Airbrushing A Crocodile
This airbrushing demo is all about creating texture, and to show you how to create a fairly detailed and complex image with ease. While you may not have any use for a crocodile in your art, the principles explained in this step by step are applicable any where. Learn the principles and then learn how to use them in your own art. I use both transparent paints and opaque. In this demo I am using water based paints by Createx. You should definitely check out their newest line "Wicked Colors". These paints are the best alternative to urethanes on the market.
You will notice how truly simple I make the process of painting this thing.
The Secret To Realistic Airbrush Art
The secret to realistic painting is to create the image in black and white , or brown and white using opaque paints, then spray over the top with transparent color. Voila! the shadows are all pre painted, and become tinted with the color overlaid to that they look like they are the actual shadows. This is an old technique that the great masters employed.
How To Set The Compressor
Fist off, before you even worry about the air compressor, you need to have the right airbrush. buy one that is made for spraying at really low PSI like the Iwata Custom Micron. Why? Because all airbrushes are not capable of this. But Why is that important? Because less air through the nozzle, means less over spray, and less over spray means more crisp, and precise edges. Not to mention, the ability to slowly, and gradually build up the paint. Study the the steps above to see what I mean. So I set the compressor to about 16 psi for the majority of my work.
For really large areas, I up the PSI because I am going to spray from farther away and need the really fine atomization.
The Right Paint Mixture
The right paint mixture is really important. And again, the quality of your instrument is going to determine how you mix your paint. I paint with really reduced paint when I am spraying transparent colors. The only way to do this is to spray at low psi, say16-20 psi. Typically I reduce my paint by about 75%. I use old film roll canisters to mix the paints in. Oh and don't forget to strain the paint into the fluid cup, or jar.
When mixing the paint, always add your darker colors to your lighter colors. Otherwise you will just waste a lot of paint. For example, if I want to make green, then I start with yellow which has less tinting power, and I add little bits of blue that will quickly over power the yellow. If I did it the other way around I would use way more yellow trying to tint the blue.
Simplified Masking?
You can see that I use fine line blue tape. This stuff is for laying out flames and tribals, but I use it for all kinds of masking applications. You will notice that I don't keep the masking on the whole time. I am always anxious to get away from masking, because it can lead to a hard edged, unrealistic image.
After the initial masking, use a hand held shield in selective places instead of leaving the whole thing masked off. More on Masking and Materials
A Little Color Theory
Notice, I had to experiment with the greens until I got them right. My color theory is really simple; red yellow and blue. That's it. Learn to mix your primary colors to create any color you need. Just remember that there are cool reds and warm reds, cool blues and warm blues etc. So why does that matter? because unless you have right combination of cool and warm or warm and warm etc. you won't be able to mix certain colors. For instance, just try and mix a teal with a warm blue like ultramarine and a cool yellow. You'll be mixing forever!
If you have any questions about this demo, or color mixing feel free to drop me a line.
