There are many people who'd like to be able to conjure mind-blowing pictures using an airbrush, but not everyone is capable of achieving such artistic prowess. Fortunately, there are techniques that allow to circumvent this problem, and stencil art is probably one of the easiest, most interesting and more effective ways of doing so. In case you're wondering, a stencil is essentially a cut-out shape that is used to reproduce patterns and drawings. You may think of this is a limited and infantile strategy, but you'll be likely to change your mind after you realize the amazing potential of proper stencil work using an airbrush.

One of the most important things to keep in mind if you want to create stencils using an airbrush is not concerned with the stencil itself, but rather the tool that you'll be using to spray paint. You see, there are airbrushes out there which are quite cheap, and they all tend to be quite ineffective and frustrating. If you choose one such tool, you'll be undermining your efforts right from the start. Learning how to use a good airbrush calls for a reasonable amount of skill and practice, but trying to learn using a cheap airbrush will most likely turn out messy and all-around unpleasant. So if you want to increase your chances of success, make sure to purchase a decent tool. 

Besides a decent airbrush and a set of stencils (and of course paint), there's another fundamental tool that you'll have to use to keep your airbrushing stencils to turning out into a horrible mess: tape. You'll need lots of tape, and you'll have to be quite mindful in using it. Spending a good amount of time applying tape in the areas you do NOT want to paint will not only ensure that you don't make a big mess; it will simultaneously guarantee that what you DO want to paint will look much crisper, with better contrast. It's most important to use tape as means to protect the area around the stencil, to keep your picture from being surrounded with ugly boxes of paint. After you finish, you might also want to touch of your drawing using a base color matching the surface where you have deployed your stencil artwork.

You can purchase several different airbrush stencil plates, both on the Internet and in traditional stores. There are literally thousands of designs, pictures and patters available, depicting all imaginable themes. At some point however, you may feel like coming up with your own designs. This is actually simpler than it sounds, since you don't actually have to draw your plate: you can just print out your chosen drawing and cut out the shape using a scalpel or x-acto knife. If you want to try this, make sure you using a sturdy material for the plate, but try to find one that's not too difficult to cut; a thick sheet of plastic will oftentimes do the trick. Other than that, you should watch out for "islands" in the plate: enclosed areas will simply get cut out from the design, and that may be undesirable. Be patient and don't be afraid to experiment, and your stencil skills will improve naturally through trial and error.

Once you have practiced enough to feel confident in your ability to paint a stencil without blotting the surface you're applying it to, and without giving the picture a blurry look (unless that's what you were going for, say as a special effect), you'll be ready to take the next step in stencil art: multi-layered stencils. This is essentially a way of using several layers combined, as to produce a picture that's remarkably more complex in appearance, with lush details and various colors. Creating one such picture is actually as simple as painting a plain stencil; effectively, you'll be spraying one plate at a time - so it's pretty much the same process. There are just two things you should watch for, if you feel you're ready to try doing this: 1) Keep it really nice and clean, and always let the paint dry completely before moving on to the next layer; and 2) always come up with some kind of reference that will allow you to frame the different plates in the exact same spot, as to make sure that all the layers get match up really good.

There are several advantages to this technique: it allows deploying beautiful images in a number of surfaces (walls, helmets, hats, shirts, paper), all of which can be done really fast, with practice. Furthermore, it allows just about anyone to create amazing drawings, regardless of their artistic talents. Most notably, it's a lot of fun and not too expensive as a hobby (especially if you can borrow an airbrush). Give it a try, you might just become an adept of stencil art!