How to Airbrush Tribal Flames
- 1). Wipe off your canvas with a rag. The material of the canvas will determine how much you need to clean it. If you are painting on paper or cardboard or fabric, a quick wipe-down will be fine. On plastic or metal, use a wet rag. If you are airbrushing tribal flames on your automobile, wash it thoroughly. The purpose is to get any dirt and debris off the surface that may interfere with your painting.
- 2). Spray a layer of primer onto the entirety of your canvas (only do this if the canvas is not paper based). Use an even coating. Allow the primer to dry completely before moving on---this may take a few hours.
- 3). Place a layer of tape over the entirety of the canvas, using even strips. Place them perpendicular to one another and make sure they are flat against the canvas.
- 4). Use your marker to draw some tribal flames onto the top of your tape. Tribal flames are rounded, often curving back on themselves, and have smooth curves. Examples can be found in the resources section if you're unfamiliar with them.
- 5). Use an X-ACTO knife to cut out the designs you drew onto the tape in step 4. It is not necessary to follow your design exactly, but rather to make sure that you get smooth and natural curves. Make sure to only cut the tape while cutting---don't press too hard and cut through the canvas. The primer will help protect the canvas as well, but be wary of how hard you press.
- 6). Peel the tape away from the flames. That is, leave all the tape that used to be outside the flames on the canvas---the outline---and only peel off any of the interior flames. The stuff you peel away will be the areas you want painted.
- 7). Use your airbrush to spray a layer of base paint onto the areas that you stripped away in the previous step. Use even strokes to create a clear, smooth coating on the exposed canvas. The color you use for a base coat will depend on the color of tribal flames that you want at the end. If you want dark flames, use a dark base coat---black or dark gray---and if you want bright, vibrant flames, use a white or silver base color.
- 8). Determine the color that you want to paint your flames. Load it into the airbrush reservoir and spray it onto the canvas, over your base coat.
- 9). Add other colors of paint as accents if you'd like. If you are painting orange flames, use red or yellow accent colors on the highlights and lowlights of your flames. This step is optional, however, as most tribal flames are actually a solid color. It simply depends on how you want to spruce up your design.
- 10
Remove the remaining tape from the canvas, being careful not to smear any of the paint and allow the entire work to dry. - 11
Spray a layer of clear coat onto the top of the entire canvas once the previous layers are dry. The clear coat will make the work shine and offer a thin layer of protection from fading and scratching. Wait for it to dry and enjoy your tribal flames.
