How to tattoo? What to prepare? How many steps does it include? What to pay attention to? How to become a good tattoo artist? If you are wondering about these questions, you have come to the right place! This article is definitely the perfect answer to your questions. Let’s find out together now!
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Contents
The Preparation Stages before Tattoo
Before diving into the main process, make sure that you have all the necessary equipment!
#1 Sanitation
First of all, sanitation is an important factor that determines wherever your tattooing process is successful or not. A professional tattooist must always adhere to strict hygiene standards throughout the whole procedure – from the preparation step to the final artwork.
Specifically, the work area must be sterile. Don’t forget to wash your hands with antibacterial soap and use proper surgical gloves. Remember to sterilize the entire tool in the autoclave.
It would be best if you did this in front of the client! This will help them perceive you as a caring person who has a high sense of responsibility for the hygiene and health of their clients.
#2 Tattoo Needles
The second thing is to prepare the needle! A professional tattooist needs to insert the needle securely before starting. Also, make sure that the tattoo machine will work properly.
The camp needle must be in the larger zone. The thing to note here is that the tip of the needle is no more than 1mm longer than the needle, and the ideal length of the needle exit is between 0.6 and 1mm. The smaller the length of the exit hole, the less damage to the client’s skin. Therefore, you need to pay attention to this!
#3 Can’t Forget Stencil – Tattoo Design
A stencil is a critical tool in every print and art job. During the tattooing process, the artists use the tattoo stencil to accurately transfer the motifs from the paper to the client’s skin.
Before you start making your first needles, you’ll need a stencil. It acts as a precise and convenient outline to help the craftsman avoid mistakes when drawing on the skin. The application of stencil on the skin also helps the skin to be tighter and easier to tattoo.
Next, you should redraw the existing design with a needle and ink. Once the stencil is finished, clean the skin again before starting the tattooing process.
#4 Protective Items
No one can deny that the safety of clients is the first priority. Needless to say, a professional tattooist is someone who is always ready to take all prescribed precautions to protect his clients. Ensure you wear enough protective items such as medical gloves, face shields, goggles, and disposable gowns for the torso, arms, etc.
These things may seem boring and annoying, but they are needed to prevent potential diseases for the client and the tattooist. If you don’t want to ruin the lives of you and your customers, be careful in everything!
Let’s Get Into The Work
After you’ve learned basic knowledge about the tattoo preparation process, let’s read the core part of this blog now!
#1 How To Assemble Coil Machine
Most tattoo machines on the market come with armature bars, springs intact, and coils. To assemble the coil machine, follow these steps:
- First, use an Allen wrench to tighten the end of the hose to one end of the shank.
- Attach the tube body to the other end.
- Loosen the twist tie at the front end of the frame, then put the hose end in.
- Adjust its position (to suit the depth of needle you want), and fix it by hand.
- Place the grommet on the nipple of the armature bar.
- Slide the needle bar down and out of the tube body, placing the needle bar loop on the grommet.
#2 Setting Up A Liner
- Check the clearance between the contact point and the front spring while pressing down on the armature bar.
- Loosen or tighten the screw to adjust the width of the gap to fit a coin.
- Move the tube stem up/down and tighten the frame to adjust the needle depth. The needle position should protrude slightly from the needle tip.
- Wrap a rubber band around the needle and the coils. Do not wrap too tightly, as this will slow down the speed of the needle; yet, be strong enough so that the needle does not fall out!
- Adjust the voltage. The higher the voltage, the faster the machine runs. However, you should only use the voltage that is just enough for your needs.
These are all basic settings that a professional tattooist needs to know. In addition to the coin spacing rule, you can change the details of the machine to control the speed and extent of the collision. Examples are a fine lining, a lighter armature bar, and shorter and softer springs. They both help speed up the machine!
#3 How To Set Up A Shader
The craftsmen use the shader for blending and gradients. Compared to the liner, it produces longer strokes and runs slower.
The steps for setting up a shader are similar to setting up a liner that we mentioned above.
Still, keep in mind that the level and speed you need will vary depending on the job with shaders. Setting the shader gradient will be very different from the color encapsulation. Therefore, it is very important that you know exactly how to adjust the speed of the machine. From this basic skill, you can make personal adjustments to fit your work habits.
#4 Tattoo Ink
There are many tattoo inks on the market to choose from, but they do not suit everyone. Hence, it is extremely important to understand the characteristics of the ink you opt for.
If you use some thick tattoo ink for contouring, it may get smudged out. A thin ink will help you achieve the desired colors or softer gradients. To get thinner tattoo ink, the workers often add distilled water to the ink.
