what does airbrushing give me over traditional painting ?

rob12770

Young Tutorling
hi guys,
i have only had an airbrush 2 days but after looking through loads of videos and posts etc, im really struggling to see why I would use one,
i have been painting with acrylics (not airbrushing) for about 7 months with regular brushes and and its very rewarding, I get good results for the time I've put in, I dont know if many of you come from a traditional brush and pallet painting background so you may not be Able to answer but I cannot see what airbrushing gives me over traditional painting

one thing I i've noticed about airbrushing is that much of the artwork is pretty bad...by that I mean daft skulls, flames, and fantasy figures , and rakes of paintings of batmans joker and loads of other cheezy gothic stuff, dont get me wrong i've seen good stuff to, but not really hands , limb s etc only faces, I also notice the good airbrushing seems to be on a very large scale,
i also notice that many portrait airbrushings come out looking like plastic mannequins.

with traditional painting, there is a vast array of styles, from expressionism to hyperrealism, thats a style even more realistic than a photo..google it.. I dont see the same variety in airbrushing.

I have also seen that the colour changing and blending with airbrushing is really messy and time consuming and ineffective, and with the added headace of tip dry, not good :(

I guess the point im making is, why airbrush ? I dont get same feeling as I do when holding a paintbrush or a pencil..

this post Is not intended to offend people, its a genuine question, maybe you felt like this at one point ?
cheers rob
 
M8, nobody will be offended....I think LOL..I also come from an oil/watercolor and acrylic traditional paint background..There really is only one glaring difference..the tool we use. :) Art is art, no matter what you may want your art to be, as long as you get there it doesn't really matter how..Now with the difference between traditional and airbrushing really only comes down to one main point, brush marks..Brush marks themselves can also be all about the artists expression so in essence many like to see art with such expression involved, airbrushing takes away those brushmarks and allows for easier blending and fades..Now if you look at the best hyper-realism in traditional art and look at the best in airbrushing, you will probably see that both look very similar, look closer though and you'll see one is disticntly a painting and one is bordering a photographic representation..I wouldn't dare say one is better than the other as it really does depend on the artists desires...But to say the airbrush is ineffective with color changing, blending etc is the only thing I would disagree with, in fact it is actually much easier for those who have learnt the skills involved in creating such, but as with any tool there is a learning curve involved and I tend to find with good support that learning curve is actually easier with the airbrush, but opinions on that may differ..

Now when it comes to various styles of art, I'm sure the longer you look the more and more airbrushed artworks you'll see across many genres. Google I often find confuses airbrushing with photoshopping so sometimes they can be harder to find..getting around on Facebook, twitter and Youtube you will see a lot more variation in there than what you may believe..But it is a valid point and a fair question to ask..Ultimately it comes down to one thing- Its just art and how you decide to create such is just the tool to push forward that love of art..

BTW it does seem strange to mention that for most parts airbrushing artworks are pretty bad and then go on to say that many who do it do a good job? There are many around that do little skull work, flames etc and are more into fine art and portraits and such (but many beginners want to start out with easier references such as those), I also find it a bit hard to believe that acrylic or oil can even come close to matching the airbrush for hyper-realism (just a personal opinion) You have to remember that the pictures your probably viewing are indeed photographs of an artwork, taken from a larger viewing distance..View such in real life and brush marks, islands of color etc all become much more apparent..Less so with an airbrush in some peeps hands..

But again m8, I think if you get out there and see whats being done it may surprise you..
 
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hi guys,
i have only had an airbrush 2 days but after looking through loads of videos and posts etc, im really struggling to see why I would use one,
i have been painting with acrylics (not airbrushing) for about 7 months with regular brushes and and its very rewarding, I get good results for the time I've put in, I dont know if many of you come from a traditional brush and pallet painting background so you may not be Able to answer but I cannot see what airbrushing gives me over traditional painting

one thing I i've noticed about airbrushing is that much of the artwork is pretty bad...by that I mean daft skulls, flames, and fantasy figures , and rakes of paintings of batmans joker and loads of other cheezy gothic stuff, dont get me wrong i've seen good stuff to, but not really hands , limb s etc only faces, I also notice the good airbrushing seems to be on a very large scale,
i also notice that many portrait airbrushings come out looking like plastic mannequins.

with traditional painting, there is a vast array of styles, from expressionism to hyperrealism, thats a style even more realistic than a photo..google it.. I dont see the same variety in airbrushing.

