AIRBRUSH

THE MAGAZINE
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2019
$9.95 US 9 EURO
FEATURED ARTIST
TERRY STEVENS
INTERVIEW
RAFA FONSECA

A.J.THOMPSON
HAWK “HOW TO”
PART #3
RODINO BAUTISTA HELMET PAINTING
SEMA BIKE BASICS PT. 1
DON JOHNSON

GREG ANDREWS
PIN-UP HOW TO

CESAR DEFERRARI
T-SHIRT HOW TO

READERS
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OCTOBER- NOVEMBER 2019

AIRBRUSH
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1-352-361-3403 INTERVIEW ARTIST
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RAFA FONSECA
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FEATURED ARTIST RODINO BAUTISTA
[email protected] Airbrush The Magazine
KIWI TERRY Part #3 Wicked Beauty SEMA
interview with the very
Graphic Design talented airbrush artist
Bike. Rodino continues to share
Beata Tapolska Our interview with artist Kiwi Rafa.
with us his painting, leafing
Terry I’m sure you will find it
and pinstriping techniques
Advertising with us: very interesting. Terry’s history
as used on the Wicked Beauty
1-352-361-3403 in this business and some
custom Harley.
advice to those new to all this.
/airbrushthemagazine You can see this bike in person #5
in the Trulers booth at SEMA
@airbrushthemagazine #1 READERS GALLERY this year.

airbrushthemagazine.com #5 GREG ANDREWS

December 2019 PIN-UP HOW TO #14

Marcus Eisenhuth #23 Don Johnson
#14 CESAR DEFERRARI HELMET BASICS
T-SHIRT HOW TO PART #1

#20 A.J. THOMPSON #25 Kustom Konwent #20

ILLUSTRATION
HOW TO

#23

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

 READERS GALLERY

Artist Tommy Hamm

Artist Byron Lawrence

Artist Thomas Williams

Artist Ron Gibbs

Artist Mike O’Brain

1 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

 INTERVIEW RAFA FONSECA
facebook.com/Rafaairbrushschool

Bogotá, Colombia

Yo aprendí básicamente con la prueba y 6. Which subject matter is your favorite to

1. Have you been interested in drawing,
el error. Yo soy empír ico autodidacta. B paint?
art since you were a child?
ásicamente por la misma intuición me acerque I like to paint, above all, personal projects,
Yes, since I was 5 years old, I started to draw.
al aerógrafo. Empecé a practicar y con mis my compositions, which give other artists
I’m passionate about drawing. At that time
conocimientos que tenia de dibujo y algo de and spectators a different idea and a slightly
he drew comics and cartoons, Like Dragon
pintura empecé a lanzarme a descubrir esta more reflective concept about art. Besides
Ball and Knights of the Zodiac.
nueva herramienta. A sí me forme hasta el this, I like to get involved a lot what is
momento no he estudi ado con na die y me he portraits, animals, the human figure. Initially,
Si, desde los 5 años, empecé a dibujar.
formado a punta de práctica. I started painting personal and realistic
Me apasione por el dibujo. En esa época
portraits of famous or popular figures.
dibujaba
4. So how long have you been airbrushing?
comics y caricaturas Como dragón Ball y
I dedicated 100% to the airbrush since Me gusta pintar sobretodo proyectos
Caballeros del Zodiaco
January 2014 about 5 years ago. personales composiciones propias las cuales
le aporten a los demás artistas y espectadores
2. When was the first time you saw
Me d edique 100% al aerógrafo desde enero una idea diferente y un concepto un poco
someone using an airbrush?
del 2014, hace 5 años más reflexivo sobre el arte y sobre las obras.
To be honest, I never saw anyone, I had
Además de esto me gusta involucrar mucho
already painted something with body guns
5. What is your favorite surface to airbrush lo que es el retrato, animales figura humana I
and that sort of thing and I started painting
on? nicialmente empecé pinta n do personales y
with an airbrush intuitively. After that, I
Love painting on canvas and aluminum r etratos realistas de
became interested in the tool and I tried to
panels mostly. figuras famosas o populares.
find references online by Youtube, to know
the artists who used the airbrush.
A mí me fascina pintar sobre lienzo y los
paneles de aluminio
Para ser honestos, nunca vi a nadie, ya había
pintado algo con pistolas de carrocerías y
ese tipo
de cosas y empecé a pintar con aerógrafo
por intuición. Después de esto me interese
en la
herramienta y intenté a buscar referentes
por inte rnet por you tobe, para conocer los
artistas
que utilizaban el aerógrafo.

