Article: Place a t-shirt board inside of the shirt and set the shirt onto an easel. The t-shirt board will stretch the material, preventing wrinkles, folds, and dimples from sneaking in and ruining your design. They also prevent paint from seeping through to the other side of the shirt. Most t-shirt boards are made of thick cardboard, masonite, or foam board. The easel should hold the shirt at least 32 inches (81 cm) above the ground. It must be positioned in a way that allows your hand to move naturally over the shirt as you work. Position the airbrush over the stencil attached to the shirt. It is best to start at the edge of the design right than starting at the middle. The distance between the airbrush and the shirt will create different effects. For a soft appearance, hold the airbrush roughly 6 inches (15 cm) away from the shirt. For a harder appearance, hold it roughly 4 inches (10 cm) away from the material. Gently ease the trigger back to release a stream of paint. Steadily move your hand over the entire stencil to fill the exposed areas with paint. When holding the airbrush close to the surface, ease up on the trigger to use less paint. You need to move your hand steadily across the entire surface as you airbrush the paint onto the material. Failing to move your hand will cause globs of paint to appear at the beginning and end of each stroke. Overlapping each pass will prevent gaps of blank space from appearing, creating a more even appearance. To switch colors, merely release the trigger to stop the spray, unscrew the old jar, and screw on the new jar. Some airbrush artists prefer to use a different airbrush for each color, but for bottom-fed airbrushes, you should be able to use the same brush for all colors. After filling in the stencil portion of the design, carefully peel the stencil straight back to remove it from the shirt. Remove any tape holding the edges down before lifting away the stencil. If the stencil resists too much, you may need to wait until the paint dries before peeling it away. Doing so will minimize the risk of disturbing the paint and ruining the image. If you want to add freehand elements, now is the time to do so. Consider the placement carefully since there will be no way to undo any mistakes. Letters and numbers are the most common freehand elements. Consider practicing different fonts in advance before attempting to airbrush them onto a shirt.
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Set up the t-shirt. Hold the airbrush over the shirt. Spray even, overlapping strokes across the surface. Switch colors as needed. Carefully remove the stencil. Add freehand designs as desired.