u/decemberprune

Hi! I’m a beginner to this hobby, and I’m almost ready to begin painting my project, but I don’t have an airbrush. I didn’t know if I’d get into it before so I didn’t want to make a huge investment. Is there a way to get the colors nice and smooth, with acrylics or other, without airbrushing it? And how would I use pastels to shade? Thanks!