Little pots of paint

I haven't done much in the way of airbrushing for a while, so I thought I'd haul out my mini compressor and have a play this afternoon. Airbrushing is a great way to add extra interest to a bear and once you're confident with your equipment, imagination is your only limitation ... or so I'm told!

I'm about to start work with some sage green and pale cream mohair and want some pretty paw pads to complement my mohair. Incidentally, the paw pads are cream UltraSuede, but wool felt would accept the paint just as well, if not better. I didn't have the exact shades of ink/acrylic paint I needed, which meant I had to mix what I did have available until I reached a satisfactory outcome.

Preparation (I've been painting eyes too!)

Suitable paints and inks

It's all in the mix ...

Using a pipette to transfer the mixed paint to my airbrush

First colour application

Second application and finished paw pads

There's no magic formula for airbrushing paw pads in this simple way, it really is just a case of 'point and shoot' until you achieve what you were hoping for. A steady hand helps too! If all goes according to plan, these particular paw pads should soon be featured on a new 18" bear ... watch this space!

As you can see, my airbrushing skills are very basic, so if you would like to see the work of a true master, please spare a moment to visit Judi Paul's blog at http://luxembears.com/Blog/ Judi's airbrush work is amazing!