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Hi all, I started this for the sake of hope!, I can't paint models well, my wife does the painting. If I can't paint well does that mean that I can't do a better job with a airbrush? Any opinion will help.

Skill, whether with a paintbrush or an airbrush (or any other artistic medium, for that matter) only comes through practice and patience; don't expect to get wonderful results the moment you pick up an airbrush. Honestly, just keep doing what you're doing, and you'll get better with time and experience.

Don't want this to sound off-putting, quite the opposite in fact! Everyone starts somewhere, so persevere and you'll be doing fine work in no time!

Thanks!, I do convertions and do the gluing, I'm not too bad at painting, but was wondering if people that are good at airbrushing does not rock normal painting and vice versa.

Well, there are certainly people that find themselves able to do better work with one or the other, just like some artists work better in oil on canvas while others do their best work in pen on paper.

Either way, there will be a learning curve to get 'good', so I'd keep pushing yourself until you're comfortable with brush painting then give airbrushing a go once you feel ready.

If you post up some pictures of your work, I'm sure myself and the other members of Dakka can provide some feedback if you like that might help you!

This again?
If you're having trouble with a hairy stick, a precision airbrush will not help you AT ALL. More technical, and still relies on brushwork to finish it off.

OP: Why limit yourself?

I PAINT: if I fling it, rub it on, dip it on, blast it on with air or use low power explosives: I am applying some kind of coloring to a surface.

I am sure I would find certain methods I have a natural leaning or skill at, but you only know for sure by doing it and a wee bit of experimentation.
Finding some info or videos from the "experts" is not a bad way to go either.

Heck, there are so many ways to play with density and viscosity of a given paint that may be all the change you need to be "good" at it.
Airbrush and hairy brush are just two different tools for applying paint, the airbrush is as finicky or more to how you prep your paint and how you blow it on.
Lots of variables to experiment and nail-down for what is right for you.

No magic bullet here, try things out and as you run into trouble, learn more, apply the knowledge and keep on painting.
I still have stuff I play that have the paint job when I was just learning, I cannot bring myself to repaint because they remind me how far I have got.

Good luck!

I love my airbrush, But its just another tool in the toolbox, for Example, The way i use it (And most other people aswell)

Undercoating,
Putting a base colour on
After that the brush takes over.

Its excellent for getting smooth layers of paint on to enhance most aspects of the modell but your still gonna be painting details and edge highlights with a brush!
What's the part of painting you seem to have a trouble with? What area is it you feel you need to improve the most?

Alot of people can rock highlights and whatnot with all different washes and drybrushing tehniques but seem to smosh paint all over when it comes to fine detailing, In cases like that, an airbrush wont help you.
And then theres people who got steady hands and patience and have no problem painting nano-sized details but cant really seem to get thin/even coats, In cases like that, An airbrush WOULD help.

I see my airbrush as a time saver and its fun! To get the results on bascoating etc without it i would have to spend alot of time to put layers of thinned down paints carefully to not get brushmarks etc. WIth an airbrush you dont have to spend that time to get the same results,
And its also a very good tool for "blending" highlights that you can then (With a brush) wash and edge highlight for a neat effect.

Other then that and "The extra mile" tehniques like objective sourced lighting etc its not really something you get to "paint better" Hope this helps you a little bit atleast

**The airbrush do boost me in some areas, For example! I suck at painting white, Hate it, can never seem to get a smooth white going with a normal brush, In that case the airbrush do improve my skill as i tend to paint everything thats going to be white with the airbrush, Althou its a pain in the ass to have to mask of everything around it etc, And sometimes i just paint it white and do the other colours with a normal brush instead

SO i guess what iam trying to say is if you lack proper skills with a normal brush, Getting an airbrush wont help you that much, Your miniature will look neat and fine but not done, and when you "complete it" with the normal brush its going ontop most of the "airbrushed" and its still gonna come out under your expectations, As some other people have said aswell, Improve your brush game, Try new crazy things you THINK will ruin the model, i have learnt that doing those things is when i learn the most. If you ever think "Should i try just globbing on this stuff to try and give me my wanted results..." Dont chicken out. Try it! You will amaze yourself atleast some of the times. I know i have

Painter. I don't even know how to use an airbrush, much less what it is.

The baddice podcast had a good guest episode teaching you to unlearn how to paint and relearn from the start.

I found Duncan's videos for Warhammer TV on youtube pretty good in that they point out little tricks that may seem so obvious to experienced painters that they don't mention it in their tutorials.

Watching other painters paint (e.g. youtube) is helpful for learning and motivation. I think Girlpainting is a channel that does really simple/attainable paintjobs that look pretty decent when finished.

Gotta dash, I hope these suggestions help, even if they don't answer the question in OP!

