Airbrush Tutorials: Small, Manageable Bites!

Of all the airbrush tutorials - this is an important one... because rather than being about technique, it's about confidence!

While the painting above looks really complicated and difficult, it was not terribly difficult to paint... all I had to do was break it down into smaller, more manageable parts...

Part 1

First I came up with a plan ... and sketched it all out.

Part 2

The I worked solely on the horses bridle - and I worked on it till I thought it was as perfect as I could get it. Once happy with it, I covered it all up with frisket so that I would not damage any of my hard work with over spray.

Part 3

Next I worked on the background...again covering it with frisket when I was done.

Part 4

Next came the boot....

Here is a close up... just like with the bridle, I worked on the boot till I thought it was the best I could do.

Part 5

Then I moved onto the pants, sweater and glove - working on them one at a time.

Part 6

Now it's time to move on the most complicated part of the painting - the horse. Although he looks completely brown, he was actually several colors - each one was mixed individually and then painted in the right spot.

Part 7

... And here it is all filled in. Notice how it doesn't look quite right - nothing a little shading with transparent paints won't fix!

Part 8

After lots of careful shading, the horse takes shape - looking more real by the minute... note that this takes patience but is well worth it.

Part 9

And here it is all done!

I hope showing you that breaking a project down into smaller parts helps with all the other airbrush tutorials and projects you tackle.