You can do it with the entire ink bottle if you want to use the entire brushstrokes. However, please divide it into small ink caps to use for specific strokes. Suppose you want to become a professional tattooist, then it is a must to practice and master this technique!
What if your ink is too thin, and you want to make it thicker? Use glycerin, or mix it with a higher viscosity tattoo ink. You can easily find glycerin in pharmacies or tattoo supplies stores.
Gray wash is a method for giving shadows to tattoos. It creates contrast for the tattoo, thanks to the different shades of gray. There are different ways to make gray wash ink, such as mixing black ink with white ink, mixing it with water, or using Sumi ink (grey wash ink premix).
Making gray wash is a very basic technique to achieve a basic setup while gray washing.
Here are steps on how to do it:
•Line up 4-6 ink caps in a straight line
• Fill the first cap with black ink
• Pour distilled water into the next 3-4 lids. About half of the cap is enough
• Fill the last cap with distilled water.
• Add one drop of black ink to the first cap, two drops of black ink to the second cap, three drops of black ink to the third cap, and so on.
This method helps you to get gray in different shades. The final distilled water cap does not affect coloring, and you will use it to clean the head when changing between ink dilutions.
Color ink
When you want to use a color with a shade that isn’t available, you can create it by combining shades. Some people consider that a tattoo artist only needs to be good at the skill of image depiction, and using a needle is enough. However, to become a professional tattooist, you also need to know the color charts and color mixing rules to enhance the aesthetics of your work.
Red ink
Out of all the colors, red is the most difficult to create. To be more specific, the skin will be irritated and automatically turn red, making it difficult for the workers to distinguish between the skin and the pigment. As a result, a tattooist might think of blood as ink and ignore some uncolored areas.
This causes the ink to fall out, as it is not deep enough to stay on the skin for a long period of time! You need to be extremely cautious and follow the basic rules when using red ink.
#5 How To Apply Stencil
First, it is necessary to transfer the drawing to transfer paper using a tattoo stencil printer. Followed by this step is to print this stencil on the client’s skin to be tattooed.
In the past, many tattooists used an unscented pace stick. This method has the advantage of being relatively inexpensive, but it can lead to cross-contamination if the worker does not do it properly. Therefore, the popular method these days is to use some transfer liquids. The steps include:
- Clean the area to be tattooed with green soap
- Shave off the hair in that area
- Clean again with green soap
- Disinfect the same skin with an alcohol wipe
- Dry completely
- Apply transfer liquid
- Fix the stencil (hold the stencil firmly for a few seconds to prevent smudging)
- Wait at least 10 minutes for the stencils to dry before starting to tattoo.
#6 How To Properly Use Speed Stick
Many people prefer to use a speed stick – An old and cheapest method. However, extreme care should be taken when using this stick to prevent the risk of cross-contamination. Here’s how to apply the stencil and the speed stick:
- Clean the skin and remove hair ( the same as the steps introduced in the previous section).
- Next, take some UNSCENTED speed stick and soak it in a clean tissue (do not apply deodorant directly to the client’s skin).
- Rub the stencil with that tissue (if you want to add a speed stick, replace it with a new one and continue).
- Wipe off excess speed stick
- Fix the stencil for a few seconds (don’t move the stencil to avoid smudging)
- Let it dry for at least 10 minutes before you start tattooing.
#7 Tattoo Designs, How To Outline A Tattoo
No one can deny that tattoo sketching is a basic skill that every tattoo artist must embrace. Unfortunately, it isn’t easy to do it well right away! This requires hard work and patience. Here, we will show you how to have a good sketch:
- Clean the skin area that the customer wants to tattoo with alcohol and green soap.
- Next, apply the stencil
- Then, apply a VERY thin layer of mineral grease to the area that will be tattooed. This helps reduce friction when your gloves rub against the skin, as well as helps remove excess ink.
- You can start tattooing from wherever you feel easiest, but it needs to be consistent. If starting from the right, draw in the direction from right to left, and vice versa. This depends on your style. The only thing that we would like to remind you of is to be careful not to blur the stencil. Let’s start from the bottom up to avoid sweat, blood, and ink dripping.
- Next, pour ink into the tube tip reservoir. Turn off the device and dip the tip into the ink cup you prepared for the tattoo to refill the tip reservoir. With a little practice, you will be able to estimate how much ink a specific line is.
- After the machine is filled with ink, stretch the skin with your other hand. If it’s not tight enough, ask the customer for help.
