question from a newbie........

[jonnymojo]

i started striping about 2 years ago. i have been teaching myself.........talk about the blind leading the blind! i was kind of wondering, did most people here start off copying others' designs? i'm not talking about selling other people's designs, and trying to pass them off as your own, but, just as practice........to get a feel for the brush, and all. i have improved exponentially.........but, have a looooong way to go! also, i keep running across the advice to add a couple of drops of "smoothie" to the one-shot. where the hell do you find this stuff? is it really necessary?

[SteelPhoenix]

A lot of people do start off by copying other designs to get a feel for it.

If you wanted a good source of designs, I'd recommend ordering a copy of "Bobbo's Little Book of Pinstripe Designs". Not sure if the Boss carries it in the Kustom Kulture Gallery store, but if he doesn't you can get it through Lazer Lines www.lazerlines.com

I'm pretty sure you can get smoothie at a regular paint store. Its essentially a paint flow enhancer. My husband used to paint houses, said they used it occasionally there when using enamel based paints. I haven't used it yet, some people swear by it, others swear at it.
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