What kind of airbrush paint to use on skin

At the proper PSI, your airbrush air flow should dimple the skin on the tip of your finger. Lower your airbrush pressure until it barely dimples the skin. What is great about this approach is that once you get your air pressure correct, all you have to worry about is the thinness of your paint.

Thin your paint for your needs! It is much more cost-effective to airbrush your surface primer on a model than with a spray can primer. Here are some of my favorite primers. Simply add your primer to your airbrush thin if necessary with water and quickly prime your models in preparation for paint. Everyone who first buys an airbrush starts practicing with base coats.

There is good reason for this. Nothing beats a quick, even base coat when you want to get something done. Glazing is simply applying a thin, translucent layer of paint over another color. The overlying glaze will shift the color tone and is very useful for creating subtle color blends and smooth transitions. An airbrush is the ideal glazing tool for large open surfaces because you can apply very light coats of thinned paint evenly.

You can certainly airbrush acrylic inks , which are fantastic for glazing because of their color depth, saturation, and ease of use with an airbrush. You can even make your own stencils for airbrushing. With an airbrush and a good set of stencils there are a lot of great special effects you can create that will set your miniatures apart. More than that, using stencils are fun and simple to learn how to use with an airbrush. If you want to try them out, check our some of the best stencils for airbrushing models.

Well, you need to protect your painted miniature from damage, scuffs, and other insults that may occur while handling. You can use a spray can primer like Testors Dullcote more use and recommended details here , or use your airbrush to apply a varnish. Water-based varnishes tend to be less durable than enamel lacquer varnishes, but are less toxic and you can apply them easily with your airbrush or regular brush.

Acrylic polymer dries into a hardened surface. In fact, once you get the hang of what to do, you may never need to use airbrush-ready paints! Remember that some acrylic model paints are more viscous than others and may require more thinning.

Also, some paints are easier to thin with better results than others. I find that brighter colors, e. The best regular model paints for airbrushing in my experience include Reaper Master Series paints and Scale Color paints.

In general, I recommend using water for thinning any acrylic water-based paint for airbrushing miniatures and model. If you want to avoid the hassle of figuring out the proper ratio of water to avoid losing the binding properties of your paint you can use a premade airbrush thinners.

In this case, I highly recommend Vallejo Airbrush Thinner. This additive will help thin and lubricate your regular acrylic paints, e. At this viscosity, your acrylic paint should spray consistently and reliably through an airbrush with a 0. To transfer your paint mixture to your airbrush paint cup, you can use an eye dropper or plastic pipette.

These are easy to wash out and reuse. Try and thin your normal acrylic model paint outside the airbrush before using it in a spray application. When in doubt, it is better to have paint that is too thin than too thick.

Paint that is too thick will clog your airbrush nozzle and is a hassle to clean out. Paint that is too thin will splatter, but you can lower your air pressure or spray further back from your model to remedy this problem.

Not all airbrush-ready paints are created the same. Here are few things you should look for when deciding what airbrush-ready model paint to use. This determines how well does the paint cover a model in a single coat. Similar to any acrylic paint, some airbrush ready paints have better color coverage than others. This also means that the paint you choose will likely be thicker or have higher color intensity. For my use, I prefer airbrush-ready paints that have great coverage.

If I need a more translucent paint for glazing, for example, all I need to do is thin the paint a bit with water. Some airbrush ready paints have a thicker consistency than other paints.

It depends on the brand and the purpose of the paint. On the other hand, Vallejo Model Air paints have a thicker paint consistency and have great coverage as a result. But, Vallejo Model Air paints are not easily thinned to translucency without using an additive like the Vallejo Airbrush thinner. Thinning Vallejo paint with water tends to break up the acrylic polymer a bit too much for my taste. This is related to the ability of the paint to avoid peeling, cracking, or scraping off the surface of a model.

In general, I have not found any difference in airbrush-ready paints and regular model paints. Note that airbrushed layers of paint are usually very thin, and by nature will be more fragile than thicker coats applied by regular brush. Be gentle when handling airbrush painted surfaces because of this reason. And, always finish a paint job with a proper varnish application. Many airbrush ready paints come in sets of various sizes. Depending on how much you want to spend, you can buy an entire line of paints or simply purchase your colors a la carte.

