Hi Lydia, I've only posted a couple times, but thought I'd pop my head in here to offer up what I did when I purchased my airbrush (kopykake airmaster btw and so far so good for what I use it for). I had never used one either and I kind of go about things backwards with the attitude that I can hopefully figure things out on my own without spending too much $. (a crafter's curse really LOL) I did some searches online for airbrushing tips and hints and didn't specify cake decorating. I actually came across a few interesting sites - mostly for t-shirt style airbrushing - but one of the biggest hints I found was to practice on paper towels and coloring book pages to get the feel of the pen. With the paper towels, simply practice fine lines, straight and curved, over and over until you feel comforatable with the control, then you can work with stencils or masks by just using scraps of paper, etc. just to get the feel of it. You can do it freehand and also you should practice following lines you've drawn on and sort of trace them with the airbrush. The coloring books are great because you can practice control around the edges of the images and staying in the lines without masking the areas off. Remember, it's always easiest to go back and add more - use several light coats instead of a heavy first coat because you can't take it away but you can always add more. I love my airbrush! I use it very often, mostly for freehand work or just adding a little background now and then, but it has become an invaluable tool in my studio! Have fun with it! I am interested in moving on to a better airgun/brush for chocolate but it will have to wait until my pocketbook decides I just can't do without one! So I can't offer up any advice on different makes or models, but I hope you find how I practiced technique helpful.