White is the last color you put in a tattoo. White pigment is lighter than human skin and it won’t stay pure white for long. It’s a fickle color and it is highly subjective to the sun, tanning and turning a skin tone. Use it sparingly by itself. It is particularly good though for lightening other colors. It looks good in eyeballs. Some pretty results can be obtained by tattooing an area white, wait until it’s entirely healed, and then put a tattoo over it in the regular fashion. It is also possible to do a more subtle work like using a dry shader, with no color in it (put a very light coat of Vaseline on the needles) and a very light coat of dry, powdered red (or other color) across the skin and then sweep across it with your shader for a pretty blush.
After having finished a tattoo, it should be washed off with green soap and sprayed with an alcohol solution. It would now be a good time to take a few photos for the portfolio and then carefully bandage the tattoo up. They look great when just finished. All glossy and sharp. Tattoo’s look their best when just finished and it’s a great time to photograph them, at their peak condition. Before taking a photo, be sure to blot the tattoo perfectly dry and don’t have any Vaseline on it or the results will be a poor photo.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
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1)   White can be mixed with any color.
2)   Except for white, leave the purple alone.
3)   Red, orange and yellow can be intermixed and blended.
4)   Browns mix well with orange, red, yellow and white.
5)   Make grey by mixing white with black or by adding distilled water to black.

Spectacular effects can be achieved by blending the colors in the skin, letting one color flow into the next. This is a rainbow effect, and the ranges of color in a rainbow make a good guideline to remember the blending scheme.

Any color can be blended with the color next to it on the rainbow. Different color values of the same color can be blended also. In between the two colors will be a zone with the two colors being mixed together. This is where the two colors meet and blend. For example, let’s color in a leaf. The Outline for the leaf is done and it has black shading by the stem. The darkest color is done (the black and black shading) and now some green must be added. It will go from black shading by the stem to a dark green, fading to a light green, and then a little yellow on the very edge. It’s all right to color over shading as the black shading will show through. Wash out the machine and needles very good (prescribed elsewhere) and tattoo in the dark green around the shading, right over the shading and feather it out toward the edge. Leave space for the other green. Wash out the machine and tattoo in the light green. Color in slightly over the dark green and color in the leaf almost to the edges, maybe slightly feathering it out on the edge. Wash out the machine and add in yellow or white, mixing it in with light green. Wipe with green soap spray and coat with Vaseline every color change. A super color blend is achieved this way and must be practiced. It’s best to do this blending in one sitting while the ink is still “wet” in the skin and the ink mixes a lot better this way.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
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According to this chart, white would be the last color to be put in a tattoo. Brown before yellow, etc. When a color is tattooed as mentioned before, thousands of tiny holes are being punctured into the skin and the color goes down these holes to stain the under layers of skin. These holes are all open when working, so one color can actually flow into the holes of another color and stain it differently. Bad mixtures are the result of this. If a dark color is used first, a lighter color can’t really change it but if a lighter color is used first, and then a dark color over it, the dark can change the light color, staining it dark. When a dark to light sequence is followed, this overpowering condition disappears. Before tattooing color, it is good to mentally line up the color sequence that is going to be used beforehand so no mistakes are made and some order is maintained efficiently without stopping and thinking about it.
Tattoo colors can be mixed with each other in a cap and/or blended together in the skin for even more variation of tones. Remember though, not every great artist uses hundreds of different colors, and a piece of work should not be evaluated just on the amount of different colors that it contains. A tattoo with 18 assorted colors can look really spectacular, but so can a tattoo with three or four colors. The trick is proper color placement to get a certain effect rather than random selecting and placement of color just for colors sake.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
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It seems as though everyone in tattooing at some time or other has had a problem putting green into the skin. Of course there are many and varied reasons for this. I will go into this in detail because I think it is a very important part of tattooing that every artist should know. A tattoo machine is only as good as the artist behind it. For starters, a good running machine with a new set of needles is a must. The most common mistake with green is that the artist doesn’t know when it’s in the skin. This happens because most greens are mixed with white and when tattooed into the skin, appears more white than green. (Example - Spaulding & Rogers Bright Green). The inexperienced artist will overwork the area, thinking he hasn’t got the color in because it doesn’t appear to be green enough. When the area is overworked, the color will just go into a bubble on the skin which will be mostly blood. When cleaned off, the skin will have a fuzzy look, and chances are there will be a thick scab and a sore tattoo to go with it. This you don’t want. So, although your green color may take on a very white look, don’t worry, it’s in there. Another good rule is to work it slowly, the skin will only accept it so fast and beyond that, it’s lost motion.
These same methods apply to all blue colors also. Always use Vaseline on the skin while working colors, it makes clean up more easy. If you find that your green has heated with little white spots showing throughout it, these are called “holidays” and usually comes from working the color too fast. In other words, there are spots you have missed due to an untrained eye. Yellow color is notorious for this and most always requires to be gone over twice during the process of the tattoo. It’s not a hard color to put in, it’s just deceiving to the eye.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
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Every time a different color or shade is used, the tube and needles of the machine must be thoroughly cleaned. Haphazardly dipping into colors can’t be chanced because sloppy and muddy mixes will be the result. The only way just pure color can be obtained is to have 100 percent clean needles and tubes each time. Clean out the tube between colors by running the machine under hot water until the machine basically washes itself clean. Be sure to run the needles across a tissue in reverse motion to remove all excess water from the tube tip. Never do this in a forward motion because it will pick up pieces of paper tissue between the needles. Get in the habit of doing this every time in between color applications and it will ensure good clean color tones. After completing every color on a customer, spray the area with a green soap spray, wash and apply over the area a thin coat of Vaseline. The Vaseline will fill some pores and keep other colors from entering the holes and spoiling the color.
When putting in color, a certain sequence must be followed in order for a tattoo to come out the best possible. If it is not followed, muddy mixtures will appear, clouding up the tattoo and spoiling it with dull tones. The basics for the sequence are simple. Colors must be applied from the darkest tones to the lighter ones. This is why black shading is the first thing done after the outline. All solid black and the black shading is the darkest color and must be applied first. The color sequence after this is as follows: 1) Dark purple. 2) Blues. 3) Greens. 4) Light Purple. 5) Browns. 6) Reds. 7) Orange. Yellow. 9) White.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
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When applying color to a tattoo, puddles of ink will get all over the skin, sometimes totally obscuring the outline. It’s not good to be in such a hurry as to not take the time to continually wipe the excess away. Tattoos are ruined by running the color over the outline. By continually wiping away all the excess color, strict attention can be paid to what one is doing and where one is going. When inspecting work in progress, the skin must be stretched tight (as if tattooing) so any mistakes will be readily picked up. If the color is solid when the skin is stretched, it will be solid when relaxed in a normal position.
If the area that is to be a solid color has skin showing through, (it is not solid, but is sketchy looking and has pockets of skin that aren’t colored) something must be done to correct this problem. The easiest solution is that the tattooing circles are not small enough. Make littler circles, cover a smaller area and slow down a bit. Another reason is that the needles are not in contact with the skin at all times. This means that in all the tattooing excitement, the machine is not kept steady and the needles are being lifted up off the skin in some areas. This doesn’t mean to press harder, but to just keep the needles in the skin. Let the machine sink the needles, you keep the machine in line. Another reason for open pockets in the coloring is that the color itself was not properly mixed. Be sure to shake the bottles of ink good before using. This will maintain an even color value within the bottle. Stick to the small flowing circles, letting the machine take care of the tattooing and good results will be obtained. When you come across tiny areas that can’t be done with a shader, use a three or five needle outliner.

