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Not sure if I want to revive this thread, but here goes:

Using an airbrush is just like using a paintbrush. Sometimes it looks better, otehr times it looks worse, as with all other techniques and effects. There is just one thing I hate: (well not hate, but strongly dislike) aurbrushed OSL. No, not all OSL made by airbrush, but when it's either overdone, done wrong, or just sprayed on on literally every single weapon. I personally don't think spraying a white blob at a Plasma Pistol makes it look good. Here's an example; Awaken Realms. I normally love their paintjobs, they look excellent, there are only two paintjobs I think look awful (but then again, so is everything I paint, I can't really judge)



Look at that picture. Lovely bikes, right? There's just one thing... All bikers have a blue/white dot painted over their weapons, regardless of whether it is a Plasma or a Bolter. That is just... it shows that the painter, although very very competent, missed that Bolters don't glow like that.



That's another one. I mean... what? Are those highlights? OSL? Absolutely nothing looks like that in real life. Why did they feel the need to paint white blobs on the top of all surfaces?

 Matthew wrote:

That's another one. I mean... what? Are those highlights? OSL? Absolutely nothing looks like that in real life. Why did they feel the need to paint white blobs on the top of all surfaces?

But...this isnt real life. It's a small plastic robot figure. Its obviously a lower level commission and that had to serve as the highlight along with the random edge highlighting by brush.

@Matthew - If you put these two Awaken Realms commissioned jobs in the context of top-notch, highly-prized display models, you'd be right in that they're, well, not. The addition of gradients doesn't add any realism or accentuate natural or imagined highlights in any way that "closes the deal" for the viewer. Neither pass any kind of critical examination of and they fall far short when you compare them to award-winning models.

On the other hand, if you imagine instead that these are commissions for people who don't want to pay hundreds of dollars for a paint job on each model representing less than 2% of their army's point value, and just want a nice gaming model relatively inexpensively, you have to ask: would the models look better *without* the spot colors?

Of course, that's debatable. The problem on the ravenwing is that the model becomes really bland. Sure, the tires and bottoms of the legs would look better drybrushed and weathered. Of course, the plasma guns would look a lot better if they were fully detailed. But all that kind of stuff is really time consuming, and if someone wants to pay $20-$30 a model, it's just not going to happen. Keep in mind, even at $30, that's a $240 commission for just 1-2 squads.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of that look or application of airbrush because I would rather spend a little more time on my own models. But from a commission perspective, as both buyer and seller, I'd totally understand.

Airbrushing is a lot like CGI: You only tend to notice it when it's done poorly. Used properly, an airbrush is no different from any other tool in an artist's arsenal.

That being said, this poll (and really the whole thread) is destructive. The choices in this poll lead you to believe that a model was done 100% with an airbrush or 100% without, and most of the example pictures used to bash airbrushing perpetuate that view. This is the internet so you can talk about whatever you want and find other people to support your opinion, but let's not beat around the bush; the thread may as well be titled, "Who else hates airbrushes."