Or... BEN! you can continue with the person who introduced you to the art. who was that again?

man... paint overload!... but your enthusiasm is perfect.

I'll try to make this brief (mostly because I tend to give ppl WAY TOO MUCH information!)... but I'll see if I can give you a quick summary of everything that I usually see pop up...

www.SprayPaint.tv  Go here and look for the user "Spacepainter"... SprayPaint.tv is the sister-sire to this one and Spacepainter is Brandon McConnell.  Check out his videos and simply try the techniques that you see in the videos.  In my opinion that's the best way to learn.  Watch how he does a specific painting, then try it for yourself... if it comes out crappy then rewatch the vid and try it again.  When I was first starting out I would watch a vid 5-10 times before trying it just so I could try to better understand how it was put down.  It's all about trial & error and learning from your mistakes.

A few tips For Beginners:
**Use 3M respirator (when painting indoors especially!), and latex gloves or "Gloves In A Bottle"...
**Glossy paint on glossy posterboard to start out...
**Buy the cheap paint til you know what you're doing (month or two), otherwise you're just wasting funds...
**You'll only need a few colors to start off, plus black, white, & clear...
**Every beginner sprays way too much paint -- way more than they need...
**For planet textures: magazine paper, wax paper, notebook paper, aluminum foil...
**Shading & highlighting your planets adds depth...
**Use multiple size lids for your planets...
**Sometimes it helps to let the planet shading dry a bit before placing the lid down onto the painting...
**Invest in at least one good palette knife...
**If your texturing is bland and doesn't have much contrast try re-wetting it with Clear and then try texturing again...
**There's USUALLY multiple ways to do one thing or to get one final outcome...
**Don't use FIRE til you really know how to paint, otherwise you'll just hurt yourself or the painting...
Yes, you can paint on other surfaces -- but learn on posterboard first -- it will make other surfaces easier...
For cutting stencils: a very sharp blade, and I cut the shapes out of transparency film (or posterboard)...

Don't sweat the small stuff - it will get easier and you'll improve at a faster rate that you can imagine.  Before you know it you'll be SO MUCH BETTER than you are now.  It will come to you so much faster than you think - no worries.

awesome! thanks for the comment. i may check ebay for a dvd or 2... i didnt think about that, ive just been doing a sort of trial and error type thing..

hi

I am new myself,i brought one of Brandons dvds off ebay, it shows you spray paint art step by step how to paint six painting, it is really helpful..cheers Billyjoe