I have also seen that the colour changing and blending with airbrushing is really messy and time consuming and ineffective, and with the added headace of tip dry, not good :(

I guess the point im making is, why airbrush ? I dont get same feeling as I do when holding a paintbrush or a pencil..

this post Is not intended to offend people, its a genuine question, maybe you felt like this at one point ?
cheers rob

Interesting /brave post Rob….lol,
I’ve been painting a little over two years and love the airbrush, I haven’t got an art back ground but all the same I love painting and if it stands still for long enough I will paint it…lol
Lately I have been using a mix technique for fur on my animal portraits with brush and airbrush and have really in joyed it.
This is an airbrush forum so 90% of art work on here will bea done with an airbrush and as you look at the work posted here you will see different leaves of skill but we all have to start somewhere, you can almost paint on any surface with one and I believe some of the top painting restorers use them,
An airbrush comes into to his own when painting on a very smooth surface like metal panel, cars etc., and in the right hands will all ways out preform a brush for this type of work, I like painting on a smooth Bristol boards and sometimes on canvas but like I said you can paint on anything……
I sure someone will give you a more in depth answer,
It would be nice to see some of your Airbrush and brush work posted up and maybe you could give some tip on the brush technique etc.

Tony
 
Hi Rob,

I came to airbrushing about 6 months ago with no background in art other than a few pencil sketches that I did years ago. My interest was stoked up because I make guitars and ride bikes ... both often seen customised with airbrushing. I saw these customisations and thought I would like to be able to do that! I'm a long way off being able to do that yet and I dont know if I will ever finish that journey but I'm hoping that practice, practice, practice will instill talent.

Quite a lot of people on this forum are probably the same as me or were when they started. We have artistic naturals who just needed to master techniques and people who may not have the natural artistic ability but try to make up with lots of hard work and practice.

So why didnt I pick canvas and oils as a way into art ... Well I still actually fancy doing that as well. I have all the oils and a few blank canvas's lying around but at the moment it does not suit my purposes as I eventually want to be in a position to do motorcycle/guitar customisations.

Now the technical stuff ...

Airbrushing, in my own opinion, is a method of painting that has the following advanges over brush:

You can graduate tones or blend clours more seemlessly than with a brush (leads to more realistic shadowing and highlights etc).
It only puts down a thin layer of paint (Ideal on a motorcycle tank where you dont want your work to stand proud of the substrate!) which can easily be buried in a clearcoat for a super smooth finish.
Quicker! (remember, if you are doing this for money i.e. vehicle customisations time is money!)
Lends itself well to stencilling techniques that also have the advantage of speed up the work process.

I am sure the guys on here can reel off a 100 other things that I havent even thought about!

Hope this helps

Andy
 
Everything you said Rob, I totally understand, I've been struggling with the air brush for about year now and all the points you make struck me too as curious, at first I tried to do everything free hand which I can with some success, but as you say a certain untidiness remains on the finished article, but I have discovered that by combining traditional brushing with the airbrush amazing results can be achieved.

If you are already familiar with a hairy brush and you can get satisfactory results then maybe you don't need the airbrush at all, but in my case I now find that the airbrush is ideal far adding shadows, blending and doing large areas, last year I came across and artist called Jurek and his system of painting animals inspire me and I immediately tried to incorporate his technique into my own work, I am still learning but I do notice some progress.

I would say checkout Jurek's works and you will probably discover how the airbrush can be an essential part of your tool kit along side your traditional brushes, if you already have the skills, there probably was no need to change or switch to airbrush, but as I said combining the two could be of some benefit.

I will not be entering the competition since my own method of work is forbidden, but my own method suits my level of patience and I will continue to try to improve on it, I have no desire to waste time and expensive paints on a project that I know will be a failure from the start simply because of restrictions, my own method has already got me 3 paid jobs in the last month, which isn't bad considering it was just a hobby, but I do know this would not have happened without the combination of both mediums.
 
hi guys, im glad you haven't taken offence,
the comment ahout airbrushing outperforming a paintbrush im afraid is untrue, and as for blending I was referring to colour mixing, making colour shades,
talla hit the nail on the head as regards to style if art, he reffers to motorcycles and guitars, and although not exclusively, there is a strong leaning towards this style of art in the airbrush community,
it was mentioned about brushstrokes, being always visible on trad painting, speaking personally, you cannot see any in my work, and shading and blending with a brush, is to my mind far more controllable with a paintbrush as you are not rushed by the airflow of a gun..i am in fact, a time served spray painter, although it was many years ago, so I appreciate the skill involved in airbrushing.

