Welcome to our third entry of Paint Like a Pro, a series in which our studio painters, Thomas and Steffen, share their top tips on various subjects related to miniature painting with you!
Last time we checked out the basics about brushes with Thomas, and before that we had a list of essential beginner must-haves from Steffen. Now that we’ve covered some of the basics, we’ve decided to broach a topic that can be a bit intimidating to parts of the painting community out there – airbrushing.
Whilst airbrushing is a common technique in today’s painting world, it can still present several obstacles, some of which are physical and some mental. Learning a whole new way of painting and stepping outside of your comfort zone is understandably an intimidating prospect. Not to mention the new gear, terminology, and techniques you’ll need to learn.
However, do not fear! We’re here to help you ease into this brave new world with Steffen’s top 10 tips for getting started with airbrushing.
Getting Started with Airbrushing
Tip 1: Picking The Right Airbrush
Airbrushing can seem intimidating to start, especially compared to traditional brush painting. What equipment do I need, which airbrush is the best, how expensive is it, and am I even capable of using it correctly? The list goes on. It’s important to note that as with everything else in life, you won’t be able to master airbrushing immediately, and there will inevitably be some struggles along the way, but with practice, anyone can learn how to airbrush.
As with any tool, price and quality are inevitably linked, tool quality and skill however are not. Many manufacturers make different-priced airbrushes, usually a low, medium and high-budget version. I would recommend staying in the medium/high-price class for the best experience, but there are options for every budget. Just know you’ll likely want to upgrade as your skills progress if you start with a lower-budget one.
When looking for an airbrush, regardless of cost or brand, there are a few features I always value over others. Dual-action airbrushes allow you to control both the air and paint flow separately from each other, giving you even more control. While this won’t matter much when you’re just throwing down basecoats, once you start progressing to more advanced techniques it will be invaluable.
I always prefer a gravity-fed airbrush, aka when the paint cup is on the top of the brush, over a siphon-fed airbrush, when the paint repository is on the bottom. Also, I try and find one with a larger paint cup, as it helps prevent spills, even if you’re not filling the entire thing.
Lastly, you’ll want to consider the needle and nozzle size. I recommend choosing between a 0.3 and 0.4 mm needle and nozzle, as this is by far the more useful for all-around work. If you eventually want to try your hand with a smaller nozzle size, don’t go smaller than 0.2 mm, as there is very little to gain from a nozzle smaller than that and it gets a lot harder to use as it will clog much easier.
Tip 2: What Other Supplies Do You Need?
The most important thing you need is an air supply. Even though there are several ways to supply air pressure for your airbrush, I always recommend a compressor made specifically for the task. These compressors are designed to be compact, silent and oil-free, so you can use them inside without any trouble. The key features you need in a compressor are a pressure gauge to adjust the pressure, at least one moisture trap to ensure dry air, and a tank to maintain pressure so it doesn’t have to run constantly and can maintain steady pressure. These three criteria will ensure the best conditions for airbrushing, and a good quality compressor will last you for decades. (mine is 15+ years old and still going strong!)
We’ve covered the bare essentials, so let’s talk about our work area and what we need to get painting. Just like with brush painting, you need good seating, a suitable table, and good lighting. You also need plenty of paper towels, water, and a container to dump excess paint and cleaner into. Airbrushing is messy, and it is highly recommended to use some sort of ventilation to catch the atomized paint that does not hit the model when you spray. There are several ready-to-use airbrush cabinets available, and a lot of them are designed to be foldable so they can be stored away when not in use. You will also need Airbrush Cleaner and thinner, such as our Airbrush Medium.
Lastly, you will want disposable gloves, cotton swabs and old brushes for mixing and cleaning, a squirt bottle for rinsing between colours, and if you are sensitive to dust, a mask is also a good safety measure. Our paints are non-toxic and safe to airbrush, but you should generally avoid breathing in any kind of particles if possible.
Tip 3: How To Use Your New Airbrush
Now we are ready to get started and there are a few things that you need to have in mind when operating an airbrush. The most important step to achieving good results is to start with pure air first, then slowly pull the trigger back to let the paint flow. This ensures a smooth atomization and prevents paint spatter.
Routinely check and empty your moisture trap on your compressor too, as moisture from the air will condense and eventually shoot out of the hose onto your model and ruin your work if you don’t.
Tip 4: The Art of Priming
Our Warpaints Air range is made up of water-based acrylics, and we recommend using a primer just as you would when brush painting. Our Warpaints Air Primers are specifically formulated for use in an airbrush and do not need to be thinned. Apply the primer in thin, even coats. As soon as the primer is dry you can paint over it but note that they will need 24 hours of curing to reach their full durability.
I almost always use a black and white zenithal prime. This is very easy to do with an airbrush and is a great way of underpainting to add pre-shading to a layer of colour, or just to give an idea of where to paint the shadows. I start with Warpaints Air Matt Black Primer, and with a diluted Warpaints Air Matt White, I spray a fine layer from above slowly building up a grey-to-white gradient. This is also a great base for pushing the contrast on your models when using Speedpaint.