Don't let a lack of skill stop you from painting, it never stopped me, though maybe it should have

An airbrush is just a tool, it's very different from regular brush painting, but it can be finicky and difficult, I don't know how many people are "naturals" when it comes to airbrushing, so I'd suggest if you aren't willing to put in the time and effort to learn how to do it you're probably better off sticking to hairy brush painting.

Rarely can you paint a whole model without a hairy brush anyway, it's usually a mix of the two.

Thanks for all the advise guys, guess I will have to sit next to the wife more...

KINGPIN54 wrote:
Thanks for all the advise guys, guess I will have to sit next to the wife more...

Dont get stuck "Studying" IMO you learn more by diving straight in and paint stuff, watch a video on youtube how to paint a model in a scheme you like, Try to copy it the way he does, Write down/Remember where in the stages you felt like you lacked the skill to pull it off, Then search for videos on people doing that specific thing and try to copy them, Over and over untill you feel confident in it, Then go back and do a whole modell again, Run into more problems? Rinse repeat.

 Cozzan wrote:
Dont get stuck "Studying" IMO you learn more by diving straight in and paint stuff, watch a video on youtube how to paint a model in a scheme you like, Try to copy it the way he does, Write down/Remember where in the stages you felt like you lacked the skill to pull it off, Then search for videos on people doing that specific thing and try to copy them, Over and over untill you feel confident in it, Then go back and do a whole modell again, Run into more problems? Rinse repeat.

I dunno.
There are many tiny tricks and "suggestions" that people learn along the way that they wish they were told in the beginning.
Plus, just like with anything, unlearning "bad habits" are hard to do.
I would say, start with the training exercises recommended and learn right away what is best for your next project, then dive-in.

Model prep., is not to be underestimated.
Heck, just deciding between white, grey or black primer has such an impact on method.
Block painting, shading, highlight? OR Gradient paint with Zenithal highlighting and then colour wash?

I have a sudden need to make a flow-chart... it will pass.

This is a controversial topic amongst people in general. Some say that a trusty paint brush is the way to go, and that airbrushes are cheating. Others feel the exact opposite of this and feel like the same amount of skill is required to air brush on such a small surface.

My take on it is this, I'm still sort of new to the game, having only been playing for less then a year and a half. I started with a few brushes, then got a airbrush which broke. For christmas I got a nice grex with a compressor from a family member. I felt bad that the airbrush had only been used for base coats and elsewise was just sitting there.

Now I'm to the point where, because I do commission work, I have alot of models that need to be painted, it's easier to do an assembly line of effects instead of brushing them, with the airbrush.

Last night I was working on a painting commission for a Blood Angel friend of mine, and he wanted his models done in a "Tarnished silver, with a red metallic feel" which is troubling because silver doesn't actually have a red metal, like gold does. After spending a little bit of time, I sent him a picture, and he tells me it's too dark, needs to be brighter. So I used brush work on some plates to make it lighter where I needed.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's best to use all tools in your box, instead of a hammer and some duct tape. Airbrushing can achieve some awesome effects, but those same effects can be achieved via painting.

I found myself terrified of the airbrush for the longest time because I was worried about overspray, what psi to use, nozzle size, paint consistency, and ruining models I'd then have to strip and repaint. I watched alot of videos on youtube, and they helped with tips, and suggestions as well as showing that nothing will be fully achieved with an airbrush. You'll still have detail that you can't really beat without a good old fashioned fine detail brush.

Hope this helps, feel free to send me a message with any questions you might have, as I'd be more then happy to answer them.

Nemesor Blackwing

BTW the youtube channel is buypainted, he walks you through almost everything.

I've had an airbrush for 30 years. My current one is about 20. It's been used on gaming models and larger projects.

So, Both, depending on the task.

An airbrush is just another tool in a painter's toolbox. No different to a pallet knife or a flat brush or a stippling brush. All have techniques that need to be learned in order to use them and all of them do something the others don't do well.

You can't paint a baneblade with a 000 fine detail, and using a large flat brush on a goblin is also not advised. Same with an airbrush.

Nemesor Blackwing wrote:
Some say that a trusty paint brush is the way to go, and that airbrushes are cheating.

Frankly, anyone that claims that is just wrong.

I'm a painter that uses the best tool for the job. Sometimes it's the hairy stick, other times it's my airbrush. There isn't one inherently better than the other and you don't get bonus points because you painted a tank with a paintbrush. Often times, an airbrush is just an easier way to get something done. For instance, using my airbrush and masking tape, I was able to do all this in the span of an afternoon:



That would have taken twice as long to do it with a paintbrush.

Well consider that the average price of airbrush is ~80 paunds I can hardly call it "just another" tool. Anyway, in my limited experience airbrush can save you huge amout of time. It's a bit annoying to paint tanks with hairbrush.