3. How did you learn to airbrush?

I learned basically with the test and the error.
I am an empirical self-taught. Basically by
the same intuition I approach the airbrush.
I started to practice and with my knowledge
that I had drawing and some painting I started
to throw myself to discover this new tool. This
is how I trained so far, I have not studied with
anyone and I have trained with lots of practice.

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 2

 RAFA FONSECA as far as hyperrealism.

7. How popular is airbrushing where you suficientes para que las personas puedan
live? conocer de los artistas. Las redes sociales Buena pregunta, yo diría que los artistas que
I would say that the popularity of the han abierto una puerta, no solo en mi país si han marcado de verdad mi arte y lo que he
airbrush in Colombia is increasing. That’s no a nivel mundial donde todos los artistas aprendido hasta el momento o en el estilo
precisely why I have a school where I teach podemos mostrar lo que hacemos y divulgar seria Cory Saint Clear, me parece que ha
airbrushing. We focus on making airbrushing nuestro art e sin barreras. Claro que sí, es m sido brutal el trabajo de él y fue una de mis
more and more popular here. ás ya ahora complete 30 mil suscriptores mayores inspiraciones cuando comencé en
en you tube. De personas que me siguen, esto de la aer el trabajo de él y fue una de mis
Yo diría que la popularidad del aerógrafo en personas que apoyan mi arte entre los cuales mayores inspiraciones cuando comencé en
Colombia está aumentando, precisamente hay artistas , hay fanáticos, amantes del arte esto de la aerografía, ografía, Alan Pastrana,
por eso aficionados, bueno de todo público tenemos precisamente él también es colombiano
tengo una escuela donde enseño y pues en el canal. seguí mucho su trabajo y me parece Alan
básicamente nos enfocamos en que esto sea Pastrana, precisamente él también es
cada vez 10. What is your long term goal with colombiano seguí mucho su trabajo y me
más famoso, pero yo creo que la popularidad your art? Do you hope to teach others parece genial en cuanto a su limpieza y su
seria de un 30% someday? trazo. Y por otro lado yo creeríagenial en
My long-term goal is to get exposure for my cuanto a su limpieza y su trazo. Y por otro
8. Do you use a traditional artists brush in works in the most important museums in the lado yo creería que éque él que me marcadol
any of your artwork? world, God willing. Of course, I love teaching, que me marcado mucho como esa posición
Yes, I use mixed media, I use normal ordinary I teach in my school in Bogotá Colombia and a dominar no tal vez igualar el manejo del
brushes to achieve some details that my I have also given some online workshops. mucho como esa posición a dominar no tal
works require. The use of the brush I would vez igualar el manejo del hiperrealismo que
say is 5% or 10% and 90% everything else is Mi meta a largo plazo es llegar a exponer maneja hiperrealismo que maneja Dru Blair.
done with an airbrush. mis obras person ales en los museos más
importantes del mundo, si Dios lo permite 12. What advice do you have for your
Si, utilizo técnicas mixtas, utilizo pinceles vamos a llegar allá . Claro que enseño , yo fellow airbrush artists?
normales comunes y corrientes para lograr enseño en una escuela en Bogotá Colombia Work hard to persevere what you practice,
algunos detalles que requieren mis obras, y también he dictado algunos talleres on your style of painting. The only way to raise
pero el uso del pincel diría que es del 5 % o line. the level, the only way to progress, the only
10% ósea que el 90% todo lo realizo es con way to get far is by working hard without
aerógrafo 11. Who do you think influenced you the rest and putting your heart into what they
most in your art? Which artist? are doing.
9. How do you feel social media has Good question I would say that the artists
helped you as an artist? Getting new fans that have really marked my art and what Trabajar mucho que perseveren que
following your artwork? I have learned so far or in style would be practique mucho. La única manera de subir
Quite a bit, since in my country the support Cory Saint Clear, he is one of my biggest nivel, la única manera de pro gresar, la única
of art is not very good. The truth is that there inspirations when I started to learn about manera de llegar lejos es trabajando duro sin
are no places for one to show his work here. airbrushing. Alan Pastrana, he is also descanso y metiéndole el corazón a lo que
There are not enough such places for people Colombian, I followed his work a lot and I están haciendo.
to know about artists. Social networks have think it’s great in terms of cleanliness and
opened a door. Not only in my country but design. Dru Blair has been a great inspiration
also worldwide where all artists can show
what we do and spread our art without
barriers.
Of course, it has helped I now have 30
thousand subscribers on Youtube. People
who follow me, people who support my art
among which there are artists, there are fans,
amateur art lovers. that is a blessing.

