Using ink to practice with????

[crymynal]

Hey all,

First question's from the noob. I have read that some people practice dots and daggers with ink. Am I reading this right? I can shoot normal (pen) ink without damaging my brush? What would you use to clean up with afterwards? If this is a possibility then I will be off to the dollar store in the morning to pick some up. What PSI should I shoot this at?

Thanks in advance!

[redanner]

Hey Crymynal! I'm getting ready to try Ink Jet Printer ink to airbrush. Actually its cheap to buy a refill pack. Its reistant to sun light and fading due to fact it is formulated today for printing digital pictures. You can also make any color by mixing the three RGB colors. I belong to another airbrush forum that had mixing instructions. I will find it again and post it.

[rsstoned]

ive been playing with injet inks for a while now just for practice ..it shoots fine about 10-25 psi..even took it down as low as 5 psi an it still flowed..cleans up with normal water better than any paint just flushes clean out..ya can use it as a pratice candy too but look out as it bleeds like mad spesh on normal paper.. for inks look on ebay they sell 100ml bottles with twist tops for 10 pounds.6 bottles in all cyan,megenta,yellow.black,light cyan and light megenta.. lasts for ever and ya can water it down with distilled water too although i dont bother as its a dye so dosent make much differance really an as it goes so far i just dont bother its only practice..but well cheap..hope this helps

[redanner]

Here is a couple of links about inkjet ink and mixing.

http://www.arttalk.com/archives/vol-10/artv1009-7.htm

http://www.arttalk.com/color%20wheel%20tips%20page.htm

[Whit]

Thanks for the link redanner,,, nice info to have !!!

[redanner]

Yea Whit! I'm not the kind of person that gives a taste then doesn't share. Unless I'm talking out rear and don't know what I'm about... LOL he!he!

[crymynal]

Ok, I read through both links. What about cleaning out the gun afterwards? What would work?

[rsstoned]

inkjet inks are waterbased they clean out nicely with plain old water..on the opposit side i had fun with the inkjet inks so thought id try proper drawing inks..man they were hard to clean out ended up useing meths to get it out ..

[crymynal]

rsstoned---thanks for the info. I really appreciate it.

I went down to the dollar store earlier today and found some water based poster paints. I will start with these and next time I go to the dollar store (pretty often) I will compare the inkjet qty to the paints I bought today. I also picked up some tablet paper. Looks like practice will resume on Thursday evening.

[rsstoned]

ive never tried poster paints so cant comment i have tried the cheap water colours and anitas acyrilic paints tho and i gotta say even thinning them down alot with denatured water and adding differant things to help the tip dry they still felt and sprayed like crap..i know everyone says not to bother and like every newbie i tried all the cheaper alternatives but in the end like everyone else said to me ya just can beat paints designed for airbrushing..ive spent as much on differant cheaper items as what it would of cost me in the beging..ive now finaly just ordered myself some proper paints etac just waiting for it to arrive now..in all honesty apart from the inkjet inks wich if ya use on photo paper are good nothing else has worked right all i got was constant tip dry clogs and was forever having to clean out the brush makes your learning curve hell mind you in saying that i have learnt quite a bit playing with the cheap stuff mainly how to strip my brush down quick and tip dry and spits an clogs and a little on mixing and additives lol but not much actual airbrushing lmao..so advice in general yes play with the inkjet inks they work and others use them but for the paints stick with airbrush ones the rest just aint worth the hassle..my oppion anyway others may help ya more..good luck

[Frog]

Poster paint is a fairly course ground pigment, I think you will have more problems than its worth.

Gouache cheap and is a fine ground pigment and can be used easily, goes a long way and is water soluble even after it is dry. Just beware as the pigment will settle out after thinning, so keep it moving in the resovoir by backflushing every so often.

Michael

[essentialcycle]

I've been using Dr. Ph Martin's bombay inks. They clean up with water or ink pen cleaner. I got mine at a Hobby Lobby. They are cheap and easy to use. Just pull out of the bottle, put in the brush and let it go. You can spray at avery low psi for setail too. Check out their website too.