Starfield Nebula
Although this "nebula" is actually part of a larger artwork, it is a fairly simple element and can be completed in about 10-15 minutes (with all the necessary materials at hand). Starting with a Black (or deep Blue) background the majority of the artwork is acheived using Opaque White paint. A deep Transparent Blue will be required and some Black for cleanup and in this example I used a Transparent Yellow, a Transparent Candy Orange and a Transparent Candy Red.
1. With my reference photo at hand I start by creating a quick mask for the Nebula. Using a regular sheet of paper, hand tear an irregular shape to match your Nebula and to fit the space in which you are painting. I have already used a "splatter" technique to lay down a "Star" field across my background. This technique uses a fairly heavy paint (too thin and it will run) sprayed against the edge of a hard flat surface, like a credit card, allowing the paint to build up on the card and then "splattered" by the airflow, onto the work surface. Watch for an upcoming "Splatter" technique tutorial.
2. Hold the loose mask against the background and spray a light even coat of opaque white. A quick light coat will do...its surprising how much contrast you get with a masked edge! Lift the mask to check and replace if you need to spray more white. Don't worry about double edges, its all part of the Nebula! I also moved the mask and sprayed some more white creating some larger, less visible Nebula areas.
3. Now, using the Opaque White, bring your airbrush in tight to the surface and define some of the edges of the "space clouds", imagining a light source from within the cloud. Don't go overboard yet...more layers to come. Each layer also mutes and hides some of your "Stars" so you need to do a light "splatter" again to create some closer Stars. Also start adding some light surrounding "glow" to some of the larger "splatter" Stars.
4. The center of my "Nebula" is like an eye in the middle of a Storm Cloud so I want to add a cloudy swirling effect to the surrounding area. Grab the piece of masking removed from your original mask (or tear a new piece of paper, there are no rules as to the required shape) and use the edges of the mask to create "cloud"like edges and gas clouds surrounding the 'eye". I also used some freehand fogging to create bands of gaslike clouds. Everything radiates from a central "Star" explosion...keep that in mind.
5. Once you are happy with your "Gas Cloud" shapes you can detail some highlighted edges again. Keeping in mind a central lightsource, add more highlights and foggy swirls of "Star Matter". Again, its a good idea to do a quick "splatter" spray and add some more foreground Stars. Add more glow to the larger Stars and some "flare" effects to some of the Stars. Simple transparent shaded rings around the Stars and/or "starburst" radiating lines will set off a couple of your larger "Supernova Stars". Again, don't go overboard...less is more
5. To create "Milky Way" like Star fields, add some light trails of white creating soft hazy ribbons of "Stars". Using the hand held loose masking paper again, position it in the center of your Nebula and created a super highlighted area. This will be our center radiating lightsource. Create "beams of light radiating from this point and detail some of the highlighted cloud edges once more. I have also started to add some Transparent colour making sure I keep some distant colour regions that don't really overlap...
6. As you start adding more layers of transparent colour you will mute some your white highlights...this will create a more natural looking highlighted region, but you will also have to detail some of these highlights back to bright white for contrast. Try to avoid colour overlapping, concentrate on some distinct colour regions that are created by the different types of Gases and Stars that make up these regions. Each step you must keep redefining Stars and details so they don't become completely lost in the colour layers.
7. Here is where we strengthen the Blue in the surrounding "Space". Being careful not to overlap the Blue on any of the yellow tones, fill in all the gases surrounding the "Nebula" I even let the blue drift out into "deep space". Once some good Blue tones are in place, break out the Black and blen the Blue into the dark of "Space" You can also use a small amount of Black to strenghten and deepen the darkest areas around the Nebula clouds.
9. At this point you may notice a big change!... as a result of not paying enough attention to my reference images I accidentally painted my colours in reverse and was forced to repaint my "Nebula"! I knew something was wrong! (and unfortunately I forgot to shoot new photos!) However, the process is the same to this point, just reverse the colours by using the Oranges in the outer "Cloud" formation and Blue in the "Eye". The surrounding gas clouds better represent the exploded Star formations. With the Blue as a background, its time to really strengthen the central "Star" lightsource and redo the radiating light beams.
9. I use a loose mask again to block the "Gas Cloud" and spray a strong central highlight. Then remove the mask and add more glow including a "ring" glow and "starburst" effect. To throw in some more "cloud" formations within the central highlighted are, grab the loose masking again and create some radiating "cloud" edges. Now its just time to have some fun with details.
10. As before, a lot of "Star" detail is lost with many layers of colour, so another light "splatter" of White brings in some more foreground "Stars" and its time again to redo the highlighted edges of the "clouds" add a few more "Star Glows" and "Star Bursts". The different layers of "Stars" will add visual depth...with "Stars" appearing to be in front of, inside and behind the "Gas Clouds".
In conclusion: Some might wonder why I didn't redo this article and just shoot some new photos... I decided to leave the photos with my "mistake' to illustrate that not every artist is perfect and not every job goes as planned. Mistakes do happen...to all of us...and its no reason to panic or become disillusioned with your art. In airbrushing, minor flubs and flaws will almost always be part of the artwork. Larger errors don't have to destroy hours of work, you just need to learn how to deal with the necessary repairs or modifications. Its all part of learning!