Tattoo lettering is varied and endless in its styles. After you have a few traditional alphabets under control, you can experiment and create your own designs. Certain styles are more suited to personal tastes than others. You can get quite fancy if it is practiced first on paper. With practice, anything is possible, even slick looking Old English style.

Personalized letters are great trademarks, and eventually everyone will letter differently, even when doing the same alphabet. A few different alphabets are illustrated above to give you some examples and stimulate your imagination.

When actually tattooing names and letters, on the skin. You will still need some sort of guidelines on the skin. Very few people tattoo without them and get satisfactory results. The guidelines are drawn on the skin with a skin type marker or a fine line ink pen.

These lines are not to be tattooed in, but used just as a guide for the letters. Later they will be wiped off to leave just the letters in perfect height. Do not guess with the spacing of letters, they rarely come out right. Always remember the sign “plan ahead.”

Remember that spacing isn’t always a mechanical measurement between each letter but a flowing style of placing letters together which look correct to the eye.
When tattooing letters that are inside of banners, be sure to tattoo on the letters first and then the banner second. This is done so that if the banner has to be adjusted at the last second, it could be.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: angel tattoos, cross tattoos, girl tattoos, tattoo art

The Ink and Pen

This method is identical to the pencil technique, but instead of a hectograph pencil you use a quill type pen and a bottle of hectograph ink. This is much superior to the pencil for several reasons. First, the ink lines cover solid on one tracing and it doesn’t need to be copied over to get it solid on the paper. Also, the stencil can be used more than once if care is taken not to totally abuse it in the process. The pencil stencil can be used over again also, but the ink tends to last longer and can be used as many as six times without copying it again. Hectograph ink works quite well on tracing paper and is easier to copy because it flows smoothly on the paper. The only drawback is that the hectograph ink is very hard to find and the only known source of it as of this writing is from Spaulding & Rogers Mfg., Inc. The procedure for applying the stencil is the same as for the pencil stencil.

The Duplicating Carbon

This basically gets you the same results as with the pencil or ink method, but is just a different route to get there. Materials needed are a design, a ball point pen (or something similar) and a sheet of either duplicating spirit masters or Heyer gelatin type duplicating carbon which are available everywhere in stationery stores or mail order supply houses. The middle separating sheet is first removed from a sheet of masters. Then it is taped, tacked or secured to a board or clipboard with the tattoo design placed right on top of it. Proceed to copy the design, line for line, with the ball point pen. When you are done, lift the carbon sheet and the design will be copied on the next sheet. This is the stencil. It then can be trimmed and put on by the deodorant stick application method. The stencil can be used more then once if careful, and this technique is simple because you can have a store of duplicating paper in your desk for future use that is quick and relatively clean.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: free tattoo designs, girl tattoos, tattoos

We have 2 types of cleaning here; one is for re-usable and the other is for disposable items. The process is the same except for packaging the items for the autoclave. After 30 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner, cleaning needle bars and tubes is a snap. Simply brush off any debris with a denture brush and green soap or soap powder. Hold the needles in your left hand against your index finger for support (points away from you) and brush away from you, never towards yourself. Roll the bar over and clean the other side. Rinse the bar under running water and examine it with an eye loupe for damage (barbs, excessive wear, etc.).

If it can be re-used place it on a towel and clean its respective tube. There are several devices that make this easier. One is a pipe cleaner, others are nylon brushes and special denture brushes all available from good tattoo supply houses.

Cleaning, first use the brush, then bore swabs. The pipe cleaners are pulled through it like a bore brush then rinse. The nylon brushes enter through the back (open) end of tube - the special denture (with variable tips) do a great job from entering in from the needle end - then always rinse. See Figure 8.
Place it with its needle bar. Do the same for all remaining bars and tubes. If a needle bar cannot be re-used after the cleaning, drop it points first into a glass test tube. Using machine rack test tubes, push a cotton ball (not rayon) to the bottom of the tube and place the re-usable bar in its respective tube gently, points first, onto this cotton ball. Plug the open end with another cotton ball and place it in a plastic autoclave bag with a tag to identify it e.g. 3 needle liner, etc. Heat seal all of these bags and put a small piece of autoclave tape on the bag with the date on it. Plug the tube with the bad needles in it and seal it for autoclaving.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: cross tattoos, girl tattoos, tattoo, tribal tattoos

If you sterilize liquids, use the “slow exhaust” or the inside of the clave will wear it! The clave will sterilize everything except some rubber items and most plastics. For tabletop models use only distilled water (HOH). Filters are supplied for floor models.
Clean the clave once a week according to manufacturer’s specs. If you don’t, the company rep will be only too glad to pick it up and refurbish it for you when it fails to operate. It will be gone 3 to 6 weeks and carry the National Debt when returned. Check it with a spore strip once a month, and keep a running record in a log book. Log all maintenance, it makes good sense.
Never stand over a clave when you open the door, as the residual, steam, when exiting upward, will burn you. If liquids are autoclaved, remove the bottle tops, jar tops, etc., and place them inverted on the tray or shelf of the clave. Remember to slow exhaust.