while practicing with the airbrush, I made a mistake and my immediate reaction was to grab some kitchen roll to wipe it off.. but it was dry as soon as it hit the paper. ..I dont like that aspect..its not very forgiving, and i think if you wanted to change something, it would be nigh impossible
whatever I choose to do, I is appreciated that this forum has been welcoming, and friendly and everyone eager to help, so thanks for that !
Rob :)
 
Have been using hairy brushes for years rob12770 with I feel pretty good results. I bought an airbrush for specific reasons. The main one being, effects you simply cannot get with a hairy brush, simple. I do landscapes in acrylic and have never been %100 with some of my skies and clouds. With an airbrush the possibilities seem huge, with slight soft gradations, that can make those skies feel real. In the interim, am having so much fun with the tool that brings about tons more ideas and directions. The airbrush is a major cool tool, with lots of practice the sky is the limit. But by golly it is a fussy thing to deal with...
 
hi guys,
i have only had a paintbrush 2 days but after looking through loads of videos and posts etc, im really struggling to see why I would use one,
i have been painting with an airbrush for about 7 months and its very rewarding, I get good results for the time I've put in, I dont know if many of you come from a traditional brush and pallet painting background so you may not be Able to answer but I cannot see what traditional painting with a brush gives me over airbrushing?

one thing I i've noticed about traditional painting is that much of the artwork is pretty bad...by that I mean daft landscapes, sunsets, and fruit bowls , and paintings of historical figures and loads of other cheezy religious stuff, dont get me wrong i've seen good stuff to, but not really any flames , skulls etc only faces and landscapes. I also notice the good traditional painting seems to be on a very large scale,
i also notice that many portrait paintings come out looking like they have a skin disease.

with Airbrushing, there is a vast array of styles, from fantasy to hyperrealism, thats a style even more realistic than a photo..google it.. I dont see the same variety in traditional painting.

I have also seen that the colour changing and blending with traditional painting is really messy and time consuming and ineffective, and with the added headace of messy pallets and dirty brushes, not good :(

I guess the point im making is, why traditional paint ? I dont get same feeling as I do when holding a nice shiny airbrush..

this post Is not intended to offend people, its a genuine question, maybe you felt like this at one point ?
cheers rob


PS: I'm just taking the piss. But art is art, and all opinions are valid but at the same time kind of irrelevant.
Create the way that makes you happy :)
 
how very constructive. .but I would be a bit miffed if I were you, I can take it :)

there was no way of saying what I thought without being slightly insulating to airbrush artists. .
 
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ok, to let you see what im getting at regarding the type of "art" I see in airbrushing, do a simple Google image search on "airbrush art:
its all skulls and fantasy.. im not into thats stuff at all
i see this as illustration more than art thats all im saying.
rob
 
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Rob, I understand where you're coming from. I do not have a lot of background in the arts. I did do watercolor for a bit a long time ago. as you have realized, the main advantage of airbrush is the substrate. you can paint on anything with basically optimal results. Textiles, leather, motorcyle, cars, trucks, rubber, wood, plastic or glass, if you see what i mean.

it is also very cheap if you're just in it for the fun of it. after getting yourself setup with a dependable brush, a 2oz black paint could last you 'forever'.

bottom line is, it is a tool much like your array of hairy brush and tubes of paint. it is a tool to express oneself and as it is, the possibilities are LIMITLESS. but as like with any other tool, it takes time to be comfortable with it.

I for one have not limit myself to skulls and fantasy. I am always thinking of how I can use this tool to achieve the look I am hoping for. it is a very useful and fun tool to have.
 
I use the airbrush because I suck with a hairy brush, and I believe you can achieve so much more with an airbrush, techniques and effects. But it's what fits me, and I understand that each is different.
I believe though, that most of your google searches are padded with decent art from everyday joes like myself and most of us on here. Every time we post something on here it will go into that type of search results and the top dogs of this industry don't. There are some names you need to check out before this statement, such a Dru Blair, Alberto, Marissa, Noah and so on. Also check out Steve Leahy and see how easy the little hairy brush could stand up with his airbrushed razor blades, lol!!
I think there are vast advantages to the airbrush but that's just me. Not to say that it takes a long time to master and I'm still trying :)
I understand everything you said and agree with some, but the fact that this type I art was, is an always will be automotive custom paint driven, and people don't take the airbrush as a serious "fine art" competitor. :(

Good topic!!