 ScootyPuffJunior wrote:

Nemesor Blackwing wrote:
Some say that a trusty paint brush is the way to go, and that airbrushes are cheating.

Frankly, anyone that claims that is just wrong.

I agree, which I why I was shocked to find comments on my friends YouTube post about doing osl with an airbrush. This is not my personal standpoint that airbrushes are cheating, just things I've seen people say before.

Using a brush is cheating, real painters paint with their hands and grind pigments in their mouth, with spit as the binder. And unless you're just using the basic pigment colors and mixing all of your own shades, you're totally cheating by using premixed colors.



A tool is a tool, airbrushing allows people to do certain things more easily and faster, but it doesn't suddenly make a bad artist good. If anything, it should be freeing to good artists to use that to achieve and effect more quickly, so they can do more amazing stuff elsewhere.

I find that I can produce much more impressive looking stuff with an airbrush than I could have with a brush. I think that for my brushwork to give the same quality of results will take a lot more skill.

That said, use what you are comfortable with. If an airbrush is within your budget, absolutely get one - if not for any other reasons than priming and basecoating. You can mix it up with zenithal highlighting from there, then hand it over to your wife for the detail.

What you want to paint matters a lot. If you want to paint 9 drop pods, that airbrush is sure going to look attractive. If you want to paint 9 Forge World character models, probably not so much.

There are things airbrushes are really good for, and things that they aren't. Just keep in mind that ultimately, if you really love the airbrush as a tool to paint ace models, you'll end up spending a bunch of money on a bunch of airbrushes, and things like setup, cleanup, ventilation, and color changes are off-putting to many.

Also, I'm sure someone has said this already, when you watch videos on YouTube, most are fast-forwarded, so it doesn't *actually* go as fast as some videos make it seem. Plus, inevitably, you go through more paint than with a traditional brush.

I stick with a good selection of hairy sticks for my painting. An airbrush, to me, is an expensive toy that you have to spend more time cleaning than you do painting. Plus you have to worry about fumes and overspray and all that. I'll pass, at least for now.

Well I think I will give the airbrush a pass for now, at the moment I need to spend my money on "washes" and "inks" as I am still using gw paints from like years ago.and some more models.

This dude uses brushes;

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/660442.page

This was also done with a brush;

http://i.imgur.com/Zyj474c.jpg

Keep on practicing, and one day I'll hate you just as much

Wow! And wow! As for hating, there will always be haters!lol. Oneday.

I can fully understand how people can view airbrush as "cheating".
Anything that seems "too easy" compared to a prior method is both maddening and an "ah ha!" moment.

I find "block painting" more of a chore when getting down to the business of painting squads of miniatures.
Airbrush gives incredibly fast results in this regard and is ideal for getting a good coat on uneven surfaces like graveled bases with less paint.

For a very even surface paint-job and good gradient painting airbrush is hard to beat for the least amount of time to do it.
The wet blending with the brush I think will give better results but may need a multitude of layers and hours to achieve.

I am a "painter" foremost and airbrush is part of that (in the last couple years).
For practice I painted-up a guys welding helmet at work to look like a Templar Knight's helm.
When I finished I just could not believe I had painted that thing.
I am always amazed at the results of airbrush (large surfaces, zenithal highlight, shading) AND brush (details, crevice shade, edging, dry-brush) on large pieces, makes me look like an expert for what feels to me no real skill required other than how to maintain my stuff.
Got to try out how to paint rivets on a surface with airbrush, simple and awesome results.

I find the more I learn, the more I enjoy painting (hard work before!) and these various tricks and tools just make it all better.
I feel something is lost when we define ourselves by only one tool.

Isn't it all about taking what you envision in your head and making it real?

kb_lock wrote:
This dude uses brushes;

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/660442.page

This was also done with a brush;

http://i.imgur.com/Zyj474c.jpg

Keep on practicing, and one day I'll hate you just as much

The imgur thing looks cool

It is done by a commission painting house - den of imagination, they have a page here somewhere I'm sure.

Brushwork all the way! Everything in my galleries was brushed into being - the Cerastus Knight Wing made me seriously consider borrowing an airbrush but I managed them without it in the end.

Well I'm gonna dive right in, bought some chaos raptors and when we got home wife said "ok let me see what the sprews look like as I'm gonna have to paint them" I said "no" this one is all on me. Brush all the way! Doing them as sons of malice (black and white" ya I know. Started a thread "sons of malice" so I'm gonna take it one model at a time and make sure I do the best I can. "Do the best at everything you do - and someday you will be the best at what you do"...KP54...thanks to all the dakka vets for all the advise!!!! I hope that this thread will help others as it has helped me.