The Ultrasonic Cleaner
This machine in no way sterilizes, it is a cleaner only. If you use one once, you’ll buy it, as it’s simply indispensable. It will remove dried ink from tubes and needle bars quickly. It works on a unique process. A cleaning solution is added to the tank and the soiled article is suspended in it. The machine, when turned on, cleans with microwave energy. It forms small bubbles on the dirty surface and causes them to implode. This action pulls the dirt away from the surface leaving it clean.
The tank should be sanitized with a 10% bleach solution whenever it is emptied.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: girl tattoos, lower back tattoos, star tattoos, tattoo

Some areas of the body are easier to tattoo than others. On a male, the easiest places are the forearm, upper arms and legs. The most popular and easiest areas for the female are on the shoulder blades, breasts and hips. The fleshy portion of the upper breast (above the nipple) is the easiest spot for a woman to get a tattoo. Women seem to take a tattoo a lot easier than a man. This is due to the fact that they have a naturally higher threshold of pain and also an extra layer of fat in their skin than men do.
Some thought should go behind the actual placement of tattoos, such as the size and shape of the design as opposed to the size and shape of the skin area being tattooed. A large flying bird spanning left to right would look a little awkward on a skinny arm that hangs basically up and down. Try to use the lines of the tattoo to enhance the curves of the body part, this will be making more of an artistic statement than just slamming any tattoo in any position.

Use a design that is compatible in size and shape to the area it s going to be on. For example, on the forearm, use a long design that goes up and down the arm from elbow to wrist, also taper it so it conforms to the bulge in the upper forearm and slims down as it comes down to the wrist area. Small, rounder shapes work well on shoulders. Large, round ones on the chest or back. Oblong designs are great for biceps and legs.

Small tattoos don’t usually look that good on large areas and seem to get lost. Large tattoos squeezed into small areas are confusing and usually the entire picture isn’t visible from one angle.
Sometimes what looks the best isn’t necessarily what the customer wants. It isn’t your job to argue with them, after all, they’re always right, but it does help to make a few suggestions and to state how you view things. People will usually consider what you have to say.
The direction a tattoo faces also should be considered. Although the customer always has the final say, a general rule to follow is that a tattoo that is in profile (or partial view turned) should always face to the front of the person. That is, don’t have them pointing backwards to the rear. Some examples are shown on the following page.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
Tags: cross tattoos, fairy tattoos, girl tattoos, star tattoos

One of the major bonuses that you have working with skin is in its elasticity. It stretches a lot. In order to perform any kind of precise work and to get the ink in correctly, the skin must be taut. It’s important that the skin be stretched tightly like a drum so the needles don’t bounce, or get hung up in the skin. If the skin isn’t very tight, your lines will go from too strong to too weak. If it is too strong, you have gone way too deep and a big fat line with “knots” in it may occur and scar tissue will usually result.

If the skin isn’t stretched tight, it will be difficult to get the color to go in the skin. The needles will bounce off the skin instead of penetrating it. It may look like the ink is getting in all right, but it could be an illusion and be getting in on only the very top layer of epidermis. Keep the area you have just finished clean so you can see how solid the color is. Use a magnifying glass, if necessary, and stretch the skin while you are examining it.

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by admin
Tags: cross tattoos, girl tattoos, lower back tattoos, star tattoos

Take hold of the handle with the shelf on the bottom and the hollow tube open at the top. Insert three good needles carefully in the hollow tube. The points are down touching the shelf and the blunt ends are facing up. Make sure the points are all touching the shelf and are all even. “Tack” the blunt ends with a little piece of solder just to hold them together. Let off on soldering gun trigger when soldering needles as it will magnetize and pull needle from jig, making an uneven set of needles. The key here is to use just a little bit of solder, this will keep the needles in alignment, then remove them from the jig. After this step, the needles have to be “tightened” as a group. You will need a Spaulding needle bar jig for this, and the next steps. This is a great device, taking all the guess work out and it is also just about indestructible. The one used here will be the jig for three and five needle liners. There are ten holes on the side of this jig. Three needle for the top and fives on the bottom. You will be using the holes made for three needle groups. Insert the “tacked” three needle group carefully into one of the holes. This will tighten them up. This will go in about 1/4 inch, leaving the rest of the needles hanging out.

