Does anyone here own an airbrush?

[N D Hill]

Hey

I was just wondering if anyone here owned an airbrush (hence the subject line)? I've been curious about them for a while now but they seem to be fairly expensive and high-maintainance. Can anyone varify this? The real problem is that it's quite an investment and I've never even tried one out and don't really know if it's something that I'll find to be a great benefit to my style. I suppose I'll only find that out after having tried one out though.

Thanks.
-Noel

[I.was.ink]

I own one. My dad and I airbrush on Harley motorcycles, so I know a bit about em.;)

They can be high maintenance, but they're really cool to work with, one thing I'd suggest is to test one out first, cuz they are freakishly hard to learn to use. I guess its the same with every other tool, but once you get to know em, they're pretty cool.

Just like this smiley:cool:

[nil]

heh, im so jealous i.was.ink. i think i could actually be happy for my entire life just airbrushing flames on cars. :D

i have a cheap ass airbrush but i havent managed to use the thing much (its a pain in the ass changing colours). it was fairly cheap (~$80-$100, i cant remember, which is like $40-$50 US). its plastic (the handle bit) and the resevoir is a glass thing you screw to the bottom. it runs off a can of compressed gas so you dont have to buy a compressor. getting something like that might be a good way to try it out without spending too much....

[winjer]

I use an Iwata Eclipse now to paint my models. Its all stainless steel and very low maintenance. All it needs before a color change is spraying a bit of thinner through it and a wipedown of the paint cup. Just make sure whatever you get isnt made out of cheap materials that paint will corrode, and make sure its double action.. Get a decent compressor too. If youre gonna be using it long term the cans of gas will add up.

[Neil]

I have an Iwata Eclipse as well bottom mount, as opposed to gravity feed mostly so I could use quick change bottles. Def double action as was said, this allows you to not only alter how much air flow but how much paint flow. Single action only allows you to alter one and are mostly for hobby painting.

I found they are easy to use but difficult to master. If you do illustrations can be a pain because of overspray so you have to get masking down. Havent done it in a while.

Also dont forget compressor or air can like someone said. Illustration on board doesnt need much pressure so you can get away with lower PSI quiet compressor but stuff like shirts and some boards need higher psi. I had to get a sears big ass compressor that is loud as hell but it stores a lot of air and doesnt kick on too much.

Maintenance is HIGH because the needle can get clogged often and when you change colors you have to make sure that the previous color is completely gone or you get muck so you got to spray a cleaner then new color and if its jammed at all you can get chunks of color or dotting. The eclipse comes with a hole in the rear so you can pull on the needle to clear it so thats cool and Iwata is good brand and pretty small needle tip. You have to clean the airbrush thoroughly afterwards by either running cleaner at a high psi or like i did, dismantling and reassembling the brush every day. As you probably know acrylic paint is like a plastic so it can really clog the inside good and can be a pain to get out.

Paints have a life to them so you have to use them fairly quick. Many times you have to add things to the paint for various surfaces as well so thats antoher thing to think about.

There is an excellent magazine called Airbrush Action if you can find it, found it rare in these parts.

Good Luck

[N D Hill]

Thanks for the help. I talked to some people at my schools art department and I was able to finally track down an airbrush that the school owns. I figure they let me use their powertools, why not an airbrush? I'll have to check it out.

Thanks to all who replied. It looks as if have to educate myself a bit on this subject. I can't wait to try one out though. In the meantime, I've been fooling around with the Airbrush in painter. Believe it or not, I made it behave a lot like a spray can! Just inverse the size and opacity settings in the expression menu and tweak from there on.

[Amish Rake Fight Man]

I have a badger.




Oh and I rarely use it because I hate cleaning the thing and the wee compressor I have (a 1/2 hp diaphragm) annoys the hell out of me. So it sits collecting dust in a room all filled with Chinese lamps. He saves what others throw away. Thinks that he'll be rich someday... we know of an ancient radiation that haunts dismembered constellations, a faintly glimmering radio station...

That and I have no decent vertical work surfaces. I bought this 'slick' clamp on easel and it broke... but it was way too wobbly any way.