Josh
 
hi guys, im glad you haven't taken offence,
the comment ahout airbrushing outperforming a paintbrush im afraid is untrue, and as for blending I was referring to colour mixing, making colour shades,
talla hit the nail on the head as regards to style if art, he reffers to motorcycles and guitars, and although not exclusively, there is a strong leaning towards this style of art in the airbrush community,
it was mentioned about brushstrokes, being always visible on trad painting, speaking personally, you cannot see any in my work, and shading and blending with a brush, is to my mind far more controllable with a paintbrush as you are not rushed by the airflow of a gun..i am in fact, a time served spray painter, although it was many years ago, so I appreciate the skill involved in airbrushing.

while practicing with the airbrush, I made a mistake and my immediate reaction was to grab some kitchen roll to wipe it off.. but it was dry as soon as it hit the paper. ..I dont like that aspect..its not very forgiving, and i think if you wanted to change something, it would be nigh impossible
whatever I choose to do, I is appreciated that this forum has been welcoming, and friendly and everyone eager to help, so thanks for that !
Rob :)

Rob,
Shading and blending is far more controllable on something you have done for 7 months than something you have been doing two days?
I find blending easier with an airbrush, are you trying to mix opaque colors to match in the cup before spraying, or are you laying the base coat and toning and shifting the colors with transparent paints. I'd agree with you, if using opaques only, but using transparent paints properly is a whole different ball game. Have you tried an electric eraser instead of a rag? Its just different techniques to achieve what you are looking for. Keep practicing and learning, maybe it will suit you, maybe not.
 
Hi Rob,

I think its all about each of us, individually, and preferences and choices.

I can draw technical stuff, I did art at school, and can draw and paint, but find copying reference images easier than freehanding pictures. I am enjoying the challenge of the 'airbrush' and have been doing all sorts of images. No doubt some images work better with each medium.

Can you post a couple of your Traditional brushed images so we can see what type of art you do?
 
Some artist like Lorenzo Sperlonga uses both traditional and airbrush. An airbrush is a tool just like a paint brush is.But as you have said you only have 7 months with traditional brush vs 7 years of it. 2 days of airbrush you have yet to have enough time to learn the basics ,Dots, Dagger strokes , fades and blends. Color layering is a little different. But it is mainly your choice of which tool fits your goals.
Nothing wrong with either traditional or airbrush or both. It is something you will have to try and see which gives you the effect you are looking for and also depends on what type of material you plan on working on.
 
rob, have a quick google of these names or their art.....alberto ponno, marissa oosterlee, dru blair, kali haun...... once we have our skulls and flames and all that other stuff down some of us hope to progress towards this level of realism ( not all of us but certainly some) bearing in mind most of their artwork is done on A3 or A2 sized canvas..... i dont care how small your brush strokes are there isnt a person alive that could pull of that realism on that size with a hairy brush.....

example in question.......... here marissa demonstrates a bit of her new system...... the painting took her around 5 hours to complete START to FINISH check it out here Marissa Oosterlee Airbrush Portrait - YouTube

i would sell my soul to be this good but it at least shows you what is possible, why WE do it obsessively and what you could hope to get from practice....
 
Tbh id be far more keen to persevere with the airbrush if it wasn't for this dry tip crap..I just had another go, its doing my head in ..
 
rob, have a quick google of these names or their art.....alberto ponno, marissa oosterlee, dru blair, kali haun...... once we have our skulls and flames and all that other stuff down some of us hope to progress towards this level of realism ( not all of us but certainly some) bearing in mind most of their artwork is done on A3 or A2 sized canvas..... i dont care how small your brush strokes are there isnt a person alive that could pull of that realism on that size with a hairy brush.....

example in question.......... here marissa demonstrates a bit of her new system...... the painting took her around 5 hours to complete START to FINISH check it out here Marissa Oosterlee Airbrush Portrait - YouTube

i would sell my soul to be this good but it at least shows you what is possible, why WE do it obsessively and what you could hope to get from practice....

Might be an idea to check this guy out, he works only with paint brushes.

The Artist | Robin Eley

This done entirely with hairy paint brushes.
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Tbh id be far more keen to persevere with the airbrush if it wasn't for this dry tip crap..I just had another go, its doing my head in ..

Use some transparent medium in your mix and add a drop of glycerine per 150 ml mix, I use Golden transparent medium without glycerine and have little or no tip dry, what I do get seems to depend on the colour I'm using and seems to more frequent with white.
 
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