Total newbie from Worcestershire UK

Simonthomas13

Young Tutorling
Hi all,

Simon here from Worcester UK.

Been wanting to try my hand at airbrushing for as long as I can remember and have now finally decided to pull the trigger! (could that possibly be 2 puns!?)

I went with the Neo/Iwata airbrush and a compressor recommended by a few helpful people on the Airbrush UK Facebook page, that has the 3l tank, water trap and adjustable pressure gauge.

I don't have a particular end goal in sight, as I would like to do a mixture of general artwork (maybe on canvases, metal - I've heard a good old baking tray is good to practise on?, and eventually do some RC Bodies at some point)

I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out what paints would be best for me to start with. I like the idea of the opaques, as from what I've researched so far I understand they're a bit more forgiving as they will only really go as dark as the pigment itself, so a bright red would only go bright red even if overworked, but then I'm not sure if I'd prefer the layering approach of the transparent paints for texture and depth.

If anyone has any input on paints for a total beginner it would be hugely appreciated! (please also correct me on the above if I've totally got that wrong!)

Looking forward to spending more time trawling through the forum trying to soak up the plethora of information here!


Thanks
 
Welcome aboard! Glad to have you here.

Everyone around these parts is super friendly and there is a lot of knowledge here.

A Neo is a good place to start. It's affordable, and will do pretty much anything a beginner will put it through. There are more advanced brushes, but until you have a solid foundation, and have developed the hand for it, and know what you want out of an airbrush, it is best to put off dropping much more money.

For paints... you probably want something available locally and brands differ location to location. I'd also get something that sprays right out of the bottle. A lot of professional paints as sold are meant to be reduced, and paint reduction is a bit of a black art, and can be frustrating when starting out. There are a whole mess of additives, reducers, and binders that can be confusing at first.

So, to keep it simple and get you up and running quickly, I'd recommend something like Golden High Flow. Looks like you're in the UK, so Hobby Craft, and Michaels carry them and you should have no problem finding them.

Once you get a feel for them, you might want to look at other airbrush specific brands like etac, aerocolor and the like. No thinning required. If you want to start dabbling in higher pigment load paints you reduce (thin) before use, I'd recommend Createx Illustration color. It can be sprayed out of the bottle, but benefits from adding a bit of reducer to loosen the paint up so to speak.

As you grow, experiment with different paint brands. You'll find something that 'clicks' for you. What works great for one person, doesn't always work well for another person. We each have our own preferred feel and spray style. So try a few different brands as you go along, and see what feels right.

As suggested above, I think Golden High Flow is probably the easiest place to start for a beginner due to how easy it is to just pick up a gun and go right out of the bottle. They have transparent paints as well as opaque. I'd probably start with opaques too, but the nice thing about golden is that even the transparent paints are so heavily pigmented that just adding a drop of white will turn them into respectable opaques.

Good luck and glad to have you on board!
 
Hi all,

Simon here from Worcester UK.

Been wanting to try my hand at airbrushing for as long as I can remember and have now finally decided to pull the trigger! (could that possibly be 2 puns!?)

I went with the Neo/Iwata airbrush and a compressor recommended by a few helpful people on the Airbrush UK Facebook page, that has the 3l tank, water trap and adjustable pressure gauge.

I don't have a particular end goal in sight, as I would like to do a mixture of general artwork (maybe on canvases, metal - I've heard a good old baking tray is good to practise on?, and eventually do some RC Bodies at some point)

I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out what paints would be best for me to start with. I like the idea of the opaques, as from what I've researched so far I understand they're a bit more forgiving as they will only really go as dark as the pigment itself, so a bright red would only go bright red even if overworked, but then I'm not sure if I'd prefer the layering approach of the transparent paints for texture and depth.

If anyone has any input on paints for a total beginner it would be hugely appreciated! (please also correct me on the above if I've totally got that wrong!)

Looking forward to spending more time trawling through the forum trying to soak up the plethora of information here!


Thanks
Hey Dude, I’m the other Simon on the U.K. forum who pointed you here. Glad you chose to sign up.
Nice job going with the Neo, like I said it’s a great affordable choice and so much better than the average “beginner” set. As far as paints go, Comart is often recommended for beginners as it is pretty useable out of the bottle, so it saves some of the headache of learning to thin paint to get it through the brush. Trust me, there’s enough to be worrying about without adding to it lol.
You can get it at www.airbrushes.com. There are other places, but they’re people I have experience dealing with.
As mentioned, Golden Highflow is another solid choice. I haven’t used that myself, but others here will chime in that have.
Welcome!


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Another UK person, welcome!

I'm only a beginner so won't give advice but I started out with the aim of painting cars and bikes, I figured I may as well begin with the sort of materials I'd use in the end so I use Createx Wicked paints and mainly paint on steel offcuts. I'm sort of impatient and don't like the idea of practice pieces. I'd always paint on something I would be happy to keep if it turned out good or could re-use if it didn't. Just my thoughts anyhow - I suspect better ideas are available! :D:D
 
Welcome from Australia Simon, glad to have you come aboard for the fun and mayhem... and you thought you'd joined a sensible airbrush forum ! Wow, are you in for a shock lol
 
Welcome from Australia Simon, glad to have you come aboard for the fun and mayhem... and you thought you'd joined a sensible airbrush forum ! Wow, are you in for a shock lol
Lol, I definitely conscripted the poor guy from another forum. Although I don’t think I ever promised “sensible”.


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