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So I'm new to airbrushes, and have had some good results blending blues to white and I'm putting a glow on terrain lights. so far, I'm not too disappointed.

BUT I've tried all sorts of ways to get some graffiti onto my sector imperialism, and it's just not looking right.

the red I use looked really indistinct, so I went for a white background and went over it again in red. While clearer, it was still unreadable. so I tried some brushwork to darken the centre so it could be read. I'm still not happy.

I'm open to suggestions.

I did the same thing shortly after getting my airbrush too!
Secret sauce, fine point Sharpies. They have a pretty good selection of colors. Find a darker red and do a bit of highlighting edges of the letters to help em pop. Color selection is important as well. Add just the slightest tint of green to the white base, like a tiiiinny bit. The natural contrast from Green to red will really make the red grab eyes.
There are many good posters made to fit 40k that would compliment the vibe you're shooting for as well.
Good luck!

I'd say your problem is that there's too much background clutter on the actual wall, so your letter forms are fighting against the silhouettes, shadows and texture on the wall for your eyes attention. Also, Red onto white doesn't read well due to red being one step down from pure white on the light/colour scale. For graffiti you're probably better off using hairy brush for letter forms and using an airbrush to supplement oversprayed and dripping effects.

Greenstuff world also make graffiti decals.

I think you need much more contrast and you're going the wrong way. You should consider a dark backdrop with your red letters forming the frame, but take the center of the letters much more into white (or orange/yellow depending on the effect you want).

I only have example pictures in blue...



... but I think you're suffering from the same problem the sign in the first picture has. It's the shade of blue I wanted for it, but if you step away from the terrain piece even a little it becomes a lot harder to read. The billboard on the other hand got a blue that's a lot more whitish and is a lot easier to read, even from afar, while the letter frame preserves the original color to a degree and gives it its blue appearance.

Guys, thank you.
I’ve been painting for years and thought I understood colour contrasts well enough, but it’s not a good day unless you learn something!

Surface clutter has definitely been an issue- that wreath is a pain, but I thought the airbrush would sort that issue for me. I’ve resprayed Zandri dust primer and I’ll start again. I’m thinking stencils with a dark red or terracotta, highlight with some light pink and a red glaze afterwards.
Oh, and better letter placement.

I’ll practice off model first too!

I’ll keep you posted...