When outlining letters, a good general rule to follow is that the less stops and starts you make, the better the lettering. It makes for a more consistent flow. Blot away the ink after each step so you can see what you have done and where you are going for the next stroke.
Some customers prefer names in a handwriting style. If they have better handwriting than you do, they can write what they want on a guidelined piece of paper, which you set-up, and then you can copy it and stencil it on the skin. This appeals to some, because their tattoo inscription will be in their own handwriting.
Discourage the use of girlfriends’ names in tattoos. These names are usually outdated in the majority of cases, and it leaves the customer with a name they no longer want on themselves. When people insist on it, just say no. If a compromise must be made, tattoo the name in a light red ink so when they return to get rid of it (and they will), you can tattoo over it to hide it. See Chapter on Cover-ups for more details on this.
One more important thing to bring up is spelling errors. You would be amazed at how many people are walking around with misspelled words tattooed on them. This looks bad and is very unprofessional. Never guess at a word that you don’t know and have a dictionary handy to look them up. Be positive at what you are spelling. If they are foreign words, have the customer spell them out for you, and the same goes for names.
Be careful and practice every night, and you will soon master lettering, an important category in professional tattooing.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: angelina jolie tattoos, dragon tattoo, gothic tattoos, tribal tattoos

Filed under: Lettering