Tips on How To Make Light Airbrush Colors Work!
My light airbrush color is coming out dark and watery—what am I doing wrong! 😩
You may find that it is a bit challenging to see light colors since by nature, airbrushing creates a thinner and watery result. So, the edible airbrush colors that you use on cakes and flooded cookies will produce a light result, and they can be a bit more complicated to work with.
Here, we will walk you through how to get lighter and clearer airbrush colors.
Practice Trigger Pressure!
The #1 key to getting lighter colors is to use light trigger pressure when you start the color flowing - even if you can’t see it flowing at first! We always suggest practicing on paper towels, a paper plate, or a reusable practice cookie.
For example, with bold colors like red and black, when you pull the trigger on the airbrush, you will see the color flowing easily. However, with yellows, white, and other colors, you are likely to see nothing. With light colors, you may not even see these colors landing on the cookie. So, you may overcompensate, which can lead to a heavier-handed look and approach to applying colors.
Build Up Color Slowly:
To get the best results, hold the airbrush gun vertically about 6-8 inches above the cookie. Pull the trigger lightly and move the gun up and down or back and forth across the cookie. Allow each layer to dry before you apply the next one! Even if you can't see it at first, it is there.
By building the layers this way, you will get light and pretty airbrush shades that you can't get by applying the colors too quickly. It's ideal for light skies, grasses, and other pictures that may need a lighter base and then to be built up.
Even if you are using deep shades like black or maroon, the building-it-up technique is necessary to successfully achieve the look you want.
This will lead to you becoming a dab hand at airbrushing cookies, cakes, or anything else, creating a more even look to your edible artwork.
Most Common Airbrushing Mistakes:
- Holding the gun too close to your cookie.
- trying to oversaturate rather than making swift passes back and forth.
- Pulling too hard on the trigger
Let's Recap!
- Put your airbrush pressure on high and pull back on the trigger GENTLY!
- Hold the gun 6-8 inches above your cookie.
- Move the gun side to side in soft passes