Tattooing Like a Pro in 4 Simple Steps

Due to the growing popularity of body art, the profession of tattooing has boomed in recent years. If you'd like to become a tattoo artist then it's important to take all the right steps that will lead to a successful career as a tattooing professional.

There is no room for amateurs in this highly competitive field.

The first step to get started as a tattoo artist is to begin an apprenticeship with a professional tattoo artist and learn all the tricks of the trade first hand. Tattooing itself is not simple, but if it's taken one step at a time under the guidance of a mentor the process of learning how to tattoo is less intimidating.

These 4 simple steps will have you tattooing like a pro in no time.

Step 1: Learn how to use tattooing equipment.

Professional tattoo artists use tattoo machines rather than inserting a tattoo needle manually into the skin. A tattoo machine has an electrical motor and a group of needles attached to a bar. The needles are dipped into ink and then the machine rapidly pushes the needles up and down. In order for a tattoo to be permanent, the ink must be injected into the inner layer of skin known as the dermis. A tattoo machine precisely controls the depth of needle injection and ensures that ink is correctly inserted into the dermis by the tattoo needle.

A tattoo that is properly applied with a tattoo machine will keep its bright colors with minimal fading during the client's lifetime. A tattoo artist can also work more quickly and efficiently with a tattoo machine, since several needles are inserted into the skin at one time.

Step 2: Learn proper sanitary procedures.

In recent years, professional tattoo artists have become more aware of the health risks associated with improperly applied tattoos. Unsterilized tattoo equipment can cause infection and spread disease. This can be avoided by using sterilized equipment and single-service needles.

Tattoo artists should always wear gloves and make sure the client's skin is washed with antiseptic before tattooing begins.

It's important to make sure the tattoo client feels like the tattoo procedure is safe. Keeping the tattoo shop clean and neat helps put a client's mind at ease. All equipment should be sterilized with an autoclave and the client should be informed how sterilization was done. The tattoo artist should be willing and able to answer all the client's questions about the safety of the tattooing procedure.

Step 3: Develop a tattooing style.

A professional tattooist is an artist at heart. Listening to the client's expectations and finding the perfect tattoo design is an important part of the tattoo artist's job. Whether an original design is created or a flash design is used, the tattoo artist must be able to transform it into a piece of living art on the skin of the client. Skillful outlining, shading and coloring are what set the truly professional tattoo artist apart from an amateur.

An apprenticeship with a skilled tattoo artist is the best way to learn the skills that will give you a professional tattooing style. Just as the old masters of the art world passed on their craft to apprentices, a tattoo artist will teach an apprentice how to achieve masterful tattooing results.

Step 4: Become savvy about tattooing businesses.

Once you feel confident with your tattooing skills, it's time to focus on the business aspect of tattooing. You may even decide to open your own tattoo shop.

The first step to take when starting a tattooing business is finding out about tattoo laws and regulations related to professional tattooing. There are no federal laws governing tattooing, but most states and many local communities have regulations. Many areas require tattoo artists to be licensed.

Talk to other tattoo professionals and find out what type of waivers they ask clients to sign. A waiver is a legal form that will free you from liability if a client doesn't perform the proper aftercare for a tattoo that you've applied. If you exercised all the standard sanitation and safety precautions, a waiver will protect you from possible lawsuits and other legal issues. Once a waiver is signed by a client, you'll have peace of mind and will be able to focus on the art of tattooing.

Do you want to learn how to tattoo?

Be sure to visit: The Ultimate Tattoo Bible for more great tattooing information!

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Mastering the Art of Tattooing

The art of tattooing is one of the earliest art forms known to mankind. Tattooing has been a form of personal expression and body ornamentation since prehistoric times. Both tribal cultures and highly developed civilizations like ancient Rome and Egypt used tattooing as an art form. In every century and in countries all over the world, people have felt a strong desire to adorn their bodies with meaningful symbols and beautiful designs.

