An airbrush is an attractive tool for a number of applications from graphic painting and illustration to decorating cakes and spray tanning. However, you cannot do all that with one airbrush because of different usage needs. In one case you’ll have to make a detailed job, in others - wider and heavier lines are in favor, leave alone shading, block coloring, and other painting techniques. And this is where airbrush tips and needles come into action. To learn more about needles, read our buying guide on Airbrush Needles. These airbrush accessories are one way to control the spray pattern of your airbrush. Further, we will explain what airbrush tips do and what common airbrush tip sizes are.
How to influence spray pattern with airbrush tip size
Airbrush tips that are also referred to as airbrush nozzles. Along with needles they define and shape an airbrush spray pattern. That is the amount of a medium sprayed will depend on sizes of an airbrush nozzle and needle used. Aside from that, you will also need to consider such factors as the viscosity of a medium sprayed and the air pressure level.
Generally, the airbrush nozzle sizes can be
- Fine,
- Medium, and
- Heavy.
Airbrushes often already come with a tip and a needle. If you get an airbrush set, there may be even a pack of them. Here it’s important to note: when you change a needle, do not forget to change a nozzle and needle too.
In order to complete fine detail work, you will need smaller tip sizes. Although not any medium is to apply with small-sized tips and needles. The medium should also have a right consistency. If it is too heavy, your airbrush won’t cope with it till you use too small tips and needles. The point is the thicker a medium is, the thicker the airbrush nozzle should be.
For beginners, this may be a bit of a challenge. But some manufacturers offer already assembled airbrush tips that come with color coding. This marking identifies that a tip may be intended for the use with a certain type of paint, color, or for a particular effect.
Airbrush tips and needles require special care: you need to treat them delicately and always clean properly. Do not let them drop or bend because they are very sensible and can be destroyed easily.