Just starting out

[geoffx1]

Hi my name is Geoff i am 39 years old and at this stage of my life now that my kids have grown up i would like to give tattooing a real go
the only thing i have really ever been good at is drawing and i feel great and passionate about the stuff that i do,i live in belfast and there does not seem to be anyone who is willing to take on someone and show them the ropes i would of been happy enough to work in a studio for free and just clean up and watch how its done to get some tips.Any suggestions on what my first steps should be,ps i tattooed myself on my lower leg and a lot of people i know want me to tattoo them but i want my work to be like a piece of art and not just a drawing if you know what i mean i think i would be a bit nervous tattooing someone first time if i don,t have sound advise.

Geoff

[Lennart82]

Welcome Geoff :D

First things first. Lets see what you can do, show your stuf, your drawings and your tattoo ;) Its basically easier to dertemine the next step, when the art is shown ;)

[Ramenuzumaki]

@Lennart82 wrote:

Welcome Geoff :D

First things first. Lets see what you can do, show your stuf, your drawings and your tattoo ;) Its basically easier to dertemine the next step, when the art is shown ;)

+1

welcome!

[geoffx1]

I cant post any pics at the moment as it says the file is too big i will try to get them up if i can im not that great with computers,thanks for your response and your welcome,it is great to find a site like this.
Geoff

[Infamous]

Uploading straight to the forum doesn’t work too well. Try uploading it to imageshack, or tinypic then posting the link here

[geoffx1]

http://s746.photobucket.com/user/geoffx1/media/K640_K640_K640_K1600_006_zps6f1828d8.jpg.html, i hope this works people it took me ages to figure this out.

[geoffx1]

http://s746.photobucket.com/user/geoffx1/media/001_zpsa50ce729.jpg.html
http://s746.photobucket.com/user/geoffx1/media/001_zps07a5a539.jpg.html

here are some canvas paintings i done just to give an idea of my free hand drawing and painting,just say what you think or feel.
im glad i found this site it is great so much to read and learn and thank you for your reply and help its much appreciated.

[Infamous]

LOL I was not expecting to see hello kitty and minnie mouse but awesome work!

That tat looks pretty nice to! Looks like you might have a future in the business

[geoffx1]

Thanks yeah the canvas paintings are just things people have asked me to do for them,as for the tattoo i tried to write the name with a 1liner and i just couldn,t get the ink down the tube and just cut into my skin,i think you can see this from the first couple of letters in the tattoo(cynthia)do you have any advise on that and what would be the best needle to use for writing ?.
thanks for your comments and help.

[Infamous]

Its all relative. I wouldn’t recommend using something as small as a 1 at your current level, that was probably your problem. I’d start with like a 9rl or 7rl and work down. As for thin script like that I would use a smaller needle, probably a 3rl, maybe a 5rl. It depends on what you are looking to do, basically the bigger the number the thicker the line will be.

[geoffx1]

Thanks Imfamous,how long should i wait before i touch up some points of my shading that i missed on my tattoo ?

[Ramenuzumaki]

I usually wait 6 months after a tattoo is fully healed before I will go in and do more work on it. it takes two weeks for the majority of the healing to be done but it can take 6-12 months to be healed completely.

as far as needle size as a beginner you want to push the size as far as you can rather than pull it
with script I normally use a 5RL or 7RL depending on the size, and ill colour it with a 9RS or a 7MG depending on the size. Granted I don’t normally do MASSIVE script so I dont need to go much bigger. The outline doesn’t really matter if it’s solid black as it will hide with your solid fill. I wouldnt go any smaller than a 5RL as a beginner though. Even a 5RL is pushing it. it reveals every little shake your hand does when you do your line. Just be really patient and practice a lot on fruit before skin. I recommend honey dew melon.

[Infamous]

I’m gonna have to disagree there.. From everything I’ve heard from it should be fully healed in 6 weeks, not months..

[geoffx1]

Thanks guys for your comments i will take all on board.
I will take my time and study and learn and practise,its great to get your advice it makes me feel more confident like im not trying this on my own.
Thanks guys

[Ramenuzumaki]

@Infamous wrote:

I’m gonna have to disagree there.. From everything I’ve heard from it should be fully healed in 6 weeks, not months..

same could be easily said about piercings, but one of my nipples took a year and a half to heal. it all depends on the person, their skin, and many other biological factors. most of the artists I talk to mention waiting about six months for the skin to settle, and get back to it’s normal state. Going in too early can cause a lot of damage to the skin, and ruin the “Cover up”

[geoffx1]

thanks for your comments
Question- were is the best place to buy your inks and needles etc ?

[Ramenuzumaki]

There really isnt a “Best place” it’s all personal preference.
I buy from http://www.tattoomachineequipment.com I know their operations manager pretty well, and they always do whatever they can to make me happy.

They also have a “Tattoo Refill Kit” which gives you a little bit of everything, then you simply email Richard and tell him your order number, and you can customize it. PIck your needles, grips, grommet (it comes default with full grommets, but I change them to nipple grommets), even your gloves! I like to use Nitrile. The only thing you cant change is the Inks as they are part of a pack.

http://www.tattoomachineequipment.com/tattoo-kit-refill-pack

[geoffx1]

Thanks Ram

[Ramenuzumaki]

no problem brother :3

[geoffx1]

http://s746.photobucket.com/user/geoffx1/media/005_zps7f573525.jpg.html here is my third go at a tattoo(peace sign) and i thought i would just go for it and try some shading,any comments or tips please i would appreciate what you really think.
Thanks Geoff.

[Ramenuzumaki]

the photo quality is pretty low D:
the image itself for photobucket have all been small for me as of late
try http://www.tinypic.com or http://www.imageshack.com :3

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