Foaling

Just a quick update on my little foal. All her airbrushing is done, now she moves onto pastels and acrylic details. I kinda wish I left her palomino... oh well maybe next time!

Oh and make sure you check out She moved to Texas, its a wonderful blog and she is so kindly giving away some of her models! So make sure you check it out.

Airbrush Paints

For airbrushing I use cheaper acrylic paints, I don't feel the need to spend a ton of money on artist quality if I'm going to be watering it down. However I do use high quality paints for markings, hooves and details.

I like to have a thin mix of paint and water, to do many layers of different colours, to create depth. I don't like the paint too thick, it is more likely to splatter. It is a little tricky finding the balance that works for you and your airbrush.

Always clean your airbrush thoroughly! A dirty clogged up airbrush is the worst thing for your artwork. A good cleaning after each session is a must and soak it in a cleaner once a week or month (depending on how much you use it).

Airbrush Setups

A few people have asked about my airbrush, so I will turn the answer into a post. The first photo is my corner of the garage set up for airbrushing. I have the cardboard box from a big flat screen TV cut in half sitting on an old table. The cardboard is a little over kill because I only spray the smallest amount of paint but the husband is very insistent that the garage stays one colour. (I don't blame him, I'm not the cleanest of painters).

I always put clean newspaper down each time, this saves the cardboard and is easy clean up. Old dark magazines are perfect for testing light colours, the newspaper is fine for dark ones. Make sure you have plenty of paper towel on hand, its always useful. 

This is my airbrush, a Delta 81009 which was a christmas present form my parents. When looking for airbrushes look for double action one with gravity fed paint supply. 

I normally remove the end needle guard when painting, it just collects paint then splats it all over the model. 

This is my, though the husband thinks its his, compressor. Brought on mega deal on black friday last year. I don't know much about compressors really... just look for one with a moisture trap, this helps remove moisture and debris from the air.  

This foal is my latest airbrush victim. Trying to get that soft fuzzy foal colour right.