Tips on shadowing...

[Farwar]

I'm going to attempt my second body to airbrush and I was wondering if anyone had any tips on shadowing around the flames. I use black paint right? Here's an example of my last attempt at shadowing so you can tell me how to improve on it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/Farwar/DSCN0162.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v321/Farwar/DSCN0165.jpg

Any help would be greatly appreciated. :D

[Piggy89373]

Far, here's what I've picked up looking at some of the great painters on here.

1. Use a transparent paint for shadows, not black paint. Unless you have the paint gods in your pocket and the skill of Adrcracing, stick with either window tint or transparent smoke or transparent charcoal.

2. Just need one or two thin coats for a good shadow. There's no need to lay down enough coats for it to show up black. You should just be able to make out the drop shadow.

3. Aim your spray at the graphic close to the edge you want the shadow. This allows the overspray to create the shadow for you. It also creates a tighter shadow.

4. Drop shadows always look best on a light colored background. If you're going for a shadow on a darker color like red, you may need 2 or three light coats for the shadow to show up decently.

5. Drop shadows encompass more than just the curves of the graphic. For a great example, look at Cosmo's and CharlieB's work. Others like Phil Manro, Tkcustoms, and Sniffnfumes do the same thing, and all with fantastic results. You'll see that the shadows follow about 80% or more of the graphic.

6. Figure out your point of perspective for the shadows. Imagine your light source in the paint job, then figure out where the shadows would naturally fall. Shadows don't fall on both sides of a flame point, they fall on the right or the left. A very light shadow may be on the light source side, but only to create a greater effect of the graphic floating.

7. Practice, practice, and practice again. Be patient, keep a positive attitude, and have a second person give you an honest opinion. Don't stand for the "looks great" line, ask for true constructive criticism and learn from it. Making good drop shadows is easy to describe, but very difficult to achieve. It'll definitely give you a greater appreciation for the paint jobs people here.

8. Remember, painting is fun. You'll get frustrated and angry, but keep in mind that it's all fun. Best of luck and don't be afraid to ask questions on here. There's plenty of very knolwedgeable painters on here who'll help you out if you ask.

[tkcustoms]

Good post Piggy.
I'll also add that when doing any shading or drop shadows I will put some masking tape or transfer tape on the outside of the body where I'm working. This will allow you to know when it's dark enough. Also many very light lakers built up will give you better results than trying to get it done in one coat.

[Farwar]

Whoa thanks for the advice! I'm going to try do the body now. I dont have any transparent black on me and I can't get some until a week or so. I'm just going to try it with black and do light coats. I'll post pics for sure when I'm done.

[tkcustoms]

You should be ok with the black just thin it down and do light coats. Remember that when you thin down the paint you generally need less air pressure. This will give you greater control.

[Farwar]

Update: I did the shadowing, and I must say, i did a pretty good job. :D The black shadowing is somewhat dark but it looks good with my dark blue that a mixed myself. Now I have to do the flames which will be fun.