( 
)TinkTatz Tattoo Tips - 1 of 3
Info and tips for artists and clients - Episode One - what it is, and what puts it on...
Note - Practically everywhere, tattooing is regulated by law. It is the artist's responsibility to familarize themselves with the art and it's responsibilities - legal, sanitation, and otherwise. Nothing herein is to be construed as encouragement to avoid those responsibilities or laws, merely to inform those who may give or receive tattoos. There is no substitute for experience and study.
As a client - be discriminating! You wouldn't by a Rolex from a guy on the corner - stay away from 'scratchers' with ink - you'll be wearing it longer than the Rolex. Research your artist like you'd hope he's researched his craft! New to the craft? Hey...if you're not reading everything you can lay your soon-to-be ink stained hands on, you're in the wrong profession.
Tattooing, or dermagraphics, is both the ancient and modern method by which the human body is used as a 'medium' for graphic arts - via pigment being introduced into the skin.
There are two 'basic' types of tattooing - lining, and shading. Obviously, lining refers primarily to 'outlining', often as a border for shaded or colored areas. In lining, the desired result is a solid line, which may vary from single needle to heavy solid round groups - 12's or 14's not being unusual. The line produced by a single needle is incredibly thin - and requires a practiced touch not to show 'deviations'. Never allow an artist to do single needle work on you prior to seeing some of his work of that type. From the artist's point of view, a single needle setup should be in the tightest possible tip (without binding, of course) and a valuable tip - in round tips, any needle (or group) fitting loosely in the tip will 'roll around' to the extent the tip will allow, especially in curves or tight angles. A diamond tip will 'catch' the needle in the diamond's corners, and give a bit tighter control over the 'wiggle' room of the needle. Result - cleaner lines. While many methods have been peddled for 'learning' tattoo technique, one of the simplest basics for getting an initial grasp on lining technique - is to simply insert a good ol' wooden pencil tip - cut off and chucked in your machine's grip - it's about the right size - and spend a few hours simply drawing with it. You can even 'turn it on' (with no needle bar) and 'get a feel' for how your hand interacts with the machine. See? You're already saving a few bucks - the pencil technique will give you a feel for drawing with - the weight and balance of the machine - the chance to experiment with grips - my personal forte' - to find ou what works best in your hand, and even a chance to experience the 'fatigue' factor. Tilt your work to the same angle as your first victim...er...clients...arm, and turn that sucker on! Draw until you start noticing which muscles get tired, or how fast your grip choice kicks in with the 4th grade pencil carpal thingy. Oh yeah...the bucks saved? Didn't cost you a dime in ink, needles, practice skin or poor victimized grapefruits - and you're already a notch above the control level of the newbie doing those things. Art with a tattoo machine isn't exactly like drawing with a Rapidograph.
Shading, as implied, is 'stippling' or 'fading' of the solid color, and masterful shading leads to some of the incredible 'greywork' you see - a design done entirely in Black and Grey tones. Shading can be used as a fill method or to create effect - such as '3D Shadowing' or dimensional effects. Needles to achieve shading with range from 'looser' small round groups, to larger rounds, to flats and finally mags. Nothing but actually using them - or seeing them used - will educate you on the effects and techniques, but as should be obvious, the round groups are normally used to produce denser shading, while flats and mags cover a much larger area with less dense ink penetration. Tips relating to flats and mags - if you think you need to be using flats, you should probably be using mags. They are 'staggered rows' of flats and accomplish much better coverage with less potential scarring. Scarring, you ask? Moving a flat needle group sideways in the skin is about like using a miniature carving knife - it'll flat slice open some skin. Shading, unfortunately, is not the 'easily described' function that lining is. The shading group is normally 'worked in' to a heavier shading area, then smoothly moved while being 'lifted' out. Sorry. Gotta' be there. Try it with a few cans of spray paint on a piece of plywood - that's about as close as you'll get without actually doing it. Here's where that practice skin might be worth a buck or two...and some common sense. Play with some 5 or 7 mags, as round shaders will dump in the pigment until you get that 'fine touch' thing down.