- A professional mechanic does not hold a machine like a pencil. It would be best if you grasped the tip of the needle with your index finger and thumb.
Then, press the index, middle, and ring fingers to the skin like a needle holder. In this stage, do not rotate the wrist to maintain the original needle angle and depth. This helps to increase uniformity and prevent punctures.
- Press your foot into the pedal to power the machine.
- While the machine is running, bring the needle to the appropriate depth and insert the needle through the skin. Let’s tattoo a straight line from bottom to top. Don’t forget to start tattooing from the side and always look forward.
Also, make sure that your needle isn’t too deep. Be very careful not to hold the tip of the needle nor the tip of the tube. This would be hard the first time, but all will get better with regular practice!
- Now, it is time to sketch the next lines slowly without breaking the consistent pace. A fast speed may cause the needle to slip out, while a slow speed may injure the client. Speed control skills will be formed through practice.
- After each line, don’t forget to wipe off excess ink to avoid smearing the stencil.
#8 Shading
There are different ways to cast shadows, but professionals often use the 45° circular motion method and ink control by hand pressure. Thanks to this method, you can blend many different shades and control the intensity of the ink. In areas where you want a lighter tattoo, just press down on the needle.
Besides, the flicking wrist motion is also a fairly common technique. All you need is to apply more or less pressure at the beginning of the strokes.
#9 Color
Coloring is the final step of the tattooing process.
It goes without saying that tattooing is not a simple job at all! To be a successful tattoo artist, you must foster all the attention on the work and be skillful in adhering to the color order.
In our experience, contrasting colors look better next to each other, and the current lines should be the main color. We must remind you that mixing colors makes the drawing blurry and out of shape, so don’t mix colors at all!
The key to successful tattooing is color theory. You should start with the dark colors first, then the lighter colors. This order helps light and dark colors not mix.
The most common coloring method is to follow a circular motion with fixed pressure with the needle at an angle of about 45°. Color effects are not required.
#10 Bandage The Customer
After the tattooing process is finished, we will move to the cleaning phase of the tattoo area. Specifically, you need to clean up and bandage the opened wound. Until the cleaning and dressing are complete, you must keep all your belongings separate from the client.
How To Improve Your Skill As A Tattoo Artist?
A good tattooist, in theory, does not necessarily create artistic products that make customers admire. So, what does it take to become a real tattoo artist?
#1 Imitating Famous Artists, Practice Tattooing
Find a famous tattoo artist whose tattoo designs inspires you the most (Instagram is an endless resource for this). Try to practice tattooing those designs without tracing, as tracing has zero effect on your skill. By replication, you will know:
- What is a good tattoo design?
- How to design suitable for each customer
- In a tattoo, what “works”?
After mastering these three, you will learn how to use them in your designs. Studying the works of other artists will help you draw your style and improve your skills!
However, it would be best not to overdo it because simulation will take away human creativity. Besides referring to famous works, you should also create your own designs. Don’t be afraid of the first ugly products; failure is the mother of success – they help you learn and improve over time!
#2 Practice Skin
When starting with this cart, you should not rush to try it directly on human skin right away. Some mistakes due to lack of experience can lead to serious consequences. Hence, that’s why you need to practice faux leather first. Once you have accumulated experience for yourself and become proficient with each step, you are ready to work on real client skin!
Practice tattooing with fake skin helps limit the bad tattoos you create in the early stages of your startup. It also offers many benefits as follows:
- There is no cost to failure. If mistakes happen, it’s just a useful lesson, not a problem.
- Do not face the risk of contracting AIDS or other blood-borne diseases.
- No bad feedback from angry customers (you know, a bad tattoo can heavily influence a tattoo artist’s career and keep them from finding a new client).
- No need to fix clumsy tattoos on the side of your head
- Feel free to experiment with different techniques to find what works best for you
- You can practice whenever you want.
- No pressure on risk
Friends and family members can’t always help you with the practice. Also, please don’t get your hopes up for free tattoos because they won’t get back to you unless there’s an accident. This does not allow you to improve your skills.
One of the important things that you should remember is to practice regularly. It won’t be easy to progress if you only practice once or twice a week.
Conclusion
In this article, we have introduced you to the basics of how to tattoo. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will have more knowledge about this profession.
Keep this in mind: Theory is one thing, and practice is another business. Whether the tattoos you create meet customers or not, it all depends on your efforts!
If you want to become a successful tattoo artist, you have to face many difficulties and challenges ahead. However, with enough passion and perseverance, nothing can stop you from fulfilling your dream.