First time I have tattooed someone other than myself. Looking for feedback.

Seigard · 26 May 2022

First of all, this was much better compared to tattooing myself as I could reposition myself. However I still had some troubles. Initially my hands were shaking a lot as I was very nervous and the lines came out much wobblier than usual. I'm not sure how to get better at pulling better lines other than experience, but currently my lines are too wobbly to tattoo anyone professionally I feel like. I feel confident to do this with just myself, fake skin and my friends that want me to practice on them.
I used a 910rl for the outside and a 1003rl for the details. I feel like my cartridge selection might be a bit off. Please let me know if there are more desirable sizes and groupings.
I would like to work on pulling straight one-pass lines but for now this was the best I could do. Please let me know what are some things I can improve on. Thank you.

https://imgur.com/GepiSV3

Goldwingdaz · 26 May 2022

Try to be more relaxed, think of it as another practice piece that you want to get right. Practice pulling lines on your fake skin, or pig skin, make parallels and try to make them the same thickness, length, and following the one before without changes in the gap between them. Dont use your wrist to line, keep it as stiff as you can and use your elbow as you pull, moving your wrist is ten times harder for straight lining for controlling depth and consistency than pulling the arm and bending at the elbow. Your curves just need practice, the technique of stopping and starting again is easy once you get used to the over lap to stop gaps and over linings. Check out the tutorials in the Premium section

Needle choice would be fine for me, my preferred set is the 9 round for lining unless for fine details.

Seigard · 26 May 2022

Goldwingdaz said:
Try to be more relaxed, think of it as another practice piece that you want to get right. Practice pulling lines on your fake skin, or pig skin, make parallels and try to make them the same thickness, length, and following the one before without changes in the gap between them. Dont use your wrist to line, keep it as stiff as you can and use your elbow as you pull, moving your wrist is ten times harder for straight lining for controlling depth and consistency than pulling the arm and bending at the elbow. Your curves just need practice, the technique of stopping and starting again is easy once you get used to the over lap to stop gaps and over linings. Check out the tutorials in the Premium section Needle choice would be fine for me, my preferred set is the 9 round for lining unless for fine details.

Thanks a lot, appreciated.

Edit: By the way I think I wrote the needles wrong. I meant to say 1009RL and 0310RL

whippet · 26 May 2022

One tip (and a few more too): smaller needle groupings are way less forgiving, in that they show up every slight wobble and imperfection…plus bugpin 3s are running a serious risk of blowing out if you don’t have that much experience.

I’m not sure why people jump on bugpin liners as the line quality from 12s and 10s in terms of dot spacing and saturation is virtually indistinguishable…if at all. So even upping your current groupings to 12s (0.35 needle shaft diameter) would be a step in the right direction. Less chance of skin damage (slicing is also a risk) and lines that will not show so much error detail. You could of course go even higher while you hone your skills.

You might also want to think about your design subjects. I was told that roses are a great place to start for beginners, as they are organic and after the sitting, no one really knows what the original rose image looked like. I still agree with this advice and offer it here. If not a rose, find designs that don’t have too many long or straight or intricately curved lines, and look for opportunities to break up long or tricky lines when you can. Avoid designs where every line is a high pressure pull.

On your image above, I would say the result is ‘tentative’, in that you seem reluctant to put the needle in to the correct depth. Trust me…I’ve been there, for quite a while to be honest. It will come but try to be a little more assertive, starting with short lines or parts that can be hidden or shaded out if they’re not so great. You will need to get to that level of hitting the skin and moving at the correct depth. In terms of results (not talking about other factors) that for me is the difference between a ‘scratcher’ and a competent tattooer, scratchy lines v solid lines.

Keep trying and it will get easier and better. Nothing worth learning comes easy, and tattooing is such a thing.

Seigard · 27 May 2022

whippet said:
One tip (and a few more too): smaller needle groupings are way less forgiving, in that they show up every slight wobble and imperfection…plus bugpin 3s are running a serious risk of blowing out if you don’t have that much experience.

I’m not sure why people jump on bugpin liners as the line quality from 12s and 10s in terms of dot spacing and saturation is virtually indistinguishable…if at all. So even upping your current groupings to 12s (0.35 needle shaft diameter) would be a step in the right direction. Less chance of skin damage (slicing is also a risk) and lines that will not show so much error detail. You could of course go even higher while you hone your skills.