Just remember to consider coverage, durability, and viscosity as important factors when shopping pro artist grade paints for airbrushing miniatures. The ability of a paint bottle to help you dispense paint is often overlooked.

But, ergonomics matter a lot! Some airbrush paint bottles are pots with flip caps, i. The hassle of trying to transfer paint from a flip cap pot to a palette or to your airbrush paint cup is not something to ignore.

In my estimation, the best designed paint bottle for airbrushing is the Vallejo style dropper. If you decide to collect a large number of Citadel Air paints, I suggest transferring the paints to dropper bottles see how here. This is because airbrush-ready paints are pre-thinned.

Continue reading for details about what airbrush paints best fit the bill model and miniature painting. Here are my 8 recommended best airbrush paints for painting miniatures and models:. Golden Transparent Highflow Acrylics are one of the most versatile airbrushable paints available. They are not branded as hobby paints or anything, but I have discovered that they flexible in terms of what you can use them for.

You can apply them with your airbrush or a regular brush. Some of the colors are transparent, which is great for glazing. This is particularly useful for airbrushing color over a zenithal highlighted model.

You can find many good deals on non name brand airbrushes that will work while you are practicing. I recommend starting with a top feed or Gravity feed if you plan on using it strictly for face and body painting,. Compressors come in different sizes including small Make-up compressors, hobby compressors, of course the name brand compressors and industrial compressors these are NOT recommended for face painting.

Find a compressor that fits your chosen area of painting and fits your budget. Some will say go for the Gold and buy the name brand but, I know many artists who use a generic compressor and create amazing art with them.

Airbrush face paint comes in two formulas — Water based and Hybrids or Alcohol based not to be confused with Temporary tattoo paint. Water based airbrush paint works much like your water based face painting cakes.

It removes with soap and water. Hybrid face paints like ProAiir Hybrids are alcohol based and are waterproof so to remove this type of paint you will need to use a liquid hand soap first, lather then, add water to remove.

This is a great option if you want to offer face painting to clients who may be having a pool party or parties during the summer months when traditional paints will melt down in the heat or sweat. Although, it is alcohol based, it is completely safe for the skin as it is made with a cosmetic alcohol not Isopropyl. Although you can freehand airbrush face painting designs, face painting stencils just make it so much easier especially if you are working with a large line of kids.

You can find airbrush face painting stencils that can create and entire face painting design all in one or you can find fun textured stencils to add some wow and pop to your designs. You will need hoses to fit your airbrush. Most of the time when you purchase an airbrush you will be given the option to purchases a hose that matches. Purchase a couple just in case. Purchase a cleaning kit from the start. Airbrush paint comes in many different forms.

There are almost endless mixes of pigments, mediums, and consistencies. This makes it so important to pick the right kind for your body painting needs. Let me tell you from my experience as a professional body painter for over seven years about the best airbrush paints for body painting. As I mentioned in another article about the cheapest and easiest way to start body painting , there are three main things you should look for in great airbrush body paint:.

Keep in mind that there is a type of airbrush paint that is used for temporary tattoos. These paints are meant to slightly stain the skin and last for about a week. Temporary tattoos create a cool effect in their own right, but they involve a slightly different application process than normal body painting.

So for the purpose of this article, I will be focusing on the best airbrush paint for normal body painting rather than temporary tattoos. The Wicked line of paint by Createx is my go to choice for most body paint applications.

In another article, I described why this paint is great for beginners and the best for almost all airbrush body painting projects. In short, this water based, semi-transparent paint gives you the most bang for your buck.

That is to say, it does almost everything other body paints will do except at a fraction of the price. Therefore, I recommend to body painters all the time to use Wicked Colors as their primary paint choice. This is another line of airbrush paint by Createx that is very similar to Wicked Colors except it includes a different selection of color tones. The Wicked Colors seem to flow out of the gun better than some of the Createx Airbrush Colors with thicker pigments. To solve this problem, you can simply reduce Createx Airbrush Colors with a few drops of water in the hopper.

This alcohol based paint is a tremendous body paint.