Practice on self (placements)

sallakiki said:

Thanks guys appreciate it. Wow whippet I'm keen to see how you go in shading your own chest. Ouch!!

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whippet said:

Thighs are about as easy as it gets, when you’re sitting down they are pretty much flat out in front of you, can be handled with both hands and are in a low-pain zone.

I’ve tattooed one thigh from hip to knee and surprisingly far round towards the back of my body, literally to the centre of my rear thigh. I’ve also tattooed my lower legs, inside and out, but the further you are from your head, the harder it is to accurately see/guide the needles. In some parts I was literally hitting the skin and guessing from a distance.

The more I’ve tattooed (in general) the more importance I attribute to the stretch, so I would say that if you can’t apply a good firm stretch anywhere, I’d avoid tattooing it. I’ve seen people apply tape on their weak arm, but as you need to ideally stretch in the same direction as each line, the tape thing will only help with certain direction lines and could even screw up other lines if the tape is pulling across the line direction, rather than with it.

My next self-tattoo piece planned is full chest and stomach (one design), though another tattooer in my shop will do the linework, and I plan to shade and colour myself. I’ll see how it goes and call in reinforcements if necessary

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sallakiki said:

I want to practice drawing up and tattooing on fake skin with real designs for myself. However I can't design anything if I can't envision the spot. What are the best and easiest places to tattoo yourself and curious if hand is an option or impossible to stretch?

Cheers
Sal

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Burt said:

Like the others say. Thighs are the easiest. Also inside calf is ok you can sit with your foot on your other leg. My advice to you is don't waste your skin too early, I know I did. The thigh is a great area for a nice big piece it's a shame to waste it with small shitty tattoos just because you wanna try something new or just frothing to tattoo yourself. That's what I did. I've heard of people taping fake skin to themselves to tattoo it in place to get a feel for it. Not a bad idea. Either way good luck and keep us posted

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whippet said:

When you pull a curve in procreate, stop and keep the stylus on the screen. It it’s just a single curve, procreate will smooth it out for you.

You might also want to go into your brush settings and activate ‘streamlining’ and possibly ‘stabilisation’, though ‘streamlining’ is probably more use based on your IG image.

I would go to any lengths to get the lines in my stencil image spot on before attempting to tattoo it. If you start with wonky lines on your stencil, you’re unlikely to achieve smooth curves in the skin.

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