Some 'tech' basics - A tattoo machine is an electromagnet that turns off and on as much as hundreds of times a second. The 'traditional' machine is called a 'coil' machine, due to the coils mounted on the frame. All coil guns basically eminate from the same Thomas Edison Labs patent for an 'electric engraver. When current is applied, they pull the armature bar in - which is what the needle bar mounts to - and a 'contact' point spring on the bar pulls away and allows the demagnatized bar to spring (as it uses leaf spings) against the current carrying pole. Lather, rinse, repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You get the picture.
From the artists viewpoint - coil guns are normally run between 6 and 10 volts DC to achieve smooth running at the desired speed, with the desired 'force', maning how hard the magnets pull in the armature bar - dependant on how hard the artist wants the needles to hit the skin. Smaller groups need less force than larger groups, and as a rule of thumb, lining takes less power than shading, altho' lining machines are often set to run a bit faster, with a shorter 'throw'. Many people say lining machine armature bars should be set a dime's thickness from the top coil, and a nickle's thickness for shading. Take my word for it - it depends on the machine, the needle group, and the client's skin. I've seen guys with skin so tough and leathery, the best solution would be just to dip a 12 gauge birdshot shell in ink and fire away...maybe use a stencil. Ha.
That being said, coil guns are dependable, plentiful, easier to work on than the average gadget, etc, etc. They're made of various material (think - must have magnetic properties or use steel 'yoke' bar to connect coils), and come basically 'horsepowered' out of the box by virtue of 'coil wraps'. The 'norm' is 8, 10 or 12 wraps. The more wraps, the higher the voltage that can be run thru 'em, and the harder they can be made to hit. Thus, 8 wrap guns are normally suited best for shading, 12's for heavy (large needle group) shading. Why different? Weight, feel, and most artists keep two guns 'set up' and handy, to avoid both the hassle or changing the setup, as well as the tendancy of 8 wrap guns to overheat when doing shading duty. As hinted, a machine that is 'set up' or well tuned, shouldn't require the 'maximum voltage' to get the job done. Most 10 wrap machines will 'tune in' at under 9 volts, and draw - if you happen to be lucky enough to have a power supply that shows AMPS, about a third to half an amp. Way more? Suspect some type of short in the coils. You should only need max power for max needle groups, and there are some seriously big ones out there.
BIG POWER SUPPLY NOTE! Power supplys that put out anything under a FULL AMP should be avoided like unprotected sex. A good power supply would be 2-3 amp - as the 'draw' on the supply will never contribute to the heat build up in your machine, as cheaper dinky supplys will. AVOID wall-cubes like the plague. They're garbage. Final note - Car batteries are for cars.
Back to machines - rotary machines also exist. They vary from the 'prison gun' design, using old tape deck motors, to high-end machines in everyday use. The advantages? Way quieter! Great for use with cosmetic (facial) apps and squeamish clients. The drawbacks? Expensive as a Park Avenue call-girl, use 'special' (read - expensive) needles, and the cheapies have the power of a flea humping your dog.
Inks? Don't get me started! First, every ink manufacturer on the planet is being sued by those wonderful environmentalists in California, who bring you such joys as 'not to be used for air travel' on kite packages, and 'Eating this electrical cord - particularly when plugged in - has been shown by the State of California to cause genital herpes in celibate lab rats...' warnings. The say the stuff is poison. Go figure.
Truth is, all ink uses 'pigment', and one in a zillion people may be allergic to whatever pigment that may be. Pretty much the only ink marketed as 'Non-Toxic' is Huck Spaulding's 'Voodoo' brand, which is not only pretty darn good ink, but way economical. Two thumbs up. A blue one and a red one. As an artist - this is one of the reasons you should always be using appropriate 'legal release' forms. Reaction isn't common - but it isn't unheard of. The last death I heard of in the industry was a guy who waited until the piece was finished - then fainted and went thru the plate glass counter in the store-front, and bled to death. Hmmm. Makes ya' think...
Many artists have particular ink favorites. Some artists, myself included, are not above having favorites that include different colors in different brands. For black, pretty much universal accord goes to Kuro Sumi - soon to be out in colors. We'll see if their rep holds up under the rainbow...
Summary: If you're getting one, visit the shop and view the artist's work - his actual work, not the flash racks. look at alot of other work, and a boatload of flash. Remember - tattoos are the Rolex you can't take off.
If you're putting 'em on, you should either know this information, or get a kick out of seeing it. If not, pick up some of my old Easyrider stories. Not approved for study hall...minimum brainpower required...