Today's tattooists must learn how to use equipment, including tattoo machines, needles and ink. They also must become familiar with modern sanitary procedures for tattooing.

Mastering this knowledge will make someone a proficient tattooist, but becoming a tattoo artist requires another level of skill. A successful tattoo artist must have a good understanding of basic artistic concepts like proportion, perspective and the use of color. The ability to draw well is another important skill for a tattoo artist. Much of this comes naturally to people who are born with artistic talent, but that doesn't mean that a dedicated tattooist can't learn and develop artistic skills. With time and practice, you can master the art of tattooing

Color Theory for the Art of Tattooing

The color of a tattoo is one of the first things that gets noticed. The use of color can make all the difference in the success or failure of a tattoo design. Gaining an understanding of how colors work together is an important step in mastering the art of tattooing. If you've never been exposed to color theory, enrolling in an art class at a community college is a great way to get started. You'll learn how the primary colors (red, yellow and blue) can be mixed to form all other colors, and how a color wheel shows which colors work well together.

Use of Contrast in Tattoos

One of the most important aspects of color in the art of tattooing is the use of contrast. Color contrast is what gives a tattoo design depth. The contrast can be in the amount of lightness and darkness (such as the contrast between white and black) or it can be in the colors themselves (such as the contrast between warm colors like yellow and orange and cool colors like blue and green). Contrast in colors will make one shape stand out from another or make a shape stand out from its background.

Composition and the Art of Tattooing

Composition refers to the flow of the design elements in a tattoo and how well they fit on the body part where they're tattooed. A client may come to a tattoo artist with a fixed idea about the design and placement of a tattoo. A good tattoo artist will know if the proportion of the design will work in the desired location. If it won't work, the tattoo artist must be ready to offer some alternative ideas. This may mean changing the scale of a design with a photocopier machine or cutting and pasting elements of one or more designs to create something new. A talented tattoo artist understands that the most successful tattoo designs mimic the flow of the body part where they're applied.

Perspective and Depth in Tattoos

Applying the artistic theories of perspective and depth is what gives a tattoo a 3-dimensional quality. In tattooing, perspective and depth are achieved through the use of contrast, outline and shading. Being able to create the illusion of reality with depth and perspective is what sets a tattoo artist apart from a tattooist. These techniques can be learned in an art course or from an art book and practiced with pencil and paper. Unless you're a natural born artist, practice and experience are the only way to master these techniques.

Besides taking art courses and practicing, a beginner tattooist should spend time studying tattoo magazines and becoming familiar with the work of established tattoo artists. Tattoo magazines are an important resource for beginning tattooists. They showcase the finest designs that the world of tattooing has to offer. By reading tattoo magazines, aspiring tattoo artists can learn about the leading tattoo artists, become inspired, decide who they want to emulate and begin to create their own style.

DO YOU WANT TO LEARN HOW TO TATTOO?

Be sure to check out The Ultimate Tattoo Bible or learn more on mastering the art of tattooing and find out how to tattoo.

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Four Tattoo Tips For Top Notch Tattooing

The difference between a flat outlined tattoo and a top notch, 3-dimensional piece of skin art lies in the shading skill of the tattoo artist.

A skilled tattooist knows how to use outline and shading to create a life-like work of art on the skin of the client. The best tattoo artists know how to choose the correct tools for the job, including a tattoo machine and the right needles and ink.

They are able to find the perfect design for each client and position it perfectly on the body.

Finally, they know how to use the tattoo machine like an artist uses a paintbrush to create a work of art.

The best way to learn the fine art of tattoo shading is from a seasoned professional tattoo artist. As an apprentice to an experienced tattooist, you'll be given tattoo tips that will help you gain the skills to create a 3-dimensional tattoo image that seems to come alive on the skin.

Here are 4 tattoo tips for beginners who want to learn the secrets of top notch realistic tattooing.

Tattoo Tip #1 - Choose a design that's suitable for shading.