Bastante, ya que en mi país el apoyo hacia

el arte no es muy bueno, la verdad no
h ay espacios para uno integrarse, para
uno mostrar su trabajo No hay espacios
3 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019
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OUR PARTNERSHIP
Without the partnership, we have with artists, professional as
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magazine. And we do believe it is exactly that, a partnership
to promote what we all love, airbrushing and custom painting.

It is all about the art. What brand airbrush you use, type of paint
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Anyone and everyone are encouraged to take part with Airbrush
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We are always seeking “How To” articles or Step by Step articles

as some call them. We understand writing a “How To” article is
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To send us your “How To” please use wetransfer.com and send it

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Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 4

 Greg Andrews facebook.com/gregandrewsart

Greg is a professional illustrator based in the Tampa Bay area of Florida USA. He has been working in the
commercial/production art industry for nearly 40 years. He started painting Vans in 1979 then went on to
airbrushing t-shirts for the next 15 years on the Gulf Coast beaches. After a year off in the South Pacific, he began
the commercial branch of his career. He worked in house for various companies doing varying things from paste-
up to full-blown murals to architectural rendering and even some film posters and set work. Eventually, he found
himself back in the T-shirt industry doing illustration and photo manipulation. He is now in self-imposed exile
from the commercial industry and is concentrating on his fantasy and pinup illustrations.

I started my illustration by choosing a photo

reference from my vast archive of reference material.
I’ve learned to use the reference at full size because
this keeps the placement of the vital elements of
the pic in the right place and size. Especially the
faces. I make a tracing on a light table to the paper
that I’ll do the original sketch on. I then make all the
modifications and additions, clothing and weapons,
etc to the image in a tight sketch. Using a light table,
I’ll transfer that sketch to the final heavyweight hot
pressed watercolor paper. I then prime the paper
with gesso over the original penciled lines.

I use transfer paper as the masking.  I use a roller to make sure

it’s flat and adhered properly working from the center out.
The sketch should show faintly through the paper. Using a
fresh standard #11 blade, I cut the masking for the separate
main elements of the picture. Be careful not to be too
heavy-handed and cut through to the watercolor paper.
FOR THE NOVICE I recommend using the transfer paper on
primed illustration board or wood if that is your preferred
material to work on. It’s also would be safer for the novice
because it takes practice not to cut through transfer paper
into the watercolor paper.

I like to work from back to front in most cases. I peel the masking
from the background elements first. It’s good to have a plan on
which areas are dark and light etc. On this piece, I peeled the
masking from the sky first. I then brushed in a base of cerulean blue
and in the dark areas aquamarine. I took a stiff sign painters brush
called a fitch and used it to flick some white of the sky to for the stars
by using the finger on the bristles slingshot method. Be careful not
to overdo it. I’ll sometimes flick it once off the pic to minimize the
running. Doing this while the pic is flat can be helpful as well.

5 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

 Next, I peeled the moon mask. I brushed in the base
mixing grays and blues. I airbrushed the edge of the
moon to make it appear more round. I used a precut
stencil that I used to originally trace the diameter of
the moon as a stencil to confine the shading of the
edge of the moon. Then I airbrushed in the details of
the moon. I used a brush for the highlighted edges of
the craters  then feathered the highlighting with my
turbo airbrush.

I peeled the border and painted in the planned gold

using a metallic gold. It was too bold so I put a black
ring on the inside to break it up and then painted
in the rivets. For the chair, I brushed in the outline
and deep details using a “0” diameter liner brush.
The gold-trimmed areas are still masked.  I used a
flat brush to paint in the chairs base color using
transparent black, cerulean blue and lime green. I
put the other colors in to break the black up some.
It gives it a more interesting look. I then peeled the
masking for the gold trim and painted it with the
same gold that I used on the sky boarder. Using the
turbo airbrush I shaded it with some burnt sienna.

Now to the fun part, the model. I generally like

to paint the clothing first It’s easier to repair from
overspray than the flesh. I peeled the boots and
gloves. I brushed in the details again with a 0 brush
with a medium brick red. Then I laid down a light red
base. The reason that I paint the detail in first is that
the base color will often cover the pencil lines. This
way I can still see the details. I painted in the details
again with the red to give me some tight edges then
airbrushed in the red for the shading. I repeated this
with a darker red in each step. In this case, it was three
steps. Red, brick red and a dark shading red. Keep
in mind as you paint each darker step to keep your
shading closer to the edges than the previous step.
This will keep the art from going too dark and give
you a nice round look. Depth is always important.
Last I painted in my highlights using my highlight red.
(light coral). Final highlights will be added later on in
the final stage of the painting.

