What is Shading?

There is an endless list of ways to shade in tattooing. Recall
that it is my opinion that shading is defined as achieving
any gradient or filling that is not obtained by use of a single
solid pigment. This does not mean that you cannot shade with
a single pigment. It just means that the single pigment does not
end up solid on the skin. I prefer to run my shader machines a
little softer hitting and faster than I run my coloring machines
with a shorter stroke as well. This will let me push the color into
the skin, and not over work the skin; ultimately allowing for use
of layers and multiple passes without causing a lot of trauma to
the skin.