Listed Below are Some Painting, Airbrushing and Air Compressor Tips.
AIRBRUSHING TIPS
First and foremost, I highly recommend you purchase the
book: “Breakthrough Waterfowl and Bird
Finishing Manual” by Kelly Seibel. I’ll
put a link to it on my “Supplies I Use”
section of my website. It is well worth
the cost ($25 - $30 US) and I believe an absolute “must have” for bird
painting.
Practice. Get
comfortable with your equipment, mixing paints, cleanup, techniques and
blending colors.
Certain soft, realistic, finishing effects can be achieved
with airbrush use, more so than with stiff paint brushes.
Keep airbrush clean at all times, disassemble to clean. Clean equipment after every use. Drain moisture traps.
Keep your airbrush instructions. Read and refer to manufacturers suggestions.
For a clog when painting; try pressing and pulling paint
trigger to allow a burst of air and paint into a paper towel. This spray may help to flush out the tip of
airbrush. If not, you will have to
disassemble and clean the tip well. The instructions
with your airbrush should detail this better.
Keep your paint area well ventilated. Manufacturers recommend a mask
respirator. Paint particles can be very
small and absorbed in the lungs. Always follow manufacturer’s
suggestions and warnings.
AIR COMPRESSOR TIPS
Air compressor with pressure of 10 – 50 psi.
Has pressure regulator and moisture trap.
Check for moisture in your air supply by spraying clean, dry
air through airbrush onto dry paper towel for couple seconds. If you have moisture, fix problem before you
continue.
PAINT TIPS
Usually, thin to consistency of milk before spraying. However, some paints flow better with
different consistencies.
If lids are left off between uses, it must be re-thinned
before use. For water based paints, thin
with water.
Anything falling into your paint must be removed before using. It will clog your airbrush.
I recommend water based paints. They are non-flammable, easy to use and easy
to clean up; soap and water.
Patience! Trial and
error in mixing colors to get the correct shade of color you want. Painting birds is a process of layering and
blending different colors to create depth and realism.
Apply paint lightly. You
can always add more of a certain color. The
less paint used, the better.
Lighter colors are
applied first. Build your depth upon
that. One layer at a time.
AIRBRUSHING
TECHNIQUES
Study live pheasants (or whatever bird you are doing), if
possible. Refer to color photos.
Collect color photos from books and magazines. I have collected wildlife photos from hunting
and fishing magazines through the years.
Refer to them often.
When mixing colors, always use “like” paints.
Cover the areas on bird close to where you are spraying to
prevent overspray.
Be very careful when injecting feet, wear all safety
protection; eyes, rubber gloves, etc.
This chemical can cause blindness.
Make sure area is well ventilated.
WATER BASED COLORS
USED IN PHEASANT VIDEO
White,
Tooth Yellow,Satin White Pearl,
Chocolate Brown,
Black,
Bright Red,
Phthalo Blue,
Light Green and
Satin Sheen Gloss.
When you are ready to paint, have all
your supplies by your work station, reference photos, paints, Q-Tips, airbrush,
water… everything you’ll need. Then,
just relax and take your time.
Hey Rick, just mounted couple of turkeys , wire wheel fleshed,kemal4 ,dawn,rinsed, soaked in dp in water,tumbled, mounted. The birds are dry now,I should have degreased in Coleman fuel, now the feathers aren't fanning out. I've been spraying with acetone drying with paper towels, not helping . Any ideas? Thanks for all your help. I had the weasel question few months ago, it turned out great.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't sound like a degreasing problem to me. While a turkey is drying, you have to play with the feathers, move them back into position daily, at least. I use a hair dryer directed against the feathers to fluff up while drying. It's the skin that holds the feathers in your desired position. Manipulate...fluff... etc. You said you "soaked in dp in water", does that mean you soaked in dry preservative in water? That won't work. You should've washed, rinsed, tumbled (which would've fluffed feathers up), applied dry preservative, mounted, move feathers into place daily. Are your feathers matted against the bird? or, are they fluffy? I'm trying to get a good handle on the problem. Give me some more details, please. - Rick
DeleteThe feathers are fluffed and in position. The individual feathers the quill are separated.I did powder it with dp before mounting. You know how feathers on an arrow look after they've been wet, kinda looks like that. I've fluffed it with air compressor. That may have been what did it.
ReplyDeleteOk. I know what you're talking about now. I've used steam before to get the feathers to come back on the quills. If you can find a way to concentrate steam on the feathers, you may be able to get them to come back. Once they're like that, it's difficult work. They kind of lock together. As a last resort, you may have to do each one by hand with your fingers. Let me know how it goes. Email anytime. Good luck. - Rick
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