I have used it to paint miniatures (aghast, he reveals himself)

arfm

crap was there anything useful in this post? The most expensive part of an airbrush is a good compressor. If you get enough hose you can dump it elsewhere and not have to listen to it. Plus ones with storage tanks are nice, constant air pressure. They are hard to master, anyone can hose down a surface with an airbrush, it takes some learning to do anything but that.

[Klaw]

I don't know how old this thread is, but here's my 2 cents: AZTEK. Quick to clean, and the interchangeable nozzles streamline both color changes and the cleaning process. Definitely artist friendly, and completely overlooked. I recommend tha AZTEK A430 duel action for anybody who's serious, and the baseline single action model for those on the fence. Also, they are completely compatable with the Model Masters line of airbrush, so nozzles and accessories are pretty easy to find. Nozzles are cheap too: if one goes bad, you replace it and you are back painting in seconds-you don't have to dissassemble the whole brush. Same with color changes. Yeah, there are some wonderful brushes out there, Badger, Paasche: But Azteks, are good tools, and workhorses.

[cgaddict]

I experimented with the airbrush several times, mostly for work I did for a short period of time involving tattoos and such. It is fairly high maintenance as far as I could tell, and it does take some practice to get used to. I've seen some incredible work done in this medium - I say give it a go and see if it suits your style. You'll never know until you try.

[s.ketch]

I have a cheap Snap-On brand airbrush I got for free. Cheap ones aren't good. If you get one, get a good one.

[Jacob Kobryn]

I used to airbrush a lot. I can probably answer most questions you have...

p.s. Yes, they are expensive and high maintenance, but extremely cool.

[Doom-Breath]

I own one, mainly been doing beginner stuff. I'd very much like to do it more often :)

[N D Hill]

Hi Guys. Thanks for the recent replies and helpful info. Since posting this back in 2003, I've had a few chances to play around with a couple different models and currently have access to an older one that I play around with every once in a while. I never took it it as I did traditional brushes and digital media but it's nifty to have on hand.

[Jason Ross]

I was once on a journey to paint and work like Drew Struzan. So I bought 3 airbrushes, some Prismacolor colored pencils, and some Drew Struzan poster books...yada yada yada...I work digitally :D.

[banjo_di]

This thread was the reason I finally broke down and made an account here. I just *had* to blather about creating art with airbrush.

From about 2003-2005 I painted primarily with two Iwata airbrushes - an Eclipse and... I forget the other one, it had a wider spray. I still have them and the lovely quiet oil compressor that fits under my desk. I had no idea about digital art then and it seemed like a crisper, cleaner way to paint than oils (I still love oil paint.) I painted with liquid acrylics on canvas and illustration board.

I also used a TON of frisket masking. Lots of cutting with a nifty xacto that had a tiny blade that spins in the handle (I'm sure the auto-body airbrush folks know all about it) as well as a lot of freehand work. I was doing aviation art at the time so it was great for the clean lines of the aircraft as well as the clouds.

I also did some portraiture with it (tedious but very interesting for skin tones) and a few architectural pieces.

Here are some below, linked from my website.

http://dekraus.com/art/fineart/mittenrock.jpg

http://dekraus.com/art/aviationart/mooney.jpg

http://dekraus.com/artpages/roundthebend.html

http://dekraus.com/art/aviationart/ridingtherays.jpg

The details were painted by hand (with a regular brush) in either oils or acrylics.

With the way digital painting is now I don't know how much I'd airbrush again (I am getting back into art after having taken a year or two off) but it was great back then.

[Randis]

Not a cheap tool but not as expensive as a PC+tablet+software

Important is a good compressor, that is much better and cheaper on the long run than the the canned propellants.
You can buy one or you can build one yourself fairly cheap from some old fridge parts.

You dont have to buy the most expensive airbrush, a decent one will do just fine.
Working with any traditional medium you just have to keep your tools clean and they will live longer.
Make sure to work in a well ventilated room or get a gasmask or some sort of filter.
Airbrush is fun, there are many cool techniques, you spray color, bleed the colors, work with cutouts and liquid rubber, spray angles, add gross effects with a toothbrush and details with pencils and so on.

I recommend getting some cheap entry level airbrush ( or a second hand one)without compressor first (use a canned propellant) just to try out if you like it at all and you can upgrade later.

[Craig D]

SPAMMER NECRO

You've been had Randis