When your goal is to learn how to be the best, you can never find enough good, solid tattoo instructions. It seems like every little tattoo tip, every new idea or innovative thought may be just the thing to take you to the next level. It is precisely this kind of drive and motivation to learn and grow that will help you reach your goals.Here you will find a few of those tips and innovations that can help you perfect and hone your skills.
The tattoo instructions included here are just suggestions, of course. Every tattoo artist finds his or her own groove and determines what ideas should be implemented on a daily basis. Of course, we can't all discover every new technique on our own, so by offering these tattoo instructions, we're just giving you a little food for thought.
You're invited to try these tips out on your own. Keep the ones that work for you, and leave the rest behind.
Use the Right Machine for the Job Most professional tattoo artists actually use more than one machine, and it's even likely that they will use multiple machines on one tattoo. This is because different machines are equipped for different purposes. Each will have individual tattoo instructions that define its purpose, but there are some general guidelines that can help make sure you are getting the most out of your equipment and therefore creating the best possible tattoos.
An 8-coil machine, for example, has less power and is better for tattooing with smaller needle groupings. A 10-coil, therefore, has the power for larger needle groupings, and a 12-coil can handle even larger groups yet. It's important to recognize that a 12-coil isn't just a better machine than an 8-coil. Instead, it is designed for a completely different purpose.
If you're doing a tattoo that includes very thin, medium, and very thick lines all in one design, you may find that you use all three machines one the same client in one day.
Tattoo Needles In order to create perfect tattoos, you need to be using the best equipment. To get the highest quality and to protect your clients' health, always use brand new needles out of the package. Use a jeweler's eye piece to examine your needles up close. You want to ensure that they are not bent, that there are no pits, and that they're not all scratched up. Once you're satisfied, sterilize them and keep them protected until you're ready to get started.
Your needles are not completely out of harm's way just yet, though. You need to be very careful when placing the needle bar into the needle tube. You do not want your needles to touch the sides or bump anywhere within the needle tube, because they can get damaged very easily.
The final major obstacle comes when you dip your needle into the ink. Even though it's easy to get distracted by what you're doing or by talking with the client, you need to pay attention so that you do not touch your needle tips to the bottom or sides of the ink lids.
Tattoo Inks When you create a tattoo, it's really the ink that is left behind to be admired. Everything else you do is a matter of delivering the ink in the safest and most effective way possible. There are hundreds of tattoo instructions that can be issued about inks used in the industry, but we'll just take a moment to point out a few important aspects of working with them.
There are a number of companies that produce tattoo inks, and each has its own recipe for mixing pigments and various carrier fluids. For this reason, it is probably the best practice not to use different brands of ink on the same tattoo. You want to use inks that are going to have similar properties, and it's too difficult to predict what will happen if you mix and match.
Most professional tattoo artists recommend that you begin with the darkest inks needed for your tattoo and work your way into the lightest colors. This is because the darker colors will obscure the lighter ones if applied later. Some artists insist that if you're careful, this isn't much of a concern, but it's definitely worth taking into consideration when planning your approach to a client's design.
Black and Gray Tattoos
Some people will tell you that THE way to make yourself stand out as a tattoo artist is to truly master the ability to do black and gray tattoos and tattoo shading. We could offer all kinds of tattoo instructions when it comes to just this one topic, but here are a few of the hints and tips that many people find the most useful.
--There are four basic options when it comes to gray. You can purchase one of hundreds of gray tones from a distributor, you can create your own grays by adding varying amounts of white to black, you can dilute your black ink with water to lighten it, or you can lighten pressure and move your hand more quickly while using pure black in your needle tip in order to get a lighter appearance of your black ink.
--Outlines are not necessary, especially if you want more of an airbrushed effect, but they can look really, really good on black and gray tattoos. Because these tattoos are monochrome, you need to find other ways to get contrast, and using different sized outlines can create a wonderful effect that makes the whole tattoo pop.
--If you want to keep an area blank (often representing "white" in the design), you can use a bloodline to mark off the area. Use a needle with no ink to draw the line that delineates the negative space. You can then tattoo up to that line while making sure you don't cross it. The bloodline will disappear in a few days.
--When doing a fill, start with a small area and then wipe it to guarantee you're getting full, even coverage. If the area is spotty, you need to use smaller circles or slow down. If it is getting chewed up, you need to move more quickly and check to make sure your needles are not damaged.
It's impossible to sum all the nuances of the art of tattooing in one place, but these tips and ideas should give you some good suggestions on how to perfect your designs. Implement them as you continue to practice, and you will find that the quality of your tattoos will improve, as well your clients' satisfaction.
Just a few little tattoo instructions can make a big difference in the long run.
DO YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO TATTOO? Find out how to tattoo the right way!
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