Exercises for beginner airbrushing

[Deadly Buck]

I'm getting my first airbrush tomorrow! I was wondering what exercises/techniques I should be practicing to become an effective painter. Also what paint jobs should I be starting with?

[JD_mudbug]

Get a sketch pad for practicing. PVC and plastic pipe also works well for practicing on curved surfaces. Practice making dots and circles of varying sizes

Airbrush Asylum has some good tutorial videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inZcoxkuylk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2r9YyaGx3k&list=PLkd3s0ymmV0OKlXI7wEma4Z4ntvXMs9jv&index=1

I would start with paintjobs to replicate whatever your local baitfish look like, craws, and some standard color schemes. We have a lot of gold shiner and yellow perch in my area. I also usually do an all black with red throat, chartreuse black back, and pearl white with blue or smoke back.

[azsouth]

Put the time behind the brush, thinning paint helped me the most in the beginning.

KEEP YOUR BRUSH CLEAN.

[RiverSmallieGuy]

I have been using rattle can spray paint for a long time, and have gotten pretty good with it. I know, it's not an airbrush, but it teaches you to properly stencil and how to utilize angles for effects. It also teaches you how to prevent over spray. I would try to get decent with spray paint before you get crazy with an airbrush. Same techniques apply as with airbrushing, you just have less precision. That's how I would go about it.

 

Braden

[Bentrod425]

Everything JD_mudbug wrote I'll reflect.  

There is a lot of trial and error going on to.  I started with my air pressure to low....I was thinning paints thinking that was the problem, but then they'd run cuz they were to thin....Found that some paints needed thinning and some paints needed higher air pressure.  So, trial and error until you figure out what you like.  I also worked on PVC pipe for practice.