Today I’m going to save you months of frustration with an excellent beginner friendly airbrush paint that will teach you the correct consistency airbrush paint is supposed to be, and how it feels when sprayed through an airbrush!
No guessing how much reducer to add. The consistency of said paint straight from the bottle is optimal for airbrush use! As opposed to literally every other (falsely labeled) airbrush ready paint I have come across…
Most are far too thick straight from the bottle and require a substantial amount of reducer before use (which is not ideal for beginners)…
Speaking from personal experience, the hardest part of learning to airbrush Is learning how to properly thin the paint so it flows well through the airbrush, yet provides good coverage on each stroke.
This paint I’ll share with you shortly gives you that perfect consistency straight out of the bottle. Making it a no brainer for anyone learning how to operate an airbrush!
As this paint will help you to learn what well thinned airbrush paint looks like, feels like, and acts like in the airbrush. This way when you choose to level up to paint that requires reducer, you’ll know the exact consistency to aim for!
No guessing, as I did for months…
What Is The Best Airbrush Paint For Beginners?
Its Known As Com-Art Colors (Found On Amazon)!
It is the absolute best airbrush paint for beginners In my opinion, no doubt about it!
If your just picking up an airbrush, you need to start with this paint. It will literally save you so much time and frustration!
I only wish I had known of Com-Art airbrush paint when I initially began to learn how to airbrush.
It would have saved me months of frustration and a significant amount of trial and error to learn proper paint consistency.
Simply because, Com-Art does not require any additives to manipulate the consistency of the paint in order for it to function well with the airbrush. As is, it is at the perfect consistency desired by an airbrush straight from the bottle! Most airbrush paints must be thinned significantly before they will function well in an airbrush.
But not Com-art, it is the only paint I have found on the market that does not require reducer / thinner before use. Which makes it perfect to learn with, as it gives you a sense of how thin airbrush paint needs to be, and how airbrush paint should feels when sprayed through the airbrush at the correct consistency.
It makes learning to airbrush so much simpler, because you can actually learn to airbrush instead of sit and fight paint consistency for hours on end, as I did in the early days of my airbrush career.
Now I should say, I did eventually learn proper paint consistency for an airbrush, but it took me far longer then I believe was necessary. Mainly because I didn’t have any guidance on the topic, and I was essentially shooting in the dark as I had no idea what correct paint consistency sprayed like (Lots of trial and error till I found a consistency sweet spot I liked, and jived well with my airbrush).
My hope is that Com-Art will be that guidance for you. Think of Com-Art Colors as training wheels, but for an airbrush.
Why Is Com-Art The Best For Beginners?
It was developed by one of the largest airbrush equipment manufacturers in the industry, Iwata. Otherwise known as Anest-Iwata, or Iwata-Media. Yeah those guys that make the Iwata Eclipse, likely the most utilized airbrush in the industry!
Aside from that, It is literally the only airbrush paint I have found that is actually “Airbrush ready”. You can literally use it straight out of the bottle as is and it functions flawlessly. It is pretty much plug an play so to say. You shake the paint, dump it into your airbrush and spray away!
I know I have said this many times but you literally do not need any sort of reducer when using Com-Art! Making it revolutionary for those learning to airbrush.
No joke, every other airbrush paint I have used states it is “Airbrush ready” but it is far to thick to be used straight out of the bottle. They always require at least a 1:1 (paint to reducer) mix to get semi close to that optimal consistency an airbrush requires.
As well,
Com-Art is no low end paint. It’s been heavily pigmented for ultra color saturation and developed using some of the finest ground pigments for smooth spray and no clogs.
Plus, there are plenty of color options when it comes to Com-Art Paints
Com-Art offers both Opaque and Transparent, Primary and Secondary colors. And to make it even better, the consistency of the paint straight from the bottle for both opaque and transparent colors spray nearly the exact same! Which is a huge win in terms of usability and reliability.
Let me give you some context:
Usually, Opaque airbrush paints are much thicker then Transparent paints and require much more reducer in order to get optimal spray. Well, with the Com-Art line of paints you can’t tell a difference between Opaque and Transparent colors in terms of spray quality!