If you want a more neutral primer, I recommend using Warpaints Air Matt Grey Primer, and if you really want to push the brightness on your colour, Warpaints Air Matt White Primer will be a great choice. For a dark colour, you can use the Warpaints Air Matt Black Primer on its own.
Tip 5: Properly Thinning Your Paints
The question most often asked about airbrushing is - what’s the recommended thinning ratio for this and that paint?
The answer is that there is no set ratio! Instead, it all depends on a multitude of things. The general rule of thumb is to aim for the consistency of skimmed milk, which will in most cases give the best results. Any paint can be airbrushed if thinned properly, and the Warpaints Fanatic line is no exception. It airbrushes beautifully when thinned with the Airbrush Medium. A little tip - always add thinner in the airbrush cup before adding the paint, as this prevents the thicker paint from clogging the nozzle before being thinned.
The Warpaints Air series is pre-thinned and designed to work directly from the bottle at around 30 psi air pressure on your compressor. However, humidity and temperature can affect how well paint sprays, so adjustments to air pressure and/or further thinning may be needed. The Airbrush Medium also contains a small amount of retarder, which can help prevent paint from drying on the needle and clogging the nozzle. And yes, you can thin our Warpaints Air, Fanatic, and Speedpaint with clean tap water, but it will change the properties of the paints and add surface tension which can make the paint pearl up, so I always recommend using our Airbrush Medium instead.
Tip 6: Starting Your Warpaints Air Collection
If you are completely new to airbrushing and want to gain some experience the Warpaints Air Starter Set lets you try out all the basic colours and even comes with our Warpaints Air Matt Grey Primer. This set is great because some of the colours included have colour matches in the Warpaints Fanatic range, so you can easily carry on with brush painting after priming and base coating with the airbrush. If you want to really explore the potential of our airbrush range the Warpaints Air Mega Set comes with an assortment of the air triads, offering an easy base, mid-tone, and highlight colour straight from the bottle. This is an invaluable tool when airbrushing armies and maintaining consistency from model to model. If you’re all in on airbrushing, you could go with the complete set and simply not worry about missing a colour or triad for your next project.
Tip 7: Speedpaint? At This Time of Year, At This Time of Day, In This Part of the Country, Localized Entirely Through Your Airbrush?
Can you use Speedpaint in an airbrush? Yes, you can! They do, however, work a little differently this way, and you won’t get the traditional Speedpainted look. Instead, they work more like a tint and can be used over metallics to get all kinds of cool colours. They are also great for adding colourful shadows or increasing saturation on other colours. Since they are designed with an accelerated drying agent it is a good idea to use a bit of the Warpaints Fanatic Retarder to help the Speedpaint flow better and stop it from drying on the needle. You can also add Airbrush Medium to decrease the intensity of the colour.
Tip 8: Protecting Your Models with Varnish
The Warpaints Air Varnishes are a great way to control the shine on a model and to add protection for daily handling. There are a few things to note, however. First off, the durability will naturally decrease if you thin the varnish as it changes the properties, and you also get an overall thinner layer on the model. So, if you thin them, you might want to add more layers.
Varnish can be tricky to airbrush to get the shine you want. A general rule of thumb is to apply it wet. This means that unlike applying paint, where you gradually build up thin layers that dry almost instantly, you instead need to spray enough varnish to leave a uniform, wet layer on the model. This is especially important with Warpaints Air Gloss Varnish, as applying thin layers that dry fast will result in a slightly textured surface that will look more satin or even matt. It takes a little practice, but the results of a properly applied airbrush varnish speak for themselves.
Tip 9: Troubleshooting Your Airbrush Problems
The most common problem you will encounter while airbrushing is clogging. This happens for several reasons, such as dried paint falling into the cup or a buildup of paint on the needle and nozzle. If you have problems with clogging at the tip, adding a drop of Warpaints Fanatic Retarder to the paint will often help. If you have dried paint in the cup, it usually takes a more thorough cleaning to resolve.
Another common problem is paint spraying when you only activate the air. This is usually due to the needle not closing tightly to the nozzle and is solved by adjusting the needle.
Air bubbles in the cup are usually a sign of a clogged nozzle or a loose nozzle cap and are solved by cleaning and tightening the nozzle. If water spatters occur it is commonly due to a full moisture trap and is fixed by emptying the trap.
Tip 10: A Clean Airbrush is a Happy Airbrush
In your normal workflow, it is often enough to rinse the cup with water when switching colours, but sometimes a more thorough rinse with Airbrush Cleaner may be necessary. This is often needed when switching from metallic paints or Speedpaint to regular paint to avoid stains or metallic flakes in the new colour. After each session, however, it is a good idea to clean more thoroughly, taking the needle out and swiping it clean, as well as properly rinsing the airbrush with Airbrush Cleaner.
Sick Fades and Smooth Coats
As you can see, it may seem intimidating at first, but with the right tools, a little guidance, and our Warpaints Air range, airbrushing can open up a whole new world of painting to you.
Stay tuned for more tips and tricks in our next edition of "Paint Like a Pro"!
