How to Start an Airbrush Art Business

With airbrush art, you can place the pictures that you create on shirts, walls, windows as well as other places. To start-up this business, you will need $500-$3,000 for the general equipment, advertising and promotion. The best ways to advertise would be to promote it on your vehicle with your phone number; hand out business cards to auto businesses; classified ads; fliers on community bulletin boards, malls, grocery stores, etc.

Airbrushing is also done on fingernails, real and fake ones. The fake ones are glued to the real fingernail after it is painted. I think everyone is familiar with what street artists do. In the '70's the airbrush capital in the entire world was Panama City Beach in Florida. Their designs were are many, many t-shirts.

Equipment
For this type of business you will have to deal with record keeping, filing and billing. Put a system in place where it is easy to refer to past jobs and customers. You will also a telephone answering service in your office, an atomizer that operates by compressed air. The atomizer shoots ink and paint out in a fine spray.

Training
You can check out your local college or university for art courses. If you can try to apprentice with an airbrush artist. Most of all, if this is the business that you want to do, you'll have to have the talent, and basic artistic skills.

Salary
$20,000- $40,000 per year

Tips
The best customers are: any business with vehicles; motorcycle helmets; walls; storefronts and windows. Give estimates for the work you'll do. It's your choice whether you want to charge for estimates. Keep track of each job with photographs, and write down how long it took you to complete, and the materials that you used. You'll know what the cost will be. This is to give approximate estimates for future jobs. It's important to keep in touch with other artists, so don't forget to network.

Books
Here are a few books and periodicals you can read to start you out in your new business.
Getting Started In Airbrush by David Miller
www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Airbrush-David-Miller/dp/0891344799/ref=sr_1_4/105-2750888-2368432

Airbrush Action Magazine
www.airbrushaction.com

The Ultimate Airbrush Handbook
www.shoptheartstore.com/product_detail_single.cfm

Website
www.howtoairbrush.com