You’d think the opaque colors in the Com-Art line of paints would act as most and require at least a little reducer. But they don’t!
You can spray both Com-Art Opaque and Transparent colors straight from the bottle with very little (If any) noticeable difference in spray quality and consistency. Which is something I never thought I’d say in relation to airbrush paints!
Goodness, I never thought I’d say you can spray airbrush paint straight from the bottle, and do so without upsetting the airbrush! But Com-Art will do it with flying colors!
Tricks To Make Com-Art Work Best For You!
First and foremost, make sure to shake the paint well! I personally have a DIY paint shaker I constructed, but shaken by hand will work. Clumpy paint will not spray through an airbrush good, no matter how top notch the paint is…
For the most part, Com-art doesn’t require special treatment.
That being said, In the early days of using it, I wouldn’t recommend you tinker with consistency (don’t add reducer). Only tinker with air pressure (PSI). Start using the paint anywhere between 18 – 45 PSI.
I personally like the way Com-art paint sprays at 25 – 30 PSI, but different airbrushes will prefer more or less air pressure (Ps. I’m using an Iwata Eclipse).
Now after you’ve spent some time using the paint as is (straight from the bottle), try adding a little bit of distilled water to it, it will act as a thinner / reducer. See how it sprays at that, you could also turn down the air pressure (PSI), as thinner paint requires less (PSI) to atomize.
Put simply, After your comfortable with how the paint sprays straight from the bottle at different pressures, try tinkering with consistency a little bit. You’ll start to learn the interaction between Paint Consistency and Air Pressure. Adjusting one or the other slightly will have subtle changes in spray quality.
It’s almost like fine tuning an instrument for optimal sound.
Usually the thinner the paint, the less air pressure needed. To great of air pressure will lead to a substantial amount of overspray, to little will lead to sputtering (Inconsistent flow of paint when pulling back on the airbrush trigger).
When To Move On From Com-Art?
Though I refer to Com-Art airbrush paints as a training paint to help you learn the feel of proper paint consistency.
It is in fact an option you can stick with for a long time to come, it was not just developed specifically for beginners. They have plenty of colors and color options to suffice the majority of what many intend on doing with their airbrush. Not to mention, Com-art is a very versatile paint when it comes to the different surfaces it can be used on.
But If I had to give you a time frame before moving on to a more advanced option such as Createx Illustration colors. I’d say, stick with Com-Art for at least your first few months (Assuming your airbrushing a few times a week).
This time will ferment in your mind exactly how properly thinned airbrush paint is supposed to look and feel.
This way when you start thinning paint your self (which is a requirement with the more advanced paints), you’ll know the exact consistency to aim for. Just target near to the same consistency of Com-Art paints.
Oh and of course be sure to tinker with different colors, you’ll begin to learn the push and pull different colors have with one another when blended together.
Conclusion
Com-Art paint is a saving grace for those starting to learn how to use an airbrush, no doubt about it!
Simply because, learning proper paint consistency is likely the most difficult part of learning to airbrush in the early days… Most get it very wrong (As I did) and will find themselves overwhelmed and frustrated rather then having fun and well, airbrushing.
But Com-Art comes pre-thinned to that perfect consistency desired by an airbrush. No thinning required, which makes it perfect for beginners and those in the early stages of learning to airbrush.
Com-Art will teach you proper paint consistency virtually instantly. Without wasting weeks or months trying to narrow down proper paint consistency through trial and error.
I Truly believe you will find Com-Art airbrush paint to be very valuable in the early days of learning how to airbrush. Simply because its ready to go straight out of the bottle. Literally every other airbrush paint on the market requires reducer before use, but not Com-Art.
Making it very simple to use, and far easier to learn the intricate artistic side of working with an airbrush!
Com-Art put simply: Is a frustration free, easy to use airbrush paint! I strongly recommend you give it a try!
Anyway, I hope you were able to find some value here! If you have any further questions regarding how to use an airbrush do be sure to take a look around the website. Airbrush Insider is dedicated to helping all in the airbrush community!
This is Colt signing off!
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