Loose cotton balls held as a mask for soft cloud edgesSky blue, white. Rest the cotton on the surface and spray blue over and past it.
One word masked in frisket, left sharp inside a soft fadeTwo fade colors, white. Cut the letters from frisket film, spray the fade, and peel the letters.
Dot-and-line drill joined up as a made-up star chartWhite on navy. Dot from very close, then link the dots with the thinnest line you can hold.
Dagger strokes fanned upward into a clump of tall grassGreen, yellow green on white. Start far back and move in closer as you sweep up, so each blade narrows.
Dot clusters at three distances turned into a dandelion puffWhite on teal. Spray the same dot close, a hand away and far back: sharp, soft, softer.
Dot grid drill turned into a night sky of stars and planetsWhite, blue on black card. Spray dots from close in, small to large, then mist blue around the biggest.
Dot-and-line drill joined up as a made-up star chartWhite on navy. Dot from very close, then link the dots with the thinnest line you can hold.
Even-coat drill on four panels, each a flat sky colorPale blue, peach, lilac, gray. Keep one distance, a forearm away, and overlap each pass by half.
Filled circles shaded on one side into a row of spheresGray, black on white. Fill each circle from a hand away, then come close to darken one edge.
Fine crosshatch drill that becomes a woven basketTan, dark brown. Spray short crossing lines from close in and darken where the strands overlap.
Parallel line drill thinned out into a sunset over waterOrange, red, navy. Spray level lines from a finger's width away, closer together toward the horizon.
S-curve drill repeated until it reads as ocean swellsTeal, navy, white. Sweep each curve in one pass from a hand away and overlap the next below it.
Soft-edged squares stacked into a foggy city blockThree grays. Spray each square from far back with no mask so the towers blur into each other.
Spiral drill, tight to loose, finished as three snail shellsBrown, cream. Start each spiral close in at the center and back off as it widens.
Thin-to-thick line drill bent into a bare winter treeBlack on pale gray. Pull away for the trunk and move in close for the twigs.
Fades and skies 12
Banded gas giant, its night side misted into shadowOcher, rust, black. Mask a circle, stripe it from a hand away, then darken one side from far back.
Cotton-candy clouds drifting over a baby blue fadeBaby blue, pink, white. Puff each cloud in short bursts from a hand away and leave the edges soft.
Dawn sky in four bands that melt into one anotherYellow, peach, rose, pale blue. Work from far back and let every band overspray the one below.
Deep-sea fade from aqua at the top to near blackAqua, cobalt, black. Spray top to bottom from a forearm away, adding passes as you go down.
Desert heat fade, yellow ground rising into a red skyYellow, orange, red. Hold a card along the horizon so the ground and the sky stay apart.
Galaxy swirl in magenta and teal with stars dotted lastMagenta, teal, white on black. Mist the swirl from far back and dot the stars from very close.
Moon glow: a white disc inside a wide misted haloNavy, white. Mask the disc with a round card, mist white around it from far back, and lift.
Northern lights ribbons sprayed freehand over blackGreen, violet on black. Sweep up from the ribbon's lower edge, lifting away so it fades.
Pine row sprayed crisp, then half erased by low white mistDark green, white. Spray the pines sharp from close in, then mist white low across them from far back.
Seamless fade of orange into violet with no brush markOrange, violet. Spray each color from a forearm away and overlap the passes in the middle.
Storm clouds built up in soft grays over a pale groundPale gray, charcoal, white. Mist the shapes from far back, then come closer for the dark undersides.
Sunbeams through a cloud gap, masked with two card stripsGold, gray, white. Fan two cards out from the gap and mist pale gold between them.
Stencil and mask designs 12
Coins and washers laid down as masks for scattered pale dotsAny dark color on white. Scatter them flat, spray straight down from far back, and lift.
Cup-rim circle masks for a pile of overlapping bubblesAqua, white, violet. Lay a round card down, mist its edge, move it and overlap the next.
Feather shape cut from card and haloed in dark mistCharcoal, blue on cream. Spray around the card from a hand away, then add barbs freehand from close in.
Hand-cut star stencil scattered at angles across indigoIndigo, white, pale yellow. Spray through the star from a hand away and turn it each time.
Loose cotton balls held as a mask for soft cloud edgesSky blue, white. Rest the cotton on the surface and spray blue over and past it.
Maple leaf used as a mask and sprayed round in fall colorsRed, orange, yellow on white. Hold the leaf flat and spray past its edge from a hand away.
Masking tape skyline left pale against an evening fadePeach, plum, black. Tape the towers, spray the fade over them from far back, then peel.
Mesh fruit bag stretched flat as a mask for fish scalesTeal, green, silver. Pin the mesh over a fish shape and spray through it from close in.
One cut-card wave stencil stepped along into a rolling seaNavy, teal, white. Spray along the card's curved edge, slide it a thumb lower and repeat.
One word masked in frisket, left sharp inside a soft fadeTwo fade colors, white. Cut the letters from frisket film, spray the fade, and peel the letters.
