Step by Step - Derek Banegas

Bio: Derek Banegas, owner of 9 to 5 Airbrush. I was raised in Hanford, CA. Derek got into art very young, building and painting models and airbrushing shirts for family members.

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As with many airbrush artists, he stoped airbrushing for a while. In 2004 at the age of 20, Derek picked airbrushing back up and made it a full-time hobby while working as a house painter. In 2008, he quit the house painting business and pursued being a full-time airbrush artist. Looking to further his skill set, Derek took two years of online digital art classes that have helped him further his artistic skills. Derek, and his wife Erica, have been running a growing, successful airbrushing business for the last 12 years that specializes in custom airbrushing on T-shirts, Hats, Batting Helmets, banners, and so much more.

1. I like to work out my designs digitally for precision and detail on more complex paintings. It's a very forgiving way to work and helps streamline my creative process. Afterward, the artwork is projected onto the T-shirt for exact placement using a LED projector and a 6b pencil.

2. I begin by laying out a color pallet using my iPad and procreate. Using the color picker and painting a swatch helps me find a good starting point to work from. I am mixing the first color mainly using transparent white followed by a couple of drops of fluorescent orange and fluorescent violet for a bright glowing skin tone. As I finish the initial tone, I tint the color and stick with a three-value approach light, medium, and dark throughout the piece.