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Introduction:
This lesson plan is based on a series of classes that were taught at the store.
It is material intensive, requiring at least 2 airbrushes and an air source
that can power multiple brushes at the same time. It would be difficult and costly
for an average family to work from this lesson. Anyone who already has these
tools and would like to introduce novices and young adults to the airbrush will
be able to fully experience this lesson. Using compressed air to push any number
of paints through an airgun is a technique used in the graphic arts as well as
the fine arts. An experienced airbrush artist can make very realistic renderings.
The airbrush is also an ideal tool for creating abstract compositions, decorating
craft projects, cake decorating, nail art, T-shirt design, automotive design,
and even body painting. It is a versatile tool and well worth being familiar
with. There are many different companies and many styles of airbrushes, each
one suitable for different applications. They all have many small parts and it
is essential that you be familiar with all the parts, how they work, how to take
apart, clean and put a brush back together. I cannot stress cleanliness enough.
As with an expensive sable brush, the better it is taken care of, the longer
it will last. The most important parts of the airbrush are the needle, tip, aircap,
trigger, plunger, body, hose, and airsource. People use canned air, CO2 tanks,
and motorized compressors to push air through the gun. Depending on the thickness
of the paint being sprayed, you can work between 25 and 50 PSI (pounds per square
inch of air). Airbrushes also come either single action or double action. A single
action brush has a trigger that when depressed, feeds a specific amount of air
and paint through the tip. You cannot control the amount of air but can control
the amount of paint, usually by tightening a nozzle on the front of the brush.
These brushes are good for mural work or anything not requiring small details.
A double action brush allows you to shoot air alone,
or air and a controllable amount of paint while you are spraying. They are the
most versatile brushes, are ideal for detailed work, and are less frustrating
to learn on.
Materials:
- Airbrush
(suggestion: Paachee H single action, Badger Crescendo
double action)
- Airsource
(CO2 tank or motorized compressor)
- Compatible
hoses
- Concentrated
watercolor
- Color
bottles – 1 per color (available in plastic or glass)
- Hot
press illustration board
- Friskit
film
- Exacto
knives
- Pencils
and erasers
- Found
objects of interesting shapes *Spray over objects which
are laying on top of the illustration board. You can use
natural and man made objects to illustrate organic and
inorganic shapes.
Directions:
- First,
have the students create a stencil with frisket film. Give
everyone a piece of frisket the same size as their illustration
board. Have them draw their design on the matte side with
pencil. Try to keep the shapes fairly simple and stress abstract
for the sake of experimentation. Anyone attempting a complicated
design the first time they pick up an airbrush will only
be disappointed. There are two ways to apply frisket (which
masks areas you do not want painted). For simple shapes,
cut out the pieces with an Xacto knife, peel the paper backing
and apply the frisket firmly to the board. For more complicated
designs, after having drawn on the frisket, peel the paper
backing off and apply the whole uncut piece to the board.
Then, using slight pressure, cut the pieces of frisket off
the board. This method is easier for cutting but produces
slightly less desirable results. If you cut too deep the
paint will bleed underneath onto areas where you do not want
it. As students finish their stencils, have them come up
to spray.
- This
arrangement works best set up as an assembly line. Set up
two small tables side by side with your air source in between
on the floor. The students will work two at a time, one at
each table. If you have any way to set up a stand or holder
centrally located for the two airbrushes, that would be ideal.
You can have a couple of colors set up for the single action
and a couple of colors set up for the double action and this
will encourage use of both airbrushes. Have each student
spray over their friskit. Stress that if their board gets
too wet it will bleed under the friskit. Watercolors are
not as brilliant as other paints and work best when applied
in many colored layers. For the purposes of this lesson watercolor
is used because it is not permanent and easy to clean up.
If you are feeling bold and are willing to thoroughly clean
any brushes in use, try using acrylic airbrush paint. Send
each student back to their desk until everyone has a chance
to spray. When their illustration board has dried have them
peel the friskit off. Keep all pieces of cut and uncut friskit.
It can be reused.
- The
second time through, have the students spray a single color
over the entire board. If the student sprayed their stencil
in yellow, for example, and they spray a blue over the whole
board, their yellow will become green. If the student does
not want to spray over their stenciled color they must reapply
the piece of friskit that was originally cut out and matches
the shape they want to mask. The first layer of paint must
be completely dry before you put friskit over it.
- The
third time around have the students choose some found objects
to spray over. Have the students use leaves, sticks, rocks,
twine, etc., or nuts, bolts, forks, combs etc. as a way to
teach organic and inorganic shapes. *You can interchange
these steps and spray in whatever order you like as long
as the illustration board is completely dry before you do
the next step. Experiment with different found objects to
find which leave the most interesting impressions. Use the
same friskit shapes over and over to create interesting patterns
or shadow effects. Experiment with different paints. Watercolors
are wonderfully translucent and you can get some interesting
color over color effects. Acrylic paints are vibrant and
opaque and work on just about any surface. Enamels are great
on metal. REMEMBER TO CLEAN YOUR BRUSH!!
Resources:
Miller, David and James M. Effler. Dynamic Airbrush. North Light Books. Cincinnati.
1987.
Owen, Peter and John Sutcliffe. The Complete Airbrush and Photo Retouching Manual.
North Light Books, Cincinnati. 1985.
T-Shirt Airbrushing: The Step by Step Guide and Showcase. Rockport Publishers,
Mass. Distributed by Northlight Books, Cincinnati. 1995.
Also check
out "Airbrush Action Magazine" and "Airbrush Magazine" for
great ideas and up to date information.
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