Added as time permits...feel free to contact with questions. I'll be glad to help out where possible! Carrmedia@wildhair.org
As a client - be discriminating! You wouldn't by a Rolex from a guy on the corner - stay away from 'scratchers' with ink - you'll be wearing it longer than the Rolex. Research your artist like you'd hope he's researched his craft! New to the craft? Hey...if you're not reading everything you can lay your soon-to-be ink stained hands on, you're in the wrong profession.
Tattooing, or dermagraphics, is both the ancient and modern method by which the human body is used as a 'medium' for graphic arts - via pigment being introduced into the skin.
There are two 'basic' types of tattooing - lining, and shading. Obviously, lining refers primarily to 'outlining', often as a border for shaded or colored areas. In lining, the desired result is a solid line, which may vary from single needle to heavy solid round groups - 12's or 14's not being unusual. The line produced by a single needle is incredibly thin - and requires a practiced touch not to show 'deviations'. Never allow an artist to do single needle work on you prior to seeing some of his work of that type. From the artist's point of view, a single needle setup should be in the tightest possible tip (without binding, of course) and a valuable tip - in round tips, any needle (or group) fitting loosely in the tip will 'roll around' to the extent the tip will allow, especially in curves or tight angles. A diamond tip will 'catch' the needle in the diamond's corners, and give a bit tighter control over the 'wiggle' room of the needle. Result - cleaner lines. While many methods have been peddled for 'learning' tattoo technique, one of the simplest basics for getting an initial grasp on lining technique - is to simply insert a good ol' wooden pencil tip - cut off and chucked in your machine's grip - it's about the right size - and spend a few hours simply drawing with it. You can even 'turn it on' (with no needle bar) and 'get a feel' for how your hand interacts with the machine. See? You're already saving a few bucks - the pencil technique will give you a feel for drawing with - the weight and balance of the machine - the chance to experiment with grips - my personal forte' - to find ou what works best in your hand, and even a chance to experience the 'fatigue' factor. Tilt your work to the same angle as your first victim...er...clients...arm, and turn that sucker on! Draw until you start noticing which muscles get tired, or how fast your grip choice kicks in with the 4th grade pencil carpal thingy. Oh yeah...the bucks saved? Didn't cost you a dime in ink, needles, practice skin or poor victimized grapefruits - and you're already a notch above the control level of the newbie doing those things. Art with a tattoo machine isn't exactly like drawing with a Rapidograph.
Shading, as implied, is 'stippling' or 'fading' of the solid color, and masterful shading leads to some of the incredible 'greywork' you see - a design done entirely in Black and Grey tones. Shading can be used as a fill method or to create effect - such as '3D Shadowing' or dimensional effects. Needles to achieve shading with range from 'looser' small round groups, to larger rounds, to flats and finally mags. Nothing but actually using them - or seeing them used - will educate you on the effects and techniques, but as should be obvious, the round groups are normally used to produce denser shading, while flats and mags cover a much larger area with less dense ink penetration. Tips relating to flats and mags - if you think you need to be using flats, you should probably be using mags. They are 'staggered rows' of flats and accomplish much better coverage with less potential scarring. Scarring, you ask? Moving a flat needle group sideways in the skin is about like using a miniature carving knife - it'll flat slice open some skin. Shading, unfortunately, is not the 'easily described' function that lining is. The shading group is normally 'worked in' to a heavier shading area, then smoothly moved while being 'lifted' out. Sorry. Gotta' be there. Try it with a few cans of spray paint on a piece of plywood - that's about as close as you'll get without actually doing it. Here's where that practice skin might be worth a buck or two...and some common sense. Play with some 5 or 7 mags, as round shaders will dump in the pigment until you get that 'fine touch' thing down.
Some 'tech' basics - A tattoo machine is an electromagnet that turns off and on as much as hundreds of times a second. The 'traditional' machine is called a 'coil' machine, due to the coils mounted on the frame. All coil guns basically eminate from the same Thomas Edison Labs patent for an 'electric engraver. When current is applied, they pull the armature bar in - which is what the needle bar mounts to - and a 'contact' point spring on the bar pulls away and allows the demagnatized bar to spring (as it uses leaf spings) against the current carrying pole. Lather, rinse, repeat. Repeat. Repeat. You get the picture.
