEMS that there is something funky going on with my paint to make it shoot out too at different points. Sounds like it too thick right? Well, the fix of this has not worked well either... Spidering central each time I try am trying to do the same exercise with thinner paint while up real close (with very low psi also). I use acrylics, right now createx which I am aware is not the Cadillac of airbrush paints but then again, the most common brand. Anyone have any further tips? I feel like I need to go back to paint thinning 101 because it seems like that is more of my problem than control at this point.
 
Double post alert... Anyways, I feel pretty confident in my lines up to this point, they've made some serious strides in the last few months. The only problem? > Starting them is always a bitch. I'm taking a few attempts at facial features lately and once the line is "in flow" it comes out great, but getting the darn thing started sometimes makes me want to puke. This isn't so much with thicker lines as there is obviously alot more room for error. But it happens frequently with very thin fine lines like eyebrows, teeth, etc... Sometimes I feel like I know EXACTLY where the ideal flow point is to start the line, I push down for air, pull down for paint and here's usually what goes through my head: "Here it comes... yep real soon, little farther back on the trigger, come on paint I know your coming! damn not yet? little farther still?... almost, almost!.." = [BIG SLOPPY BLOB] followed by adequate line.

So in essence, the root of my problem is it always SEEMS that there is something funky going on with my paint to make it shoot out too at different points. Sounds like it too thick right? Well, the fix of this has not worked well either... Spidering central each time I try am trying to do the same exercise with thinner paint while up real close (with very low psi also). I use acrylics, right now createx which I am aware is not the Cadillac of airbrush paints but then again, the most common brand. Anyone have any further tips? I feel like I need to go back to paint thinning 101 because it seems like that is more of my problem than control at this point.

Try airbrushing with normal fountain pen ink. I have found it best to practice. later experiment with the paints once you have achieved good results with ink.

Airbrushing is like motorcycling. Look towards where you want to be, not where you are:encouragement:
 
i agree with sarampudijagadeesh,try to work with a medium that is not to thick,ink for example, because it is usefull for for getting conclusions,by experimenting and so on.and it prepares you for the future.in this stage you can try many forms of thinning the ink,other forms of working,variations on pressure,variations of distances etc.experiment is the word!!!and by the way is cheaper.
 
My rule of thumb for fine detail is by starting with about a 10 to 1 ratio of reducer to paint(sometimes more). I lower my PSI to about 8-10psi and keep adding reducer until I get no skipping or late starts.
Another important rule for doing detail work with water based paints...when I plan on doing an ultra fine line, I pick the paint off my tip, turn up the PSI on my MAC/PAC valve, then blast some paint just to make sure the nozzle is clear. I then turn my PSI down, paint a test line on another sheet of paper, then paint on the painting. To me, its better to waste a little paint than have a bad line on your finished piece. :)
 
i´ve been experimenting with thinning and pressure,the other day i tried my guns with relations as 25 to 1 and pressures as low as 5 psi,looking for the best results.thanks jagardn for the tip!!!
 
i find it usefull to know that for the signal to go tru your brain and start painting at a specific spot it takes a few miliseconds it may seem like very litle but if you move 1inch/per second let say it takes 10ms to start that translate to .01 inch also you need to take into account the angle of the airbrush spray that may "lag " your spray if you dont hold it perpendicular... ( witch i noticed i almost systematically do :-( )

also paint may not be flowiing correctly ... i think AB actioning should become like car driving you should be able to do it even while daydreaming... or being distracted ...
 
It may be your paint mixture but just a couple of things to think about ; Are you moving your hand before you pull back for paint? If you are already moving there is less chance of a blob at the start of the line, also you might consider adjusting your trigger so that paint comes quicker and you aren't waiting, and making sure it is well lubed so that it pulls back smoothly and more controllably, also have a practice sheet next to your work and just practice the lines you want until you feel comfortable to do it on your work. And lastly easier said than done, but try not to over think it and relax, it's harder to be precise if you are tensed up.
 
AW: Starting the line frustrations

What helps me personally a lot is the fact that in my oppinion there just are "BAD" days, where I can't seem to get anything right. I help myself with stoping early and start over the next day with new motivation and usually more success. :)
I just thought to add this point here because I tend to think like you from time to time and the lin3-practice-sheet beside my project does look awful those days.

.... thank god I am no professional, hehe.

Greetings, René.

Gesendet von meinem GT-N7100 mit Tapatalk 2
 
Oh man, this is pretty much what I'm going through... I feel your pain my friend.
 
What helps me personally a lot is the fact that in my oppinion there just are "BAD" days, where I can't seem to get anything right. I help myself with stoping early and start over the next day with new motivation and usually more success. :)
I just thought to add this point here because I tend to think like you from time to time and the lin3-practice-sheet beside my project does look awful those days.

.... thank god I am no professional, hehe.

Greetings, René.

Gesendet von meinem GT-N7100 mit Tapatalk 2
Ha ha! I recently had a bad week LOL!!!! Wondered if I need to get an exorcist to cleanse my airbrush. Well it couldn't have been my fault could it ...???? Lol!
 
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