One of the most popular ways of tattoo designs transfer is with the acetate stencil. Acetate sheeting is acquired through your tattoo supplier in rolls or sheets which measure in approximately .020 inch thickness. The most practical way is in rolled sheets that you cut to size yourself. The curl in the sheeting is easily removed by running under hot water after it has been cut down to size. The hot water softens it up and allows it to be flattened out.

How to do an acetate stencil.

Materials needed: A design, acetate sheet to cover design and a stencil cutter. First the design is taped or secured to a drawing board or sheet of glass and the acetate sheet (already cut to size), placed over it. Both are secured to keep from moving and the plastic sheet should be about one inch bigger around than the design. The stencil cutter is a pen-type holder which grasps a sturdy stainless steel scribe pin. You then follow the lines of the design with the stencil cutter engraving the lines of the design right into the acetate. Work slowly and get your lines smooth. Don’t include any shading. When done, the acetate should have the lines of the design etched right into it like little grooves. It isn’t necessary to cut your way all the way through the other side, just a solid groove is good enough. The stencil must then be deburred. To do this, take another piece of acetate about one square inch in size and hold it upright with your fingers so the piece is vertical and the stencil is horizontal. The idea here is to rub the stencil back and forth with the edge of the other piece of acetate.
This scraping will take the little burrs out of the stencil, making the transfer come out cleaner and sharper. When this is done, remove the acetate stencil from the table and round off the corners with a pair of scissors, so there are no sharp edges. The acetate stencil is now complete. One great advantage to this style of stencil is if you want a reverse image, just flip over the stencil and etch the image on the other side, creating two stencils, one on each side, of the same design. Number each stencil according to the design sheet and put your name on it. Another advantage is their shelf life. They last quite a long time and can be used over and over again. Clean them up and file them away for the next person wanting that design. Since they take longer to prepare, the beginner should stick to the pencil or ink method of transfer at first, slowly building up the collection of acetate stencils. It saves a lot of time to have acetate stencils cut with your most popular designs on them first, so they don’t have to be repeatedly drawn over and over when you are real busy.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: angel tattoos, free tattoo flash, tattoo art

Filed under: The Stencil