gradation

In this exercise you will learn to do gradations. Gradations is a fill technique that is used in shadowing and creating definition with the airbrush. Learning to do Gradations will also improve your ability in airbrush control. This exercise continues practicing trigger control, air and paint mixture, plus targeting and distance. This will teach you to control the airbrush at significant distances from the surface.

#1. Start the gradation from the darkest area. In this exercise, start close to the surface. With the trigger pushed directly down (Dual Action Airbrushes only) so just air is expelled from the airbrush, practice moving the airbrush in a side to side motion. Once you feel you can follow the bottom edge gently pull the trigger backwards to begin adding paint to the mixture.

Gradations are color starting at 100% value and fading to 0.

#2. You don't want to try to achieve the darkest area by saturating it with a heavy concentration of paint. Instead make several lighter passes over that area until you achieve solid paint coverage or a desired starting tone. To begin the gradation process, continue moving the airbrush in a side-to-side motion. In the same action, gradually bring the airbrush further from the surface and moving upwards to the center of the exercise panel.

#3. A Gradation means that the solid color will gradually fade to nothing. As you start moving upwards to create the gradation, begin bringing the airbrush further away from the surface. The further away the airbrush is you may need to lightly pull the trigger back so more paint can make it to the surface.

#4. Once you reach the 50% mark, bring the airbrush even further away from the surface. Be careful not to pull the trigger backwards to where you will add too much paint and cause a streak in the gradation. A good gradation can be accomplished by maintaining the same air and paint mixture throughout the entire process. When you reach the 25% mark you want the paint to barely be visible.

#6. Start a new exercise panel and practice doing the gradation from top to bottom. Remember, start at the darkest point. Beginning airbrushers are often trigger happy and apply too much paint and oversaturating the area being painted. Learn to light pull the trigger back and control the contrast of the color by the distance of the airbrush from the surface.

#5. If you want to increase the darkness of the gradation start back at the darkest point and repeat the process.

#7. Start a new exercise panel. With this exercise we want to start in the center and work the gradation outwards in both directions. Move the airbrush in a side-to-side motion. With the tip of the airbrush close to the surface gently start apply a fine line of paint.

#8. Keep the airbrush targeted at the center line. Witht the same amount of paint delivery, start bring the airbrush further away from the surface. You will begin to see the paint fade away from the center.

#9. Continue bring the airbrush further away from the surface. The further away the airbrush is you may have to apply more paint by slightly pulling the trigger back.

#10. Chose one direction at a time (up or down) and make two separate gradations. Concentrate on keeping the gradations uniform in color going each direction.

#11. Practice these over and over until you achieve nice clean fades. Try starting a gradation in the center and going only one direction.

#12. Gradations are used to create the illusion of an object having contours, curves or shadows. Draw a triangle. Determine the angle of a imaginary light source. Start with the darkest part of the shadow area.

#13. Using what we practiced above, start with a gradation that will go both directions from the center of the darkest point of the shadow .

#14. Use the outside edges of the triangle as the darkest points and begin doing gradations inwards. This will give the illusion of a round surface.

#15. We are going to take what we've practiced so far a create a fade. For this exercise, move the airbrush in a up-and-down motion. Start with the tip of the airbrush close to the surface and gradually pull the trigger back to apply paint.

#16. Apply the smallest amount of paint possible and continue to go over the first line you created. Gradually increase the amount of paint being sprayed as you bring the airbrush further from the surface.

#17. With the airbrush still moving in an up-and-down motion, start traveling sideways in the direction of the fade you are going to make. As you begin to move sideways. continue bringing the airbrush gradually away from the surface.

#18. Continue doing this procedure until you reach the desired end of the gradation. Concentrate on making a uniform gradation that gradually fades away until it disappears.

#19. I know just how boring a frustrated a person can get when they are just learning to airbrush. You want airbrush something now! Here's a quick little design that will incorporate the gradation exercise. Take a freehand stencil that has multiple size holes (or just make your own stencil). Use the upper right side of the hole as a determined light source. Lightly make a gradation in the lower left side of the circle. Be careful not to make a complete circle with the airbrush.

#20. Remove the stencil. This is what it should look like. You will notice that I barely pulled the trigger back and applied only a light coat of paint.

#21. Use a smaller stencil of a circle and repeat the process overlapping the large circle. You can surround these two circles with even smaller circles.

Steven Craig is the owner and head painter of SKC CUSTOMZ in Lake Havasu City, AZ. In the past Steven has won the House of Kolor Prestigeous Painter Award and was a 1st Place winner of Dupont's Hot Hues Awards. He most recently was awarded the Matrix System's FX Grand Prize Award. Steve paints a wide range
of jobs from guitars to large off shore boats. Visit his web site at

Airbrush : Iwata HP-BH, Custom Micron B
Spray Guns: Iwata LPH400 and Iwata LPH300
Paint Media: PPG, Xotic Colours, Dupont and Matrix Systems
Surface Media: Everything I can get paint to stick to.
Masking : R-Tape and 3M Masking Tapes
Projector: Artograph
Lighting : Natural and Florescent. Spray-Line and Spray King Paint Booths