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 6

Greg Andrews

I used the same technique on the flesh of the

model that I did on the clothing. You’ll notice
the patchwork masking. I didn’t follow my rule
on saving the masking the original pieces were
damaged so I needed to cut some fresh ones.
Save your masking and avoid this situation.
Double cutting is never a good idea. So if you
need to cut again be very careful.  I painted
in the details again using a 0 brush with my
medium flesh color. Then I brushed in the base
with a custom mixed flesh base color.  All my
flesh colors are custom mixed. Don’t be afraid
to experiment with mixing colors to see what
works best for you. I painted in the details
again using my light flesh shading color and
airbrushed in the shading.

With muscle structure, you’ll have the high

and low areas throughout the body. Having a
good reference and a little experience can be
extremely helpful. Again like on the clothing I
painted going darker with each step keeping
each step closer to the edge as I go. I use a
fine “000” detail liner brush for painting in
the details in each step using the color that
I’ll be shading with. I brush in the details very
carefully for the eyes, nose, lips, etc, then I
shade them with my turbo. I painted in the iris
of the eyes using a brush with a medium blue
and outlined them using a transparent gray.
I will highlight them in the final stage. Next, I
detailed the lips staring with a brick red then
my dark red. I glazed over the lips with bright
red. It takes a little practice but it creates a great
look. I like to lightly airbrush a rouge color over
the cheeks, nose, elbows, fingertips, it gives
the model a nice glamourous look and breaks
the flesh color up a little. A very light splash of
a purple maybe some orange and even blue at
times can make things more interesting. But be
very subtle, it’s very easy to overdo it.

7 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

 Painting the gold breastplate and
ornamentation was next. I peeled the masking
and using a burnt sienna I brushed in the details.
For the base color, I use raw sienna mixed with
my medium flesh color. Next, I used a medium
brown and burnt sienna mix to brush in the
details then shaded it with the same color using
the airbrush. I held off the highlight at this point
because I’ll use the same highlight color for
both the flesh and the gold.  

 Hair is the trickiest part of an illustration for me.

Where you lay the highlights and deep curves
are crucial. I use a small “0” diameter liner brush
to lay the base detail on the hair. I use the same
technique as the rest of the picture painting
in detail using transparent black. I  then paint
the base color over the entire hair using a
transparent medium brown and transparent
black mix. For the transparent black, I mix the
black with some transparency medium. It’s still
dark but isn’t as intense and the raw carbon
black. I then went back in with the transparent
black with a brush and then feather the shaded
areas with the airbrush. I highlighted is using
a brush with my medium flesh color which is
opaque. I’ve been asked in the past why I use a
traditional brush and not an airbrush for most
of the hair, it just has a tighter look is the answer.

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 8

Greg Andrews
The next step is crucial for the depth of the illustration.
The deep or dark shading. The difficulty here’s is
getting the really deep darks without the muddiness
or overpower nature the black can have. This goes back
to my transparent black which I’ll use in the gray and
blue areas. Be careful to put it in just the deepest areas.
The secret for the flesh and warm areas isn’t black but
a dark phthalo turquoise. It creates a really deep dark
shading without being muddy and will often show
up better in the detail than the black. Again don’t be
afraid to experiment and find a solution that works for
you.

The final step and THE MOST CRUCIAL is highlighting.

The highlighting is what makes the illustration pop.
I use my base flesh color acrylics mixed with a flesh
color gauche to make sure that it’s very opaque
and won’t fade. I’ll use it in the eyes and all the flesh
highlights as well as the gold elements and the red in
the illustration. Since it’s a warm color it works great
for the three elements. I’ll brush in the tight areas with
a 000 and then come back with my turbo and feather
in the other areas. Note that I’m not using white for my
highlighting…. yet.

There’s is a step that I purposely left to this time.

The chains. This takes a little practice. The reason
I waited until this time is so that I could get all the
highlighting on the model uniform. The chains are
on top of everything. Using a 000 liner detail brush I
brushed in the chains using burnt sienna mixed with
some medium brown. Using the same brush I painted
in the gold color using opaque medium flesh mixed
with raw sienna. I don’t paint to the edges of the
chains purposely leaving some of the original color
showing around the edge. Then I went in with the
flesh highlight mix to highlight the high areas of the
chains. It takes a little practice to get this right.