Some tattoo designs are more suitable than for shading than others. Portraits of people and images of animals, flowers and skulls are good subject for shading, as are fantasy creatures like dragons. The design should have some larger rounded elements that can be filled in with graduated color to create the illusion of depth and shadows. Look through tattoo magazines and study designs that show the effective use of shading. Soon you'll get a feel for which designs can be shaded and which are not suitable.

Tattoo Tip #2 - Use a tattoo machine.

One of the most important tattoo tips for top notch tattooing is to use a tattoo machine, also referred to as a tattoo gun. A skilled tattoo artist wouldn't dream of attempting to apply a shaded tattoo design without a tattoo machine. The tattoo machine uses a group of needles to automatically inject ink at the correct depth in the skin. The machine is connected to an electric motor that rapidly moves the needles up and down at a rate of 80 to 150 times per second. This rapid needle movement allows a shaded area of a tattoo design to be filled with ink quickly and evenly.

Tattoo Tip #3 - Mix the tattoo ink.

Tattoo shading uses ink in shades from light to dark. Lighter shades of ink, often referred to as a wash, can be created by mixing ink and sterile water. The more water that you add, the lighter the wash. One of the more useful tattoo tips for shading from tattoo artists is to create washes ahead of time in the exact shades that will be required for a shaded tattoo. This eliminates the need for stopping and mixing ink while the tattoo is being applied.

Tattoo Tip #4 - Use the tattoo gun like a paintbrush.

A group of needles called shaders is used to fill in the outlined tattoo design with shading. Shader needles come in many shapes and groupings. Knowing when to use each type of shader is one of the more valuable tattoo tips to be learned in an apprenticeship.

Realistic tattoo shading is created by tilting the needles on the tattoo skin and using the tattoo gun like a paintbrush.

Most tattooists first cover the skin with a thin layer of lubricant to ease the needles smoothly across the area being shaded. For dark shading, the tattoo gun is moved slowly across the skin and the ink is injected deeply. For lighter areas, the gun is move quickly and ink is injected less deeply.

As soon as a small area of the design has been injected with ink for shading, the tattoo artist wipes off the excess ink with a clean cloth. The finished effect can then be viewed and the tattoo artist can decide if more ink is needed.

If a darker effect is wanted, more ink is applied. Making a dark area lighter is more of a problem, since the dark ink has been permanently injected into the skin. This is why a skilled tattoo artist works carefully to make sure no area of shading is too dark. Some tattoo artists use white ink to lighten dark areas of a tattoo and to smooth out transitions between different shades of ink.

Do you want to learn how to tattoo?

Be sure to visit: http://www.How-To-Tattoo.com for more great tattooing information!

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Three Steps to Tattooing Success

Tattoos have become a popular form of self-expression and even a fashion statement. The growing demand for tattoos and the potentially high income available to tattoo artists has led to an increase in the number of people who want to learn how to tattoo.

Because tattooing is both an art form and a body treatment, it's important to learn the best procedures for safe tattooing before embarking on a career as a tattoo artist. No one should consider buying a tattoo kit and starting to tattoo without becoming familiar with the best procedures for tattooing.

Learning these procedures will help any tattoo artist achieve lasting success.

There are many steps to becoming a successful tattoo artist, but here are 3 of the most important steps to tattooing success.

Step #1 - Build an Art Portfolio and Find a Tattoo Apprenticeship

If you want to be a tattoo artist, you should be comfortable with your drawing skills. Tattooing requires a good sense of line and color. If you're not confident as an artist but have a desire to learn, then take an art class or buy an art book and begin to practice your drawing. Look at tattoo designs by tattoo artists (known as tattoo flash) and begin to create some designs of your own.

Assemble your best work and display it in an artist's portfolio or binder.

Once you have a portfolio of your best art work, you'll be better prepared to find a tattoo apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is a form of on-the-job training, where an experienced tattoo artist teaches you how to tattoo. Don't expect to be paid as an apprentice - in fact, you may end up paying for the privilege of learning how to tattoo from a master tattoo artist. Prepare to save money for an apprenticeship and to work at another job while you're apprenticing. Finally, give serious thought to which tattoo artist you apprentice with and make sure it's someone whose work you respect and that you can get along with well.

