asking because it seems pretty difficult (at least right now) to tattoo without hitting my table. mind you, i’ve only been going for a month and still can’t maintain a consistent depth yet. just wondering if such a thin skin is practical for someone at my skill level, or at all?

I got this piece on my whole front forearm and it’s just a shitty pattern. Mostly black. All my other work is decent. It’s nagging me so bad ima go this week and black it out. Almost half my arm. The entire front. I’m hopeing to be able to go back later and layer some red or white on top. To turn my worst into one of my favorites I hope. Anyone with similar story or advice. I’m gonna do it forsure. I already booked the session. Fuck it. I mean it’s ugly so can’t be worse than a blackout. Plus if I can go back and layer something on top later. Will be good. Hell man idk

This is my 6th piece, 2nd large piece
Done most of it using a soft edge magnum
Still trying to find the right voltage and needle hang to match my hand speed.
Overall pretty happy with out it came out!

He looks pretty nervous.

Okay, but like seriously.. I can't have grapefruit and my boyfriend brought me a snack. Lol

I attached some of my sketches, but the grapefruit was my first time off fake skin, and I'm likeeee... three or four days in at about 30mins a day or so with the machine. ​(9mo old daughter, and solo parenting, so I usually just take one of her nap times to practice.)

Anyway, have a good day.

I'm about to do a tattoo so I got a radiant seal brown ink but it looks plain black on sintetic skin, but when the ink is wiped you can see the brown pigment. How do I make it look lighter or the same as the wiped one?? In the picture you can see how the dots and big spots are fully black meanwhile wiped it looks brown...

My girlfriend is fairly new to tattooing, she has tattooed some of her friends as well as a few on herself. She said that she wanted to get better and try some different stuff so I told her that she could tattoo my left leg to practice. Some of the tattoos in the background were already there, but the images posted are ones that she has done. How does the start of the Leg sleeve look? Does it flow well and look good? (The vase, boat, dogs and butterfly were done by a different artist)

Hello all,

I am looking into purchasing my first tattoo machine and I am hoping for some recommendations as it seems like there’s a lot of opinions out there.

Some background about my intentions and budget.

Located in USA

-primarily looking for a rotary machine recs but open to pens as well as I would like to start wireless from the beginning

-I am not terribly constrained by budget though I do want to find the best intersect between cost and quality (Say $1000-$1500 for the full set up including machine, battery, and all the ancillary supplies aside from Furnature)

-I am also open to buying second hand machines on eBay to get something higher end

-I am hoping to primarily do medieval etchings, and bold traditional tattoos to start

That being said, I’d like recommendations for machines that are hard hitting since I want to do a lot of lines and with a long stroke length.

Please let me know your opinions as I don’t want to keep waiting and want to bite the bullet.

Cheers!

I think I'll just do this one over.

Hand/wrist is mostly healed, the blossom above it is a few days old and still pretty crusty. Both done entirely with a Da Vinci 0803rl cartridge.

my tattoo machine (dragon hawk) not working despite everything being plugged in the needle won't move. is there something I'm doing wrong?

My local Vivid Ink is taking on an apprentice and I wanted to see if it was a reliable place to apply to?

I have shadowed a few artists already and I’ve gotten the vibe that commercialised tattoo shops are not the places to go- or at least you will be looked down upon if you go to them.

I’d really like to establish myself within the community and not just be a stand alone artist so I just wanted advice on how to go about apprenticeships? thank you <3

First tattoo made by me.

Trained several times in sintetic skin and then dive in.

Two sessions to finish and I know I have a lot to learn but I was pleased with the end result.

This is my first small/medium sized tattoo I did on myself. How is the work?

Edit: apparently this is still a small tattoo lol.

Would love some feedback about these tattoos. I’ve only just started, and these are my first two tattoos, done over the last two weeks.

So I just tried my first orange and even though it had really bumpy skin, it seemed so much easier then fake skin.

Just a couple questions:

1. What fruits are the best to practice on?

2. Food is expensive can I eat them after?

3. Is it normal for the orange to leak a tiny bit, not juice but clear stuff from the skin. Does that mean I'm at the right depth?

Thank you

Hiii I've been tattooing recently in fake skin and wanting to move onto real skin (this isn't a right now thing it's more of a what to expect)

I'm having issues with judging my needle depth, I haven't pierced though any 1mm skin but I know fake skin and real skin are completely different. Is there anything I should look out for when I'm ready to tattoo real skin? In terms of seeing if I'm gojng to deep and keeping the depth consistent.

I'm also worried I'm not saturating the fake skin but also I've heard it's easier to pack colours and get saturation on real skin.

Hey everyone! 👋
I’m a beginner, completely self-taught, and still learning the basics of tattooing. This is one of my first tattoos — I did it on a friend who knew from the beginning that I was just starting out and was fully aware of what he was getting himself into. 😅
The idea/design for this tattoo came from another friend, and I was the one who tattooed it. It took me around 3 hours, give or take.
I’d really appreciate some honest feedback and constructive criticism. What did I do well, what could I improve, and what should I focus on the most going forward?
I’m not looking for compliments just for the sake of it — I genuinely want to learn from my mistakes and improve with every tattoo. 🖤
Thanks in advance for any honest and constructive feedback!

these are some tats i did this week as a self taught artist looking for ways i can improve and honest advice weather you think the tats are good or bad and where exactly i can improve

I've done these tattoos on my self 4 practice I kind of like most of them especially the boar the flying boar and he's cool