Now I put in the white. Again with my smallest (000)

brush, I highlight the eyes and some very small areas
on the face as well as the very highest points on the
gold and chains. Highlighting metal can be very tricky.
Take a metal chain and drape it over a cylinder and
study the way the highlights and reflections work.

The illustration is finished.

I’ll let the illustration sit overnight then take a good
look at in the morning to see if I missed anything
before I scan it. In this case, I missed some of the gold
rivets on the chair. I painted them in and let them dry
for a few minutes then I scanned her.

I want to say thank you to Don for the opportunity to

share my work here and to all my fans both old and
new for all the support.

9 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

 TERRY STEVENS
kiwiterry_airbrush facebook.com/KiwiTerry

Ventura, California
Paint- House of Kolor and Createx Instructor Airbrush Art Circus
Airbrush - Iwata

Most know me as Kiwi Terry, my aka Airbrush artist name.

Passionate about painting, motorcycles, and music.

While Terry was a young lad in high school, began to create! ” We just grow so much to elevate their business (the owner was on
as he recalls, he had seen a painting in Art from each other at every event.” a quest for television fame). Not really my
class. It had super smooth shading and he Fast-forward to the present, and you’ll find thing, much more prefer the art to represent
was amazed at how someone could create Terry instructing at the Airbrush Art Circus itself rather than the person.
such a piece with a paintbrush. He asked events and Coast Airbrush events. Anyway after some sizable projects being
his teacher how it was created, to which she Terry’s class generally focuses on his exposed at a variety of car and truck and
replied, “It was created with an airbrush!” specialty, which is creating various skull motorcycle shows I started building a
From that very moment, Terry was inspired. artwork. However, he plans to shake things modest client base. This doesn’t happen in a
He began saving his paper route money so he up a bit in future classes. Rather than constant climb, but more ups and downs in
could purchase an airbrush. Kiwi had spent teaching his students to create a single piece, a variety of waves.
quite a bit of time in his early years crafting his redesigned course will focus on teaching I can’t say if there was one absolute launch
his blending of colors with a paintbrush. But specific techniques that they can take with project, but several successes in a variety of
when he discovered the airbrush, he knew them. “We are thinking that if students sizes.
that was his weapon of choice. He followed bring their various ideas and passions on I would have to say as scary as it was, the
his passion for airbrushing for several years the subject matter, we can teach them how recession which dried up pretty much most
in his home country of New Zealand, using to take their ideas and create composition, artist’s client base allowed me the time to
stencils in the beginning, as he slowly layout, and a flowing story within their piece, work on my own paintings and really stretch
developed the ability to control the airbrush. which provides a deeper insight into the my legs in art. I believe this is when I did
Terry worked in New Zealand for several creative process for them.” my most successful painting to date, the
years, until he realized that airbrushing in orange chrome chopper. That also was my
the states had evolved substantially more 1) Terry your art teacher turned you onto first serious effort to work with Createx’s
than in his home country. America was the airbrushing but how did you go about new formulation of waterborne paint and
place to be, and once he arrived, he learned teaching yourself to use it. That was back in the introduction of their first Autoair range
to airbrush properly. He settled into Ventura, days the before the Internet boom. with a reducer. The painting went crazy on
California, and this is where he was able to My art teacher introduced me to the the airbrush the chat site Craig Fraser run.
hone in on and correct his techniques. Terry’s airbrush, but 1st information was gained As well as magazine articles and the biggest
early airbrushing jobs in America were from the Badger Airbrush hobby book. I compliment of all a late entry to the Createx
mainly creating custom art on trucks, and also found one other book exposing me to workbook being published out of Germany.
he wasn’t necessarily focused on a specific world top airbrush artists. This gave me a Craig Kennedy had been told when he
subject matter. But as he continued his art, perspective on what was possible with this contacted them about my step by step “it’s
his gift proved to be creating skull images wonderful instrument. The rest was blindly too late and the book was already edited and
with the airbrush. His client base grew and trying to teach myself thru trial and error. I about to go to print”. Well, Craig told them he
continues to lead him down that path today. relied very much on homemade stencils and was sending it anyway. When they received it
Terry’s enthusiasm for his art took off when masking. they liked it so much they stopped the book
he joined the airbrush community through from going to print and revised the book to
2) How long were you in the USA before you
going to shows, sharing techniques and get it in. That was huge for me.
felt your career, business took off? What was
ideas with his peers, and eventually teaching
the turning point do you think?
others how to airbrush. ”Many times, even
It was probably a good 10 years in the US
as an instructor, I didn’t realize the amount
before I hit my stride. Most of the time I was
of information I had picked up at the classes
working for a company that was using me
until I returned home to my studio and

