Airbrush Work Area Set Up

Next week I will post a podcast demo of basic airbrushing techniques when working on paper. ( My Flip Mino video cam is being shipped as we speak.) To get ready for airbrushing anything you need to set up a safe spraying area somewhere in your studio. You need a strong exhaust fan very close to your work. You need to wear a respirator. I would recommend the real deal here, not just a work dust mask. Just about all acrylic and water color paints have heavy medals like lead, cadmium, cobalt. Just read the name of the color and it will give you a clue to the toxin you are about to inhale. Airbrush droplets fall out of the air and settle into dust. So you also need to mop and damp dust your work area frequently and keep this dust from your kitchen or the rest of your living quarters. If you do not use an exhaust fan these droplets will travel in a cloud of toxic color to the edges of the room. Remember artists are in the top 10 hazardous jobs list.

You need to set up good lighting in your studio. Florescent lights cast a green tint onto your work and you will wind up adding reds (the opposite or complimentary color) to your work to compensate for the green. When you wake up in the morning and look at your work in natural light a portrait may appear red faced. To alleviate this problem you need to get what is called color balanced tubes for your florescent lights. These tubes are sold in any reputable electric supply store. They fit into regular florescent light fixtures.

The best type of work table or easel is one that can be both. I found this table years ago. I can adjust it to any degree I need. Sometimes when you airbrush a heavy background you want to lay the work almost flat to avoid drips or runs. Most airbrush artists sit to work, I prefer to stand. I like to see my work easel style as opposed to laying flat. The ability of my table to swing up or down saves me a lot of bending over when I am working on lower sections of the picture. I make it into table position when I am cutting frisket. We will discuss frisket film, stenciling and hand held shields in the next postings.