First Day Practicing Fake Skin - :(

My first day today trying on fake skin. Man it was hard. So much different to a pencil. Lines was so shakey cause the machine vibrants aswell and gloves was slipping while holding machine. Im not even sure if I done things correct.

— I was just practicing lining with a direct drive at 5-5.7v not sure if it is too low but the motor sounds really fast. The fake skin was very thin and making vibrating noise and shuttering and didn’t get a good crispy saturated line not sure how to improve? Any tips?

— And do I dip the needle into the ink when the machine is off? When the machine is off I cannot see any needle hanging out the cartridge, but when the machine is running I see about 2mm needle coming out the cartridge. So do I just dip the cartridge when the machine is off since there no needle showing?


Here is picture of fake skin lining: Pasteboard - Uploaded Image

Hi, and first of all, don't bother with your first results.
We've all been there and this is what we're fighting for each time we're tattoing : great, solid, consistent lines, perfect curves, perfect shading... But we're only improving ! ;-)

I dip when my machine is working. That way, the needle movement is pumping the ink into the tube. Think of yourself trying to drink with a straw: if you're not pumping, you won't get refreshed!

You may try to tape your fake skin on a board to avoid too much shutter.

The shaky hands seems to be usual. Try to relax and find a comfy way to hold your machine and your hand on the skin.

You seem to have an inconsistent depht, by seeing your lines going from dark to grey.

I would advise going for real tattoo design instead of trying to do random lines for your next session.
It'll put you into the real work, meaning trying to achieve the best reproduction of a design on skin. It'll force you to understand how it must be done.
Same as a pencil drawing from a reference design or picture, it's way more demanding than toying around with a new pencil.

Don't think about the noise of the machine, focus on how it'll line at different speed/volts. I was afraid too as mine was becoming more vibrating and nosy, but have since gone from a first batch of tattoos @8.5V to my actual speed around 10/10.5V.

You'll get used to all of this. Try to render good-looking, simple designs from the elders (sailor jerry for eg.), aim for a result and you'll improve.
Today you only got a hold of how it feels to have a tattoo machine in your hands.

Peace,

DKJ

What might also help is to practice getting a firm, steady but relaxed grip on the machine, and try moving from the shoulder.
Get comfortable holding and moving the machine about first, and then start focussing on the lines.
Can't get steady solid lines without a solid base.

5 volt sounds low... but it kind of depends on the average running voltage of the machine

you can dip while running but some people advise against it because you might hit the sides or the bottom of the inkcup, so be careful.

- I hear that some people dip their ink with the machine turned off. But how can I try this method cause when my machine is off there is no needle hanging out from the tube? Only when the machine is on my needle hangs out like 2mm.

- Also when should I re-dip into the ink? When there is no ink left in the cartridge tip? Or should I be dipping every time?

Cheers for everyone help

Loading said:

- I hear that some people dip their ink with the machine turned off. But how can I try this method cause when my machine is off there is no needle hanging out from the tube? Only when the machine is on my needle hangs out like 2mm.

- Also when should I re-dip into the ink? When there is no ink left in the cartridge tip? Or should I be dipping every time?

Cheers for everyone help

Click to expand...

You redip when you see your line fading or getting to thin. After practicing you'll find you'll redip before this happens, just a matter of experience.

You can dip with the machine on or off, on is somewhat faster as mentioned, off is when the ink is getting sucked in because of the capillary action.

MirandM said:

You can dip with the machine on or off, on is somewhat faster as mentioned, off is when the ink is getting sucked in because of the capillary action.

Click to expand...

When I have my machine off, I cannot see any needle hanging out of the cartridge. I only see it when the machine is on.

If I want to dip in ink when the machine is off how would I do it since there is no needle showing? Is this normal? Do I just dip the cartridge instead or is there something wrong with my machine? Sorry I am noob

Loading said:

When I have my machine off, I cannot see any needle hanging out of the cartridge. I only see it when the machine is on.

If I want to dip in ink when the machine is off how would I do it since there is no needle showing? Is this normal? Do I just dip the cartridge instead or is there something wrong with my machine? Sorry I am noob

Click to expand...

Don't be sorry, asking questions is always good.
Actually you should adjust the needle depth just a little more so you can see the tip of the needle right at end of tube with the machine off. This will probably be aboud 0,5 mm as most pen type machines have a 2.5 mm needle movement.
If the needle sticks out too much you will have a hard time controlling the ink flow resulting in irregular lines. If the needle sticks out too little you're more likely to have ink blobs over you tattoo because of too much ink flow.

Dip the tube about 2 mm inside the cup (filled completely with ink) it should not touch any part of the cup to avoid contamination and possible damage to the tip (even though it hardly protrudes) hold it for a few seconds inside the ink, this is when the capilar action takes up the ink into the tube and it will fill with about 3 mm of ink.

