Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

Hello all,

I just got an Airbrush as a present, but i really have no idea how to go about using it for my models.

I have bought some of GW's airbrush range so i have the paints. I just don't know how to go about painting with it? I have painted a bit with a brush before, but NEVER airbrush so i'm really lost.

How do i go about using this tool? I am about to paint up a lot of Orks for 40k (like different vehicles, characters and boyz). For instance, how would i go about airbrushing Ork Boyz?

All my models are already assembled. I don't like painting before i assemble, just because i wanna use them for games right away

Thanks in advance.

If you are fully assembled before painting, you're limiting your options somewhat. It's fine though, restrictions make the path more obvious!

Job 1, prime them all. Go get some black or grey Vallejo primer (depending if you want dark or light orks). This is the best learning step, it's hard to go really wrong. Try not to go too thick and learn how to make paint go onto model.

Job 2, basecoat them all. Get your citadel air green and hit them just the same as your priming.

Job 3, shade them. This is an intermediate skill, but it's as tricky as you want (and totally optional). Get a darker green, lightly spray from the bottom to stimulate shadow.

From here, go to your hair brush and do the rest normally. If you skipped job 3, touching up mistakes is easy.

i thought the best way to go about this with an airbrush was to actually prime white or black and then "pre-shade" with the other color.

this simulates the lighting and creates natural shading for the following part which is to lightly (the imo reason airbrush is so great) paint the primary color. if its transparent enough then the area primed black with be darker and the white spots will be lighter. from here it would just need edge highlights and things you cant do with an airbrush

im fairly positive this is how "pro painters" also do this as it is both effective but fast

Umm, I guess look up tutorials online. Figure out what sort of airbrush you have, figure out how to disassemble it, clean it and reassemble it before you start putting paint in to it

Beyond that it's hard to give advice without knowing what sort of airbrush it is. Is it single action or double action? Gravity feed or siphon? It could be a broad pattern brush designed for basecoats, it could be a fine detail brush designed for super fine lines, it could be an all rounder (which is typically what we recommend for painting miniatures).

In general, spend some time on blank pieces of plastic just learning how to do paint nice consistent lines without splatter or runs, how to paint dots, learn some basic airbrush control. Then start thinking about the techniques you want to use to paint actual models.

Look up video tutorials and whatnot and you'll start to get an idea. Lots of stuff on youtube, start practising and then come back with some more specific questions.

eosgreen wrote:
i thought the best way to go about this with an airbrush was to actually prime white or black and then "pre-shade" with the other color.

this simulates the lighting and creates natural shading for the following part which is to lightly (the imo reason airbrush is so great) paint the primary color. if its transparent enough then the area primed black with be darker and the white spots will be lighter. from here it would just need edge highlights and things you cant do with an airbrush

im fairly positive this is how "pro painters" also do this as it is both effective but fast

Depends on the model. I prefer just laying down a solid opaque coat of my base colour and then adding shading and highlighting and then if it's too much, spray a light coat of the original colour to tone down the effect a bit.

I prefer doing it that way because I think it gives a cleaner look (which I can dirty up later if I want). Also on models with a lot of varying geometry preshading can be tricky because sometimes to get sufficient coverage in the nooks and crannies you end up making the paint in other areas too opaque.

Preshading works really well on aircraft and tanks where you have large flat surfaces and your "highlights" aren't so much highlights as paint fade and your "shades" aren't so much shades as they are panel line weathering. It's also typically used far more subtly on aircraft as a precursor to lot of other weathering (at least when the "pro painters" do it).

Sometimes I preshade models for the express purpose of covering it entirely because it acts as a guide to know how opaque the colour I'm laying on top is. When I can't see the preshade, I know I've got an opaque coat

Lots of varying techniques you can use though. Preshading might be a good one, might not be.

Yeah, organic models work better with direct shading and highlighting, artificial shapes work better with pre-shading. You can also do both, it depends what's working for you.

Eos mentioned zenithal highlighting without really knowing it, you can do that as it is easy, but I'd focus on simply basecoating for now until you're more confident.

For inspiration, both of these two models were airbrush shaded -- there are very detailed step-by-steps in the Horus Heresy Masterclass book from FW. The steps are not at all obvious. For instance, those beautiful red panels were basecoat black, airbrushed silver, preshaded blue and green (for the dark and darker shadows, respectively), and then airbrushed with thinned red. For example, those leg plates are all silver, then blue, then many coats of thinned red.

I think they are just spectacular, and they really inspire me to up my airbrush game!

This guy has some great beginner airbrushing tutorials. There's one about airbrushing miniatures, too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk0oA0PctIA&feature=iv&src_vid=B5nRNcNM16g&annotation_id=annotation_223093

Btw, that yellow tank is amazing!!

 Talys wrote:
For inspiration, both of these two models were airbrush shaded -- there are very detailed step-by-steps in the Horus Heresy Masterclass book from FW. The steps are not at all obvious. For instance, those beautiful red panels were basecoat black, airbrushed silver, preshaded blue and green (for the dark and darker shadows, respectively), and then airbrushed with thinned red. For example, those leg plates are all silver, then blue, then many coats of thinned red.

I think they are just spectacular, and they really inspire me to up my airbrush game!

That dude actually looks reasonably easy to airbrush like that, the hard thing is having the colour knowledge to pick the right colors to use.

Oh, and the gloss. Gloss finishes are always difficult. EDIT: Actually looking at some more zoomed in images of that model, their gloss looks a touch orange peely as well, so it seems even the FW guys struggle with orange peel Orange peel is the bane of my existence at the moment because it absolutely ruins it when you're trying to get a natural metal finish.