Marking pens, also called skin scribes, are surgical marking pens used by doctors to draw scalpel lines on patients. They are non-toxic and are designed to draw right on the skin. It is not good practice to just draw a tattoo design on the body, since mistakes and changes are going to occur. Better to rework the design beforehand on paper and to transfer it with another method. The only reason the skin scribe is mentioned here is that it is a useful tool for touchup work, alterations or additions to a design already on the body. For this purpose, it is always handy to have a few ready for when you need them.

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

This is a simple but effective transfer method. The materials needed are a design, a hectograph pencil or pen with hectograph ink and a sheet of high grade tracing paper. First the design (face up or reversed) is taped to a drawing board or secured to a clipboard. Then a sheet of high grade tracing paper is taped or secured over it. The paper should have a 100 percent rag content and be fairly thick in texture to take the abuse of handling. Be sure to cover the entire design and use an economical style of placement (like in a corner of the paper rather than in the middle, so you can conserve space and use the rest of the sheet for other designs). You should be able to see the design through the tracing paper. If youcan’t, build yourself a small light table to make the job easier.

Take a pencil and copy the tattoo design on the paper. It may have to be drawn over a few times to get a solid line. Cut it out, leaving a one inch border around the design. When you are finished doing this, you have the completed stencil. How you get this stencil on the skin is the same method you would use with the ink method or the duplicating carbon. The best adherent to do this with is an ordinary deodorant in stick form. When you have a place where the tattoo is to be located, and have prepared the part with alcohol and a clean shave (covered in detail elsewhere), just rub a little light layer of deodorant on the skin and place the paper stencil right over it. Rub it with your fingers for a few seconds and whisk away the paper. Behold, the design is on the skin. Check the alignment