11 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

3) With all the subject matter out there how instructors being able to pass on their it deflates prices throughout the industry.
did you find yourself gravitating to the skull knowledge and troubleshoot you in real- Please please don’t be this guy, you will only
work you are now so famous for? time is absolutely an advantage to your be killing your future financial potential.
Skull work I believe found me because of growth as an artist. When dealing with these customers (and it
a couple of reasons. The first would be my When it comes to learning I believe focusing takes some biting of one’s tongue) I politely
passion for custom motorcycles and the on getting good at one thing first and once try to explain the complete process and
popularity of the skull image within that confident with that move on to your next amount of work involved to do a great job.
world. Also, the shop I started at the boss challenge. I firmly believe if you try to learn it Sometimes they will say that quality isn’t
had a liking for skulls. I think the popularity all at once this can inhibit your growth. Once their priority. Don’t forget that quick bad job
of them is born from the power statement you have one image or technique locked in is going to be out there representing you.
they make. Treating death upon anyone and then move on to the next you will find If I can’t convince them to pay an amount
that dares mess with their tribe and basically you will grow expeditiously and build on that makes the job worth doing, I politely
throughout history was used to ward off any lessons learned. There are two elements to decline the work. In my experience, the
unwanted visitors. the learning process. First is knowledge, bargain hunting client also ends up being
I then became a little possessed with a when you are introduced to techniques that the fussiest one.
relatively simple image and how could I work you can quickly use. The second element I have never done this, but I do have a dream
to perfect my version of it. Also giving skulls and the hardest yet the most important scenario of when asked by a potential client
character and themes became an exciting is building muscle memory and control “can you do a better deal?” To go up in price.
challenge. This was mostly done by adding which is where practice practice practice is Telling them that is a better deal, FOR ME.
accessories and themed backgrounds. necessary. Another technique I have used to some
degree of success is when their want list
4) How do you think social media has 6) How much pre-design work do you do
doesn’t align with their budget I suggest we
impacted being an artist? A good influence before you start a project? Hand drawings,
take out some of the elements in the concept
or bad do you think? computer-generated layout?
allowing us to put the focus on keeping the
Social media is a double-edged sword for I try not to do too much pre-design because
quality. Nine times out of ten they agree with
sure. I very much enjoy the commodity and it can be a real time-eater. However, when
this logic, but then they realize “oh, but I want
friends I’ve made from it. Also, I have been necessary and there is no choice it can be a
to put this bit back in”. This is when each time
exposed to new customers through social fantastic building block in the process.
they add an element I add the appropriate
media networking. So that’s all great. I usually use photographs sometimes
dollar amount. One by one this can add up
The downside would be the odd little dramas building a concept with a colleague of
to getting the appropriate amount.
when some people perhaps wear their heart photocopies.
BOTTOM LINE! I would sooner starve than
on their sleeves or just become keyboard If necessary and should a client require a
undersell myself and yes I have gone without.
bullies. rendering, each one must be charged for
That stuff just eats the hell out of your soul.
Good and bad is also the availability of as these can take some time. One must
world-class art being viewed can inspire or educate the client (nicely) to understand
intimidate many of us. It can give potential what is involved to do these. Sometimes the
clients a very exaggerated expectation of hardest and most creative part of a painting
what is available to them because they are is the design part, after that you become the
judging art worldwide and not so much technician.
what is in their region. More often than not a simple discussion
using samples from my portfolio can
5) What advice do you have for those just
appease a customer and accelerate the time
entering the world of airbrushing?
in planning the project and then painting it.
I would advise entry-level artists just
starting to focus on education and learn, 7) We all have people that come into the
practice and strive to reach a certain shop that wants a deal. “If you just paint this
standard before jumping out into the public for me for free or a discount price I will send
eye. Remember that the first work you do you a ton of work” How do you handle this
will not be the quality your future self will be and what advice to do you for others on how
capable of. In this day and age, those early they should deal with this.
works will still be representing you years The client that wants a deal, oh how we
later and so maybe not so good for your all have these. When I was younger and
portfolio. You only get one chance to make maybe not as confident I would get sucked
a first impression. into these. On the inside, you justify it to
Focus on education, I highly recommend yourself that it’s necessary to get your name
the Airbrush Art Circus and Rendezvous out. Unfortunately, all it does is gives you the
for hands-on instruction. With world-class reputation of doing cheap work. Besides,

