How To Airbrush A Shirt

   Custom Airbrush T Shirt Design How To

With Derek Banegas

Airbrushes & Tools used: Iwatta and Badger Airbrushes and hoses, Aqua Flow paint.
Other Tools Required To Get Started Airbrushing: Compressor, Easel, Shirt Board and your favorite brand of shirt.

Step 1.

After applying my stencil with Super 77, I applied Aqua Flow opaque yellow instead of transparent yellow to avoid the color shift to green. Then filled in the center with Aqua Flow transparent red.

Step 2.

Following the motion of the record, I continued my color wash using Wicked Florescent Green, Wicked Laguna Blue, Aqua Flow Hot Purple, and tinted the Laguna Blue with a touch of Aqua Flow transparent Blue Pure. 

 Step 3.

After filling in the N and shading the red with a touch of Aqua Flow Silk Black,  I removed the positive stencil revealing the shape of the record and banner. 

 Step 4.

Using the stencil as a shield, I created a sharp edge for my banner. Often times, finding other ways to use your stencil in your design can speed up the process and can create different effects.

 Step 5.

Using an Opaque grey, I followed the motion of the banner to give me a guideline for my lettering and to create contrast between the record and the banner. Next I added thick dagger strokes, tapering off towards the center, followed by softer dagger strokes, and darkening near the banner. Then a series of thin strokes in the center, to allow for reflective color and highlights later on.  Then I used a single stoke script to lay out my lettering.

 Step 6.

Thickening up my lettering, and adding a drop shadow with Laguna Blue , allowed me to then go back into my record and add the reflective coloring. Then finishing it off with the Hot Purple towards the dark edges.

 Step 7.

Once I was happy with my coloring, I used my white, which is a mixture of Aqua Flow and Wicked white. I used my white to bring forward my lettering, and then I added reflective highlights following my light source, which is dead center in this design. 

 Step 8.

Keeping with the theme, I added music notes to complete the design. 

About the artist and owner of Unlimited Airbrush 

Derek Banegas, owner of Unlimited Airbrush was born and raised in Hanford, CA. Spending most of his childhood with his grandmother, who was a one-stroke paint instructor at a local 

craft store.  In 2000, at age 16 Derek began airbrushing t-shirts as a hobby, after needing a legal artistic outlet away from graffiti. He then went into the house painting industry as a means to make a living, but could never get away from the pull airbrushing had on him. In 2008, at age 24, Derek left house painting, and opened a full time home-based airbrush t-shirt business. With the help of his wife, Unlimited Airbrush is a successful custom airbrush business, which specializes in airbrushing on a variety of surfaces ranging from t-shirts to hats, helmets to banners.

Currently Unlimited Airbrush is a home based custom airbrush business, who handles local, National, and international sales. In the future, I would like to open a storefront location with more space to expand my business size, grow my customer base, and continue developing my airbrushing skills. 

Contact Us @Unlimited Airbrush T-shirts