For the coloring process, the needle tips should hang out of the tube end just so you can feel them and ought to extend out of the tube around 1/16 inch when the machine is running. This setting will keep the color flowing in but won’t really plow into the skin. Over zealous tattooers can get carried away and this machine setting is extra insurance against scarring and bleeding. Later on in your career, the setting can be changed to a longer stroke, but only when the feel of coloring is totally familiar and confidence is assured that you have everything under control.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
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The actual process of coloring a tattoo is a relatively simple one if you always remember and apply a few key rules and regularly practice them. The technique is the same for solid black tattooing as it is for solid coloring. Actually, black tattooing is a little easier as black ink seems more readily accepted by the skin than colored ink. The motion is a circular one, and coloring a tattoo is done in small circular steps, a little at a time. If a constant pace is maintained, a lot of area can be covered in a small amount of time. Each circle just barely overlapping the last circle until the areas are covered solid in just two sweeps. Never do an area more than once or twice over. Just small, constant, flowing circles covers an area smooth and efficiently, and always working off the tips of the needles.

Don’t press hard and don’t stay in one area repeatedly crisscrossing or try to color the skin in like with a crayon or pencil. This will turn the skin to hamburger and create a bad scab or possibly, leave scars, the ultimate error. While the needles are in contact with the skin, keep the machine moving, never hold it still or that will cut the skin. Don’t go back over any work just done. Get it right the first sweep through. It will look better with the fewest amount of holes in the skin. The more holes, the more bleeding, the more scabbing, and the more ink will be absorbed out in the scab. “Packing it in” won’t get you anywhere so let the machine do the job and pay attention to the work being done. A little area is done and then wiped to be inspected. Continue in this fashion and monitor the results. Any adjustments can be quickly made when done in this manner. The color of the tattoo will not be any more colorful or brighter when you try to hammer the color into the skin.

Posted on September 2nd, 2008 by admin
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