Diamond Plate Demo

[Craig Fraser]

Well,...here ya go. I dug these out of the archives. I will try and get one on here every week, or so.

Step 1:
For this demo, I already based a black powdercoated panel with some Alsa Ghost Chrome. I then came in with my Diamond Plate stencil from the Artool FX-1 series. This is a solvent proof stencil that is rigid enough for one handed use, and still flexible for wraping around compound curves.

Using a little over reduced basecoat black, I airbrush in the basic diamonds from the pattern. You can overlap the stencil, and continue to create a seamless panel of diamonds. As you spray, you will want to darken the underside more, to give added depth later on.

[Craig Fraser]

Step 2:
Continue down the panel until you have nothing but your darkened diamonds showing. I left a border on each side so I could add some rivets later on. Your black diamonds should be semitransparent. You want them dark, but still be able to see the metallic showing through.

[Craig Fraser]

Step 3:

Using the same transparent black, airbrush in a subtle dropshadow under each diamond. If you make the shadows too low, the diamonds will appear to be floating. Be sure to make them all the same. Continuity is the most important aspect of this step.

[Craig Fraser]

Step 4:

Using the circle stencil in the Skullmaster Frontal stencil, (You can use any circle stencil you wish) I lay in some rivets along the border of the piece. In a clinch, I have even used a masked off washer to create rivets. Be Creative.
When airbrushing the rivets with the transparent black, keep the bottom of the rivet dark, and only let the overspray hit the top of the stencil. This will give the rivet the best 3-D appearance.

[Craig Fraser]

Step 5:

You will notice on the bottom of the stencil sheet are a few rows of half diamonds. These are to be used for the highlights. Using a transparent mix of basecoat white, with a few drops of Ghost Chrome added. (Yes it can intermix, and will help the white blend better with the incidence of refraction of the metallic aluminum). I airbrush in the highlights on the top halves of the diamonds. Take your time, and make them all the same. Mess up on one, and it will attract the eye, and destroy the illusion.

[Craig Fraser]

Step 6:

Using the same white, I come in and freehand in a highlight glow in the upper center of each diamond. This will give the diamonds a more realistic glint, and hide the sharp edges from the previous stencil work.

[Craig Fraser]

Here is the final piece. Note the additional highlights on the rivets. This is not yet clearcoated. When cleared the highlights will be more muted, and the depth will really punch out. If you want to add rust at this stage, I would mix up a batch of Root Beer, Tangerine kandy, and black basecoat. Hope you like the demo. Have fun with it, and post pics of your own. You can get all the materials, and stencil for this demo at Coast Airbrush. (714)-635-5557 There is also a new DVD out showing the use of this stencil, and the others in the FX-1 series. Automotive Stencil FX

paint to live, live to paint

Fraser

[philty monx]

in reality the photos above where done with a special high shutter speed camera... the above demo is done in sssssllllooooowwww mmmmoooottiiiooonnnn and over dubbed to make us feel better...
craig prolly moves like quarter speed so our simple minds can absorb....

[STREAMLINER]

Thanks Craig, nice demo........

[FXologist]

Sweet Demo.........:clap:

[Olli]

Very nice...makes me want to get an airbrush.

Olli

[T-rex]

Dam Craig! you read my mind, I was gonna ask you for info on the diamond plate! and the rivets are a sweet bonus! THANKS! looks awesome by the way!
T

[Doc400]

outstanding!

[Skittel Syndicate]

i liked the demo of the scale stencil in Airbrush Action!! nice job!

[chevyracing]

Awsome! I hope mine turn out like that someday!

[Doc400]

i liked the demo of the scale stencil in Airbrush Action!! nice job!
I was actually going to ask, I don't have the stencil yet, but I have a job to do with scales, was trying to picture how it works......

[COPPERCUSTOMZ]

Awesome Craig!!!!! Now I can get started practicing this stencil (the correct way) I have the Cheetah pimp also, would LOVE to see a how to on that one hint,hint:tup:

[Armageddon]

I saw this article in Airbrush Action and got the stencil, the only thing I have found is that they don't line up to well when you put the half ones over it, tother than that it makes life so much easier. Keep em coming!

[chucktx]

very cool.....thanks

[kb9jlo]

Craig, that is awesome.
Could you do a blowup of the picture of step 3, 5 & 6? Like right where you're airbrushing?
I can't exactly tell what you're doing. Of course, I'm such a noob I probably won't be able to tell from the close up either.
The finished product looks awesome - even the rivets!!
Dan

[daisygal]

Cool demo you make thing seem so easy
thanks for taking the time to do this

hey where is the PDF Guy???
that was so cool to be able to save the other one as a pdf how do you do that??

[beany]

hi thanks craig i am new to this and i have a lot of your stencils and a lot of dvds i stumbled onto this site and after seeing whats on here and then comeing across you on here i cant go wrong i am draweing at lest 2 hours a night because im no artist but ill keep trying thanks again for the tips and keep the dvds and stencils comeing i live in new zealand we dont have much infow on air brushing here thanks again

[Craig Fraser]

No problem. Glad the forum, and demos are helping you. Keep up the airbrushing, and drawing. Can never go wrong with practice, just keep it interesting, and you will never grow bored. I have been to NZ twice in the last few years. Keep an eye out for Steve VanDemon, and myself coming back around Winter of next year for some more workshops.

paint on
Fraser

[D.Keemy]

I got a sweet sheet of diamond plate aluminum for free. This is 1/8" thick and seems tough enough. Has anyone had any experience with this stuff? Is it good shield material?

[Maconcott]

You will notice on the bottom of the stencil sheet are a few rows of half diamonds. Using a transparent mix of basecoat white, with a few drops of Ghost Chrome added.. I airbrush in the highlights on the top halves of the diamonds. Take your time, and make them all the same. Mess up on one, and it will attract the eye, and destroy the illusion.