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 12

.
.
.
 CESAR DEFERRARI
Diabolic Skull Step by Step

Cesar Deferrari, from Buenos Aires,

2) In this style “New School” lines are very
Argentina, I have more than 20 years of
important so I use the technique of the
painting experience, I am illustrator and
modulated line that consists of making
cartoonist, I specialize in airbrushing. 1) On the eve of participating in the Kustom lines of different thicknesses, in general,
Also, I paint using other techniques such Art 9 event (Buenos Aires, Argentina,
the contour lines of the figure are thicker
as oil paint, acrylic, pencil, ink, digital, November 2018) and knowing that for the
than internal ones. For this outlined I used a
among others. I made contributions, occasion I was going to paint live, I prepared
Badger Patriot 105 airbrush and transparent
publishing my art and tutorials in many this design in “new school” style which I
black paint (Eterna brand) I also painted full
different magazines. I also contribute to named diabolic skull.
black inside the eye cavity and nose.
Foro de Aerografia, in which we organize
monthly competitions. I participate in
workshops, fairs, and conventions in
different provinces and countries...

/aerografia.deferrari

Airbrush - Badger Patriot 105

Paint - Eterna

Surface - White T-Shirt

Air-Source: 4) To the mixture that we have left in

Sparmax Compressor the airbrush we add 6 drops of toasted
sienna (brown) and a little black to make
3) Now I start painting with a base skin the color a little more gray, with this color
tone, mixing in the cup of the airbrush half I model the whole skull adding all the
of white, 5 drops of medium yellow, and a possible texture. In this step is where I do
drop of red. I spray softly on the whole skull, the detail to the maximum since the next
do not saturate the area, it is very important steps will depend on the detail you paint
that this step is smooth and flat. here.

14 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

 5) I give depth to the mixture of step 4, I 6) With a mixture of toasted sienna and 7) Continuing with the previous step I finish
add more toasted sienna and a little violet transparent black I give shape to the eye and giving shadows to the whole skull. Also with
and with this color, I emphasized the the horns giving it a “tree branch” aspect. the mixture of toasted sienna and black, I
shadows a little more. With this tone, I deepen even more some give shade to the teeth.
sectors of the skull.

8) Putting a little color with fire red and a 9) Time to paint the jacket. In this case, I 10) I finish painting the jacket, with light
few drops of toasted sienna I paint the horns use transparent ultramarine blue, to apply blue I paint the edges of the lapel. Using a
and eyes. Note: I always try to alter the colors the texture to the jacket. I need it to look bluish-gray I give shape to the buttons on
and not use them as they come from the like something thick then I cover with blue the clothes.
bottle so that the tones are customized to again in some parts so that it is more intense,
my liking. always textured with vanished points.

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 15

 CESAR DEFERRARI

13) To finish I add smoke, this it is very similar

to painting fire. This separates image of the
background achieving a 3-dimensional look
in the illustration. I use smoke black (Createx
Wicked Colors) and with a fire template, I make
this background smoky. Finished.

11) To create a more impressive look I add

an extra shadow on the right side of the
skull and also on the jacket using fluorescent
green ( Createx Wicked Colors). With this
trick, I enhance the whole image.

12) “Creating brightness”. For this step, I

change of airbrush and I use the Badger
Renegade Krome that allows me to make the
last details with more subtleties. Whenever I
use white for brightness I try not to overdo
it. I then add glitter on the horns, eyes, nasal
septum, teeth, and add that intimidating
slime to create a very crazy look, which goes
from the upper teeth to the lower teeth.
16 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019
Terry Stevens

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 17

 RODINO BAUTISTA
@_rwd_ Airbrush - Iwata

TAMCO PAINT, BRUSH FX, CLEAR COATS USED

Rodino has over thirty years in the custom Meeting project deadlines and stress that of. The “Wicked Beauty” custom Harley is
painting business. Back in the day, this was comes with being one of the most sought one such project. You can see this bike in
his full-time occupation and he was at the after custom painters in the country took all person at the Trulers booth at SEMA 2019.
very top on the list of custom painters. He the fun out of it for him. For a long time, he This is part three of the series where he
gave that up and retired opting to get a didn’t even paint but is back now only taking shares his techniques used to custom paint
corporate job which he still has to this day. on projects he has a real passion to be part this beautiful bike. The first two parts are in
the two previous issues of this magazine.

At this stage, I am nearing completion of the project, the custom fabricated fenders arrived
later than expected, but the design layout was already preplanned so I was prepared.
With the tank design, my thought was to have the entire bike complement it design wise.
The paint job I painted is designed to be looked at every angle.

