"Tips & Tricks. Gadgets & Gizmos."

Informative Contributions From The Forum Members Of Airbrushtech.net.

I was playing around with creating alligator scales. I found it to be difficult because they're inconsistent unlike snake scales which are very consistent and can be achieved using a mesh material. I tried some different mesh materials and didn't like the result, so I started messing around and here's what i came up with.....

This is the fun part.... Took my white stabilo pencil and drew each scale on the parts as a rectangle or square, trying to be loose and rough for a natural aged look, random is good but it still needs to have form.

I sprayed the scale color directly over the stabilo marks making sure not to bury it too deep because it needs to come off, also spraying in an inconsistent coverage pattern to simulate different shade areas of scales.

Lava bar soap takes stabilo off. You do have to work at it, these two parts took me 1.5 hours to get all the stabilo off, if you're not a fan of wetsanding this isn't for you because it's worse. It works best to not soak the rag with water but to have it a bit on the dryer side and keep the lava soap fresh on the rag, it has very small abraisives so the more dry it is, the more friction you'll create, thus less muscle work.

I base coated the parts out in a dark brown color, this will be the dark area between the scales, I'm using urethanes (ppg).

Some of the top base color will come off as well but it actualy helps the aged leathery scale look. If your dark base color is sprayed dry it will have some texture and this will be amplified with this step, kinda looks cool. Then clean with wax/grease remover a few times. By the end of this step your hands will be cleaner than ever!

After everything is clean, add the shadowing and highlights to the scales at random. Not sure if this method would work with water paints, I suggest trying a test panel. Overall I have 5 hours into what you see here.  - Jason Prouty

Creating Custom Tribal Art

#1. Find an image

#2. Start the line lay outs

I do a lot of custom tribal designs so I figured I'd share how I come up with them. - Corey

#3. In photoshop adjust the contrast balances.

#4. Fill in the line layouts. All thats left is to clean up the image and crispen things up.

Cover Those Thingy's!

Buy some Liquitex Flow Aid. Mix 1 drop of Liquitex Flow Aid with 15-20 drops of cleaned water (distilled water/pure water). Mix your paint with 20% of this mixture (any paint). It recommends mixing it fresh, but it seems to work just fine weeks later if you shake it up in a bottle. You can work for hours with less air pressure too! What's more impressive, it even makes Createx a good paint to work with, other that scratching and erasing. - Karrine aka Airarts

I need advice on cleaning out my color cup quickly for a color change. Any and all suggestions will be appreciated. - ifixjets

I use spray bottles, and a bucket or trash can.
Empty the cup of paint, fill the cup with cleaner.
Blast with a stream of cleaner and spraying into the bucket until it runs fairly clear. Repeat in necessary (thicker paints are harder to budge).
 Intermittently, if I'm spraying a lot...I'll run a little airbrush restorer through it, to clean out any residual goo. - Lynne aka colorshift

Got Wood !

Step 1
 This panel is already white. If it wasn't already, then you would have to base coat white. So I went on and applied a wet coat of semi opaque light brown

Step 2
Then I tore my red scotch brite pad to create a jagged edge.

Step 3
 Drag it through the wet paint in a downward direction.

Step 4 
 This is what it should look like once the dragging is done. We are going for a straight grained golden oak.

                           Step 5
The I mixed up a color of transparent rootbeer and transparent black to create a walnut brown. Then start random streaks and strokes to create a bit more contrast .

                                     Step 6
This is after the dark brown is done. Then I sprayed a light coat of transparent sun gold . This will catch the light spots that you dragged through and turn it to a golden oak color.

 Tips, Tricks, Gadgets & Gizmos are randomly picked from various threads in the Airbrushtech Forum. If you would like to get a short story in this section see the "How To Articles" section in the public forum and start a new thread with your idea.

In and ongoing effort to obtain new business you put your business cards on the counter in other places of business. Next to yours is a dozen other company's trying to get the same clients that you seek. How do you make your business card stand out above the others and get that potential clients interest? Make A custom card holder that displays your work and creativity. - stevenskc

This cool paper van can be downloaded at www.nerfect.com. Import it into any graphic editing program and create your own design. You can even change the license plate and what the bumper stickers read. Every component of the van can be edited.

 Print the van on 110 lb paper. Cut along the edges with an x-atco knife then follow the direction in order to properly fold the paper and assemble the van.

 Cut a slit in the roof wide enough to place your business cards in. Sit this on any counter and watch how fast your cards are picked up and see how much more business you generate just by doing something as simple as making a paper van..