Controlling fine line intensity with an airbrush

I've tried to airbrush freehand fur before, which wasn't really successful. The reference image wasn't very good (printed on an old HP 1010 B&W laser printer) as a result of which I wasn't able to make good use of my lightbox. I am currently working on an other project for which I had the reference image printed in a print shop. The image that I found on Internet, was not high res, but good enough to see most detail. The beard texture in the recent project is not entirely similar to the fur texture of the panther's fur, but it requires a similar technique.

Yogi - colored portrait WIP

Ok after the testing of Com-Art paint in the yogi portrait, as mentioned in one of my recent blog-entries, I ran across Vallejo Premium paint, which I think I'll make my standard paint, also because it adheres to any type of surface and has a well balanced range of colors. This article will show a WIP (work in progress). Vallejo requires a slightly different approach than Com-Art; it is mega concentrated and must be diluted extremely to lose a little bit of its opaqueness, certainly in the beginning stages of multi-layered airbrushes. This is good - it means I will be able to do a lot of work with a bottle of Vallejo paint. The balancing of air pressure, mix ratio and adjustment of the Iwata HP-BH I found to be quite critical for artists who intend to spray ultra fine detail.

Vallejo's solvent is of such a good quality that the paint remains functional even after leaving it unattended in the airbrush for 8 hours after which the artist can continue airbrushing as if (s)he never interrupted his / her session. I did this recently (updated Mar 20 2014) on a fairly warm (19°C) spring day when humidity was low. It didn't clog and allowed me to spray lines equally fine as before the (unintended) break.

Airbrushing as a therapy in the attic.

Lightbox for airbrushing

Projecting images to trace is inaccurate, at least when using an old fashioned analog projector; the lamp gets hot and expands the photo or print. It leads to incorrect positioning of eyes, nose, mouth and other parts of the human face. Digital projectors are less inaccurate, but still leave pencil lines on the airbrush that must be oversprayed or removed in order not to disturb the final product.

Click to see larger image - 3D rendering

Vallejo Premium Airbrush Paint

After recently being struck in a positive way by the excellent characteristics of Com-Art paint I stumbled across Vallejo Premium Paint during a visit to Almere Airbrush Services. Shop owner Eric explained that this paint would adhere to any surface even without applying primer, as long as it would have been degreased. In addition it would be rugged yet flexible after curing. This all sounded almost too good to be true, so I decided to give it a try, not having too much expectations to be honest. Vallejo is best known from providing paints for the model hobby industry, but can be used in a much wider range of applications; the paint is excellently suited to be used in airbrush guns for more delicate operations (i.e. airbrushes with smaller nozzle sizes).