From the artists viewpoint - coil guns are normally run between 6 and 10 volts DC to achieve smooth running at the desired speed, with the desired 'force', maning how hard the magnets pull in the armature bar - dependant on how hard the artist wants the needles to hit the skin. Smaller groups need less force than larger groups, and as a rule of thumb, lining takes less power than shading, altho' lining machines are often set to run a bit faster, with a shorter 'throw'. Many people say lining machine armature bars should be set a dime's thickness from the top coil, and a nickle's thickness for shading. Take my word for it - it depends on the machine, the needle group, and the client's skin. I've seen guys with skin so tough and leathery, the best solution would be just to dip a 12 gauge birdshot shell in ink and fire away...maybe use a stencil. Ha.
That being said, coil guns are dependable, plentiful, easier to work on than the average gadget, etc, etc. They're made of various material (think - must have magnetic properties or use steel 'yoke' bar to connect coils), and come basically 'horsepowered' out of the box by virtue of 'coil wraps'. The 'norm' is 8, 10 or 12 wraps. The more wraps, the higher the voltage that can be run thru 'em, and the harder they can be made to hit. Thus, 8 wrap guns are normally suited best for shading, 12's for heavy (large needle group) shading. Why different? Weight, feel, and most artists keep two guns 'set up' and handy, to avoid both the hassle or changing the setup, as well as the tendancy of 8 wrap guns to overheat when doing shading duty. As hinted, a machine that is 'set up' or well tuned, shouldn't require the 'maximum voltage' to get the job done. Most 10 wrap machines will 'tune in' at under 9 volts, and draw - if you happen to be lucky enough to have a power supply that shows AMPS, about a third to half an amp. Way more? Suspect some type of short in the coils. You should only need max power for max needle groups, and there are some seriously big ones out there.
BIG POWER SUPPLY NOTE! Power supplys that put out anything under a FULL AMP should be avoided like unprotected sex. A good power supply would be 2-3 amp - as the 'draw' on the supply will never contribute to the heat build up in your machine, as cheaper dinky supplys will. AVOID wall-cubes like the plague. They're garbage. Final note - Car batteries are for cars.
Back to machines - rotary machines also exist. They vary from the 'prison gun' design, using old tape deck motors, to high-end machines in everyday use. The advantages? Way quieter! Great for use with cosmetic (facial) apps and squeamish clients. The drawbacks? Expensive as a Park Avenue call-girl, use 'special' (read - expensive) needles, and the cheapies have the power of a flea humping your dog.
Inks? Don't get me started! First, every ink manufacturer on the planet is being sued by those wonderful environmentalists in California, who bring you such joys as 'not to be used for air travel' on kite packages, and 'Eating this electrical cord - particularly when plugged in - has been shown by the State of California to cause genital herpes in celibate lab rats...' warnings. The say the stuff is poison. Go figure.
Truth is, all ink uses 'pigment', and one in a zillion people may be allergic to whatever pigment that may be. Pretty much the only ink marketed as 'Non-Toxic' is Huck Spaulding's 'Voodoo' brand, which is not only pretty darn good ink, but way economical. Two thumbs up. A blue one and a red one. As an artist - this is one of the reasons you should always be using appropriate 'legal release' forms. Reaction isn't common - but it isn't unheard of. The last death I heard of in the industry was a guy who waited until the piece was finished - then fainted and went thru the plate glass counter in the store-front, and bled to death. Hmmm. Makes ya' think...
Many artists have particular ink favorites. Some artists, myself included, are not above having favorites that include different colors in different brands. For black, pretty much universal accord goes to Kuro Sumi - soon to be out in colors. We'll see if their rep holds up under the rainbow...
Summary: If you're getting one, visit the shop and view the artist's work - his actual work, not the flash racks. look at alot of other work, and a boatload of flash. Remember - tattoos are the Rolex you can't take off.
If you're putting 'em on, you should either know this information, or get a kick out of seeing it. If not, pick up some of my old Easyrider stories. Not approved for study hall...minimum brainpower required...
Next - Beyond the Basics - Machine Set-up, more...
Added as time permits...feel free to contact with questions. I'll be glad to help out where possible! Carrmedia@wildhair.org
Guide created: 06/30/07 (updated 09/05/09)
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our 