Step #2 - Create Stunning Tattoo Designs

As you learn how to tattoo in an apprenticeship, you will become more skilled in creating tattoo designs. Each tattoo you apply becomes a permanent feature on the body of your client, so you want to make sure you deliver a stunning design. This doesn't mean you have to create each and every tattoo design. A client may come in with an existing design from a tattoo magazine or clients may select a flash design from the shop's collection.

The important thing is to listen to the client's requirements and provide suggestions about how to get the most impact from a design.

Often you will begin with flash and then customize it for the client by adding or removing design elements. It may be necessary to provide a client with several paper drafts of a design before you arrive at a piece of art that you both love. Don't worry too much about the time you spend doing this - it's all part of the job. Just be sure to charge the client enough to cover the time you spend on the design stage of the tattoo.

Once an eye-catching tattoo flash design has been chosen, it's up to the tattoo artist to create a work of art on the client's skin. Different outline and shading techniques can be used to enhance the basic design. Color should be carefully introduced to help bring the tattoo to life. As you learn more about how to tattoo and your experience in tattooing grows, you'll learn how to use the right amount of detail in a design, how to position it correctly on the body, and how to create clean outlines, graduated shading and even color.

Step #3 - Practice Sanitary Tattoo Procedures

The final important step in knowing how to tattoo is to understand and follow standard sanitary procedures.

A tattoo requires penetration of a client's skin, so you must recognize and eliminate the risk of infection and disease transmission. One of the most important sanitary procedures is making sure that tattoo needles and ink caps are single-use only and replaced for each new client. In addition, the work area where the tattoo is applied must be cleaned thoroughly with disinfectant before tattooing begins and the tattoo artist must wear gloves during the tattoo procedure. Following sanitary procedures will help ensure that each tattoo client receives the best possible treatment during the tattoo process.

Do you want to learn how to tattoo like a PRO?

Be sure to visit: http://www.How-To-Tattoo.com for more great tattooing information, tattoo tips, tattoo articles and more!

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3 Fundamental Tattooing Techniques

There are 3 fundamental tattooing techniques that must be mastered by every tattoo artist.

A tattoo artist who performs these tattooing techniques with a high degree of skill makes a permanent tattoo something that the tattoo owner can be proud of. Each technique requires a thorough understanding of the tools and supplies used by a tattoo artist.

Let's get started...

Tattooing Technique #1 - Creating a Tattoo Stencil

Tattoo stencils are used to apply the basic lines of the tattoo design to the skin before using a tattoo gun to apply the tattoo. Even the most experienced tattooists begin with a stencil rather than attempting to apply a freehand design. Since the skin is stretched by the tattooist while the tattoo is applied, working without a stencil could result in a distorted finished tattoo.

Many tattoo artists use carbon paper to copy a tattoo design onto another piece of paper. The carbon paper is placed under the piece of paper with the tattoo design, inky side down. A piece of clean paper is then placed under the carbon paper.

All 3 layers should be secured with staples or paper clips before tracing the design with ballpoint pen.

One of the most important tattooing techniques related to creating a stencil with carbon paper is to remember that the image of the design that is laid against the skin will be reversed.

Once the design is traced over, it will appear correctly on the skin when the stencil is removed. Instead of using carbon paper, some tattoo artists use an artist's light table to create a stencil. A stencil created with a light table will face in the right direction. The original drawing is laid face down on the light table and the design shows through and can be traced directly onto another piece of paper.

Tattooing Technique #2 - Applying the Tattoo Stencil

Once a stencil has been created, it can be applied to the skin of the client.