You might also want to think about your design subjects. I was told that roses are a great place to start for beginners, as they are organic and after the sitting, no one really knows what the original rose image looked like. I still agree with this advice and offer it here. If not a rose, find designs that don’t have too many long or straight or intricately curved lines, and look for opportunities to break up long or tricky lines when you can. Avoid designs where every line is a high pressure pull.

On your image above, I would say the result is ‘tentative’, in that you seem reluctant to put the needle in to the correct depth. Trust me…I’ve been there, for quite a while to be honest. It will come but try to be a little more assertive, starting with short lines or parts that can be hidden or shaded out if they’re not so great. You will need to get to that level of hitting the skin and moving at the correct depth. In terms of results (not talking about other factors) that for me is the difference between a ‘scratcher’ and a competent tattooer, scratchy lines v solid lines.

Keep trying and it will get easier and better. Nothing worth learning comes easy, and tattooing is such a thing.

Thank you very much, I really appreciate the information and the encouragement.
I will go ahead and pick some designs like roses and work on them with larger groupings.

Just to be clear, when you say "upping your current groups to 12s" you mean standard 12s right? So I would be looking for 1212RLs or would that be too big?

DKJ · 27 May 2022

Other tips which helped me to get more consistent lining:
- don't get nervous about your client. Don't even consider them, they will suffer a little bit, but if you're concentrated on and only your work, it will work like a charm. Better go as fast and straight to the end than making them stress with you (don't show or tell about the challenges you're facing), and get double the suffering because you're doubtful and/or going slow.
- shaking can be quite quickly absorbed by repeating those steps everytime you pull a line: do a phantom lining pass, to see if you get the motion, to see if it won't be broken by something in the way, to feel what it's feel like. Phantom lining (my definition) is air lining, you do the motion in the air, over the stencil, without touching the skin.
Then, get the correct starting point by an ink deposit on the skin (not into). Touch the skin softly with your needle, it will deposit a little bit of ink where it touches. If it's good, you can go for the real lining, if not start again. Don't be afraid, the ink won't go into the skin if you're subtle enough. It'll help you getting more sensitive with your eyes-hand coordination.
After all that, take a good breath and stop your respiration, hit the starting point and slowly exhale while you're lining.
- other tips: if you feel you're losing your stencil, going off the desired lining, stop immediatly! Get your needle out of the skin! It'll prevent you to go even further into a bad line. If you're 1mm off, you'll be able to correct it, or distract the eyes off this little error. If you keep it going for 3mm, it'll be bad for a life long.
Feel the area you're going to line, touch it like a balloon, grab it, make it yours by touching it like you were blind. It helps to get proportions, roundness, and see if your position is good, if you can stretch the skin well, feel it.

Peace,

DKJ

whippet · 27 May 2022

whippet said:
One tip (and a few more too): smaller needle groupings are way less forgiving, in that they show up every slight wobble and imperfection…plus bugpin 3s are running a serious risk of blowing out if you don’t have that much experience.

I’m not sure why people jump on bugpin liners as the line quality from 12s and 10s in terms of dot spacing and saturation is virtually indistinguishable…if at all. So even upping your current groupings to 12s (0.35 needle shaft diameter) would be a step in the right direction. Less chance of skin damage (slicing is also a risk) and lines that will not show so much error detail. You could of course go even higher while you hone your skills.

You might also want to think about your design subjects. I was told that roses are a great place to start for beginners, as they are organic and after the sitting, no one really knows what the original rose image looked like. I still agree with this advice and offer it here. If not a rose, find designs that don’t have too many long or straight or intricately curved lines, and look for opportunities to break up long or tricky lines when you can. Avoid designs where every line is a high pressure pull.

On your image above, I would say the result is ‘tentative’, in that you seem reluctant to put the needle in to the correct depth. Trust me…I’ve been there, for quite a while to be honest. It will come but try to be a little more assertive, starting with short lines or parts that can be hidden or shaded out if they’re not so great. You will need to get to that level of hitting the skin and moving at the correct depth. In terms of results (not talking about other factors) that for me is the difference between a ‘scratcher’ and a competent tattooer, scratchy lines v solid lines.

Keep trying and it will get easier and better. Nothing worth learning comes easy, and tattooing is such a thing.

I meant 12 gauge needles rather than 10 gauge (bugpin). I wasn’t suggesting 12 liners, more like 1207RL or 1209RL etc

MalligaMallan · 27 May 2022

First two figures are gauge, last two figures are size (numbers of needles)

First time I have tattooed someone other than myself. Looking for feedback.

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