18 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019

 DON JOHNSON
Helmet Basics Part #1
@airbrushartist www.airbrushgallery.com

Ocala, Fl.

I started out airbrushing by opening a t-shirt and that was designing and painting race along with publishing this magazine. No
shop in a mall 25 years ago and airbrushing helmets. My first helmet was 20 years ago more motorcycles, car murals the passion
t-shirts seven days a week. Pat Gains and his for my son who at that time was four years just is not there for doing that anymore.
T-Shirt design portfolio saved my butt as I old. I used 1 Shot paint through my airbrush In the next couple of issues, I will provide you
had no clue what I was doing. From there it I almost killed myself doing so, nasty stuff with some of what I have learned through
was onto motorcycles and car, truck murals. back then 1 Shot was. trial and error over the last twenty years of
Lucky I found my true passion and niche I still design and paint helmets exclusively painting helmets. I hope you find it helpful.

In this part one, I’m just going to go over helmet prep my way. For this article, I chose a used
motorcycle helmet with factory graphics. How you price doing helmets is up to you but for doing
used helmets I charge more than doing a new helmet, who wants to work on helmet someone
wore, not my fav. Additionally, if the helmet has factory graphics it is an additional charge because
of the extra work required to make sure those graphics do not bleed through the new design.
Time and material cost people is what it about.
If the customer has yet to purchase a helmet and ask for your advice then that is great. For a
motorcycle helmet, I always look for helmets with as few vents as possible and keeping in mind
my design layout on the helmet. Is there enough open area to do my design, will the helmet
molding interfere with my design layout is what I look at. As far as color goes I prefer white or
silver to start with. Modular helmets are a pain in the butt to do so I charge more to do those, like
an extra $100.00 or so.

Step 1 Is to remove the visor. Depending on the brand, model of the helmet they all come off
differently and generally are not hard to figure out. Next, remove as much of the interior padding
as possible again different helmets will require a different way of handling that. You want as much
of the interior out as possible it reduces the risk of getting paint on it and reduces amount of
masking required. All goes into a helmet bag right away to keep it all in one secure place.

Remove all the exterior vents as much as possible. Again they come off in a different
manner depending on the brand and model of the helmet. Why remove the vents?
Because I want my paint and clear coat to be continuous on the helmet as much as
possible, In other words, it will be under the vents. Having hard lines around vents
and such where paint and clear stopped is the mark of an unprofessional job and
provides a great place for the paint or clear to start delaminating.
You can go back and put the vents back on temp for the design layout and then
paint them separately. In many cases, you can see through the vents and you want
the design to continue under the vents as well as over the vents. This will all make a
more professional looking helmet paint job and you should charge according to that
level of professionalism.
23 | Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019
 Now onto the rubber trim around the bottom
of the helmet and eye-port. Again this goes to
turning out work that is done at a professional
level enabling you to get paid as a professional
should be compensated. Taping the rubber
trim off to me just does not provide the level
of quilty paint job I want leaving my shop. You
end up with the paint and clear stopping at the
edge of the trim which to me never looks good
or like the helmet was professionally painted.
Removing the rubber trim is not that hard if
you take your time.
Helmet companies attach the rubber trim in
many different methods. Some use a lot of
glue, some almost none, others a thin double-
sided tape. Once the interior padding is out
you should be able to roll the trim from the
inside edge up exposing the underneath part
of the front of the trim. From there you can use
a hobby knife to gently release the trim from
the helmet.

Now that the vents that could be removed

are removed and the rubber trim has been
removed it’s onto preparing the helmet to be
primed and painted. As you can see from these
pictures there is very little that needs to be
masked off. This part of the helmet painting
process is the most important as your paint
is only as good as what is underneath it. So
proper prep at this point is most important for
primer and paint adhere properly.

One of my helmets

On this helmet, the factory graphics to flat-spot the helmet doing so. So that
are silkscreen on. Some older helmets leaves hand sanding with and without
use a form of vinyl for their graphics a block. The important thing here is
which must come off. Most of the time to get every inch of the surface scuff
painting a new design over those they or sanded. Any shiny spots you leave
will bleed through the new design. The will lead to problems with the paint
silkscreened graphics you can prep adhering properly. This holds true for
the helmet and not fear the graphics both solvent-based and water-based
bleeding thru. Since we will be using paints.
adhesion promoter and primer, sealer I will end part one here and continue
I won’t fear using 320 grit to sand the of with this in the next issue of the
helmet. Only if you are an expert with a magazine.
DA would I use it, be careful as it’s easy

Airbrush The Magazine | October-November 2019 | 24