Before the stencil is applied, the skin must be shaved smooth and cleaned with antiseptic. A disposable razor should be used and then discarded, since it could transfer germs or minute amounts of blood to other clients. One of the most common tattooing techniques for applying a stencil is to use roll-on deodorant to transfer the design. The deodorant is applied to the skin, then the stencil is positioned on the deodorant and pressure is applied all over the design. When the paper stencil is peeled away, the tattoo design will have transferred onto the skin.

If the position of the tattoo is not correct, the stencil can be removed from the skin with alcohol and applied again.

Like the razor, the roll-on deodorant should only come into contact with the skin of a single client. Some tattoo artists buy small travel-size deodorant and dispose of it after one use. Another option is to use a clean tongue depressor to transfer deodorant from the roll-on applicator to the skin, and then dispose of the tongue depressor.

Tattooing Technique #3 - Outlining the Tattoo

Once the tattoo design has been stenciled onto the skin and both client and tattooist agree on the placement, it's time to begin the tattoo outline. Being able to create a tattoo outline is one of the most basic tattooing techniques. The majority of tattoo designs begin with an outline.

Starting from the bottom of the design is the best approach, to avoid either smearing the freshly applied ink or wiping off parts of the stencil.

In order to vary the effect of the outline, different size needles can be used to produce lines with different thicknesses. While an expert tattoo artist has an intuitive feeling for which lines should be thick and which thin, a beginner tattooist may want to experiment with line thicknesses on a paper copy of the tattoo design before picking up the tattoo gun.

When applying ink to a tattoo outline, the client's skin should be stretched taut by the tattoo artist so that the needles will move smoothly across the skin. When the tattoo needles are dipped into ink, enough ink should be loaded to allow a continuous line to be drawn. While the outline is being applied, excess ink and blood are frequently wiped away by the tattooist. After taking a break from outlining to reapply ink to the needles, lighter pressure should be used when continuing the line to avoid dropping a blob of ink or creating visible joins.

The three tattooing techniques described here are fundamental to the art of tattooing.

They should be practiced again and again by a novice tattooist until they become second nature. Once the fundamental techniques have been mastered, a tattooist can focus on developing a unique personal style and becoming a true tattoo artist.

Do you want to learn how to tattoo?

Be sure to take a look at The Ultimate Tattoo Bible or learn more about tattooing and how to tattoo.

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Tattooing Dangers - Understanding Tattoo Risk

A great many people are getting and wearing tattoos. Because it is so common, and it is so easy to call into your local studio to have a tattoo done, it is easy to overlook the risks involved. Tattooing dangers range from serious, life-threatening diseases to minor irritation and discomfort. This is not to say you should not get a tattoo but it is prudent to be aware of the risks so you know how to protect yourself and how to deal with any complications.
Serious Health Risks
The most serious tattooing dangers come from the use of dirty instruments. It is well to remember that the process involves piercing the skin with needles and inserting ink. If these needles have not been sterilized there is the risk that contaminated blood is still on them from the last customer. This is why authorities in some parts of the world have a clean needle program for drug addicts - to cut down the spread of blood borne diseases. You would not expect a tattoo studio to carry the same degree of risk, but the risk of infection is still there.
Diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, Tetanus and HIV can be spread by the use of contaminated instruments. Every one of these diseases is serious and can be life threatening. Hepatitis B and C attack the liver and, if not treated early, can lead to long-term liver disease and failure. Tetanus causes a range of complications in the body, which can take from 2-4 months to heal. Most people survive but about 25 percent die from it in the Unites States and about 50 percent worldwide. As most of us know, HIV causes AIDS.
While there is a possibility of contracting any one of these diseases from tattoo needles, it is not likely to happen if you go to a reputable tattooist who is licensed and certified by your city or state health authorities. Good studios value their reputations and the last thing they want is to have someone contract a serious illness through their work. This could put them out of business. Tattoo studios use the same sterilization equipment as dentists and doctors, which means the health risks should be about the same.
There are other tattooing dangers, such as allergic reactions to the ink and skin infections resulting from poor aftercare, but these to not have the same degree of risk as blood borne diseases.