Solder these needles together with just enough solder to do the job and no more. No blobs or inconsistent messes here, just a good clean solder up and down the needle shafts. Carefully pull them out. You should have a nice tight three needle group soldered all the way from one end to about 1/4 inch from the sharp needle end. They will lay in a triangle, two needles on the bottom and one between them and on top of them. No matter which way they are turned, you can’t help but get this.

Posted on August 12th, 2008 by admin
Tags: cross tattoos, girl tattoos, lower back tattoos, star tattoos

Tubes
The liner and shader tubes are the machined tubes which encase the needle bars. They commonly have knurled grips on them for easier handling control. Each tube is designed specifícally for the type of needle bar it is to be used with. For example, a four needle shader is used exclusively with a four needle shader tube. The exception is with the three needle square tip liner tube. It is also used with the single needle liner. It is important to remember that suppliers make their needle bars to fít their own tubes. So be sure to order your machines, tubes and needle bars all from the same supplier to keep things consistent and fítting together right.
A Word About Liner Tubes
There are two types of liner tubes. One with a round tip and the other with a square tip. Which one you choose to work with is a personal preference, but each one has an advantage over the other. Let’s take the round tip tube fírst… You will not have many problems with ink splatter, and if you do, usually a rubber band adjustment will take care of it. If you make a sharp córner while tattooing, the needle could move over, causing a wider or crooked line. Also, if you have too much needle hanging out the end of the tip, it will tend to hang up in the skin. To correct this, move the tube down.
Now let’s go to the square tip tube which is the true professional’s tube. With a square tip tube, the needles will never move no matter how sharp or fast you go around a córner the line will always stay the same width. Everything has to be in perfect alignment on a square tip tube with the tip slightly slanted up so the needles hug down in the groove. There cannot be any excess solder on the needles or you will have a splatter problem, this also holds true if the tip is worn badly. If you continue to use a worn out tip, you will get short use from a needle bar, the tip will not feed ink correctly to the skin and the bottom needle will wear fíat and sharp, causing it to cut. If the tip feeds out too much ink, a rubber band adjustment is in order and also, you might try using a bit less power. You should always have a small amount of needle protruding from a square tip when not running, and a short or long stroke is a personal preference. It’s up to you if you want to ride the tip of the tube on the skin or work off the points of the needles. Whichever is most comfortable for you.

Posted on August 4th, 2008 by admin
Tags: girl tattoos, lower back tattoos, star tattoos, tattoo art

One of the most important aspects of all the various mechanics in tattooing, would be the tattoo needle. Sterilization is important, the machines are important and designs are important. But, the tattoo needle is the only link between you and the customer and it is there where all of the other factors meet with the skin. Needles actually puncture the skin and for this reason they must be perfect, absolutely flawless, sharp, straight and in perfect condition.
Needles are soldered on bars called needle bars. There are two types of needle bars, liners and shaders. Liner needle bars are round on the end where the needles are soldered. Shader needle bars are fíat on the end where the needles are soldered.

Liners are grouped tightly together to do outlining with. Shaders are grouped flat, next to each other, to do shading. Use the best needles and needle bars money can buy. They are that important. Don’t mess around with inexpensive needles or sale Ítems. High quality needles are easier on the customer (pain and health wise) and on you (making the tattoo cleaner and sharper). They are not that much more expensive. As a matter of fact, the best needles and bars in the world are not that much at all. Don’t compromise on these Ítems, or you will never be a good tattooist.

Posted on August 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: girl tattoos, lower back tattoos, tattoo, tattoo art

This is very important and worth repeating. Open end of the needle bar loop is always away from you and is designed this way. Needles must always ride against bottom of the tube tip (the trough) and this ensures this. Look into open end of tube in the manufacturer’s set-up machine. Observe that the bar itself is on top of the needle group and is soldered that way. The needle group rides undemeath the bar against the back of the tube. When the open end of loop is away from you, needles automatically will be positioned against the bottom. With open loop facing away from you, you can tell at a glance if the needles are properly placed or not. It is impossible to do any kind of good tattooing any other way. (i.e., with needle bar positioned differently.)
With open end of loop facing away from you, slip the loop over the tape covered knob on the armature bar. It should be a fairly snug fit. Then place rubber bands over the needle bar like the way the machine carne. Use one, two or three bands to put tensión on needle bar, and keep them as low down on the machine as possible (see drawing Side View).
Now that the machine is basically put together, the tube has to be finally adjust-ed. This will vary the length of the needle tips that are exposed when coming out of the end of the tube. Press the armature bar down against the coils and hold it. Loosen the set screw and adjust tube either up or down to allow needle tips to protrude out the end between 1/16 and 1/8 of an inch when the armature bar is fully pressed forward.

Posted on July 30th, 2008 by admin
Tags: girl tattoos, lower back tattoos, tattoo art