Palm frond stencil cut from card with a sunset behindOrange, pink, black. Spray the sunset first, then black through the frond from a hand away.
Torn-paper mountain range, three ridges fading backThree grays, white. Hold a torn paper edge flat, spray along it, shift it down and repeat lighter.
Freehand subjects 12
Balloon with one shaded side and a single hard highlightRed, dark red, white. Fill the shape from a hand away, darken one edge, and dot the highlight close in.
Candle flame with a blue core and a wide warm glowYellow, orange, blue on black. Mist the glow from far back before the flame goes in from close.
Lit bulb on navy, glow misted wide, filament a hairlineYellow, white, gray on navy. Mist the glow first from far back and draw the filament last.
Mirror-bright sphere reflecting a horizon lineBlue, brown, white, black. Mask the circle and spray a sky fade above a dark, sharp horizon band.
Moon jelly on black, its bell see-through at the middleViolet, pink, white on black. Mist the bell rim from a hand away and leave its center nearly bare.
Orange carp half hidden, green pond mist over its tailOrange, white, green black. Spray the fish sharp, then mist the pond color over its tail from far back.
Owl face emerging from darkness, the eyes sharpestUmber, black, yellow. Keep the feathers soft from far back and only the eyes crisp from close in.
Single open eye, lashes pulled out in fast tapered strokesBrown, black, white. Shade the iris from close in and sweep each lash outward, moving in closer as you go.
Single rose built from soft shadows with no outlineRed, crimson, black. Spray only the shadows between petals, from close in, and leave the lit edges.
Soap bubble with a rainbow sheen on a dark groundBlack, magenta, cyan, yellow, white. Mask a circle and mist thin arcs of color just inside its rim.
Summit poking through a cloud sea, lit pink on one faceSlate, rose, white. Spray the peak along a torn card, then mist cloud across its base.
Water droplet on a leaf with its bright lower rimGreen, dark green, white. Shadow the top of the drop, light the bottom, both from very close.
Things to spray 12
Canvas shoe with a galaxy over the toe and masked starsBlack, magenta, teal, white fabric paint. Tape off the sole, mist the colors, and dot the stars from close in.
Clear phone case sprayed on the inside in a marble fadeWhite, gray, gold. Mist thin veins on the inside face from close in, then back them with white.
Flower pot with a soft horizon band around its middleTerracotta left bare, white, blue. Turn the pot on a jar while spraying from a fixed hand's distance.
Kite sail with a feather pattern sprayed along each sparBlue, white. Lay a cut-card feather beside each spar and spray past its edge from a hand away.
Model car shell in a two-tone fade, masked at the door lineTwo model paints. Tape along the door line, spray the lower color, and peel.
Paper lantern shade misted in two colors from the bottom upPink, orange. Spray upward from far back so the color thins out toward the top.
Plain cap with a sunset fade across its front panelOrange, pink, violet fabric paint. Stuff the cap so the panel sits flat and spray from a hand away.
Plain T-shirt with a name in stencil letters over a fadeTwo fabric paints, white. Slip card inside the shirt, spray the fade, then white through the letters.
Plastic model dinosaur with misted stripes down its backGreen, brown, tan model paint. Base coat from a hand away and stripe freehand from close in.
Tote bag with fern-leaf masks in two greensOlive, lime fabric paint. Lay ferns flat on the bag, spray from far back, shift them and spray again.
Wooden letter with a dark-to-light fade from foot to topAny color and white. Stand the letter up and spray the dark from below, the pale from above, both from a hand away.
Your own skateboard deck with a wave stencil nose to tailNavy, aqua, white. Step one wave stencil along the deck and mist white along each crest.
How it works
An airbrush atomizes paint with fast-moving air, so it lays down seamless fades and soft, floating edges with no brush mark. These ideas run from control drills that end as a picture to objects worth spraying.
Read the full guide
Distance sets the mark
Close in, the spray is a thin, sharp line. From farther back it widens into a soft mist. Dot grid drill turned into a night sky of stars and planets practices exactly that and leaves a picture behind. Each idea names its distance or its mask in plain words.
Hard edges come from masks
Freehand spray has no hard edge. To get one, hold something against the surface: torn paper, a leaf, tape, or frisket, the adhesive plastic sheet that is cut and lifted in stages. Torn-paper mountain range, three ridges fading back makes a whole picture from one scrap.
The easy ones sit under More filters, Level.
Questions and answers
What should a beginner airbrush first?
A drill that ends as a picture. Dagger strokes fanned upward into a clump of tall grass teaches the taper, and Filled circles shaded on one side into a row of spheres teaches an even coat and a soft shadow.
What is the difference between a single-action and a dual-action airbrush?
On a single-action airbrush, pressing the trigger starts the air and the paint together, and the paint flow is set separately. On a dual-action one, pressing gives air and rocking the same trigger back changes the amount of paint.
What can you paint with an airbrush besides paper?
The Things to spray group has twelve, among them a cap, a canvas shoe, a T-shirt, a tote bag, two models and a wooden letter. Plain cap with a sunset fade across its front panel uses fabric paint and one distance.