Shadows in a tattoo not only add depth and dimension to a tattoo, they also make sure you have enough black ink in a tattoo to keep the design readable for years to come.
However, most new artists have a hard time knowing where to place that shading. In this article, we’ll be breaking down:
Tattooing Guide For Shadows
Shadows Depend on Highlights and Light Sources
Where you put shadows in a tattoo depends on which way the light is hitting your design and where the highlights are.
This means understanding where your light sources are. For example, if a light source is hitting the top of a skull tattoo design, then you would place the shadows in areas that are hidden from light by the rest of the skull or behind the main areas where the light hits.
The best way to do this is to simply draw in where you want your light sources so it’s easier to visualize. That way, you can clearly see where the light is going to hit the object directly, and that will be where you put your highlights.
Adding Shadows to Traditional Tattoos
Traditional tattoo designs are 2-D, which means their shadows are placed slightly differently than styles that designs meant to look 3-D. For example, in a swallow tattoo design, you would just add shading where the first “layer” of feathers overlaps the second “layer.”
How to Add Shadows to Tattoo Designs in Procreate
1
Make Your Linework Layer Your “Reference” Layer
After drawing your tattoo outline (the stencil) in Procreate, make sure to mark it as a “Reference” layer. You don’t want to actually add shading to this layer or else you won’t be able to print out the outlines alone to use as a stencil.
2
Highlight Areas to Add Your Shadows
Create a new layer in your Procreate document and use the Selection tool and highlight areas that need shading. You can change the opacity of your brush or your brush style to show the difference between areas that are packed with black ink vs. areas that fade out to skin tone. You can also change the brush color to show different gray washes, if you plan on using gray wash.
Remember that the shading goes in areas that are “behind” other elements.
3
Add Color to Your Designs
If you’re adding color, add another layer for that so it’s separate from the shading and the linework.
Make sure the color layer is under your shading layer, or else you won’t be able to see where the shadows are when you’re adding color. Then, you can use the version with shading and color as a reference while you’re tattooing.Why Shadows are Important in Tattoo Designs
Depth in a Design
Shadows create more depth in a tattoo design, helping it pop off the skin.
Longevity
Tattoos fade over time, however, color ink definitely fades more than black ink. (That’s why many artists will only outline their designs in black.)
To make sure that the design is still readable after decades, you need to have plenty of black shading. Shading adds depth and separates elements in a tattoo design from one another, making it easier to see the design, even after the tattoo has faded.Become a Tattoo Artist With the Artist Accelerator Program
Learning how to add shadows to a tattoo design is an important step in your journey, but it can also be pretty eye-opening to how difficult tattooing can be. Without the right knowledge, it’s impossible to level up your skills and become a professional tattoo artist.
However, finding the straight-forward information you need to progress is difficult. And with so much out there online, it’s hard to avoid picking up bad habits from incorrect and outdated resources.
This is one of the biggest struggles new tattooers face, and too many talented artists have given up their goal of getting into tattooing because of the years it would take to unlearn their bad habits.
That’s why aspiring artists are learning to tattoo with the Artist Accelerator Program’s structured course. As a student, you learn every step of the tattooing process from professional artists with the experience and advice you need to build your skills and create incredible tattoos.
With the Artist Accelerator, you can stop wasting time searching through incorrect information. You just get the clear, easy-to-understand lessons you need to start improving fast… along with support and personalized feedback from professional artists in our online Mastermind group.
Over 2500 students have already gone through the course, with many of them opening up their own studios. If you want to join them and learn the skills you need to start tattooing full time faster…
Click here to learn more about the Artist Accelerator Program