Don't worry, I consider myself a noob too, however I do have some experience with real work and how to manage my machine.
Keep it put, you'll get there!

MirandM said:

Actually you should adjust the needle depth just a little more so you can see the tip of the needle right at end of tube with the machine off. This will probably be aboud 0,5 mm as most pen type machines have a 2.5 mm needle movement.
If the needle sticks out too much you will have a hard time controlling the ink flow resulting in irregular lines. If the needle sticks out too little you're more likely to have ink blobs over you tattoo because of too much ink flow.

Dip the tube about 2 mm inside the cup (filled completely with ink) it should not touch any part of the cup to avoid contamination and possible damage to the tip (even though it hardly protrudes) hold it for a few seconds inside the ink, this is when the capilar action takes up the ink into the tube and it will fill with about 3 mm of ink.

Don't worry, I consider myself a noob too, however I do have some experience with real work and how to manage my machine.
Keep it put, you'll get there!

Click to expand...

I am so confused with my needle depth adjustment. I tried doing what you said:

- With my machine OFF I adjusted 0.05mm needle to stick out.

- When I turn my machine ON my needle comes out 0.5mm which is too much?

———

Hence when I had adjusted 0.3mm needle sticking out when the machine is ON. When I turn the machine OFF I cannot see the needle at all. Is this normal or something wrong with my machine?

Loading said:

I am so confused with my needle depth adjustment. I tried doing what you said:

- With my machine OFF I adjusted 0.05mm needle to stick out.

- When I turn my machine ON my needle comes out 0.5mm which is too much?

———

Hence when I had adjusted 0.3mm needle sticking out when the machine is ON. When I turn the machine OFF I cannot see the needle at all. Is this normal or something wrong with my machine?

Click to expand...

It depends of the machine.
Some are stopping the needle anywhere, when you stop them.
Others do take them to the same position (all the way in the back), when you stop the machine.

It looks like you're overthinking this needle depht thing.
There's no valid rule, just try and see what's working or not.
1.5mm in the skin is a general rule of thumb, you're no robot so you won't be able to keep it that way.

Experiment and see what's best for you.

Peace,

DKJ

DKJ said:

It depends of the machine.
Some are stopping the needle anywhere, when you stop them.
Others do take them to the same position (all the way in the back), when you stop the machine.

It looks like you're overthinking this needle depht thing.
There's no valid rule, just try and see what's working or not.
1.5mm in the skin is a general rule of thumb, you're no robot so you won't be able to keep it that way.

Experiment and see what's best for you.

Peace,

DKJ

Click to expand...

Yes I know but I’m asking this because when I want to dip into the ink when my machine is off there is no needle hanging out and wondering if this is normal? Do I just dip the cartridge instead? Hence if I adjust for the needle to come out abit when my machine is off, when I turn my machine on there is a big amount of needle hang.

Loading said:

I am so confused with my needle depth adjustment. I tried doing what you said:

- With my machine OFF I adjusted 0.05mm needle to stick out.

- When I turn my machine ON my needle comes out 0.5mm which is too much?

———

Hence when I had adjusted 0.3mm needle sticking out when the machine is ON. When I turn the machine OFF I cannot see the needle at all. Is this normal or something wrong with my machine?

Click to expand...

Loading said:

Yes I know but I’m asking this because when I want to dip into the ink when my machine is off there is no needle hanging out and wondering if this is normal? Do I just dip the cartridge instead? Hence if I adjust for the needle to come out abit when my machine is off, when I turn my machine on there is a big amount of needle hang.

Click to expand...

You're contradicting yourself a bit here. If your needle comes out only 0.5 mm with the machine ON, then something is definitely wrong.
To achieve the 1.5 mm mentioned by DKJ it should come out at least 2 mm which is what you said right from the beginning.
Since you weren't able to see the needle tip when OFF, I told you to adjust the depth a bit more like 0.5 mm more so the total needle length outside of the cartridge at ON would be 2.5 mm. As I told you, most of these machines have a 2.5 mm needle travel, so by adjusting it to 2.5 mm you should be able to see the tip when OFF.
Please do read all posts carefully and don't get obsessed with this, it's all rather logical. And if you don't understand the capilar action, please say so, I will be glad to explain, there's no harm or shame in not knowing, there is in not asking.
Also it is true what DKJ said about some machines stopping at whatever point, this would explain the weird last numbers you gave, but if the needle retracts completely at OFF then you should be able to do as I told you.

Correct me if I am wrong, but I think perhaps you're concerned about the needle hang because you are trying to ride the tube instead of floating your needle.

Know that there is no perfect way. If you feel the needle is coming out too much to ride the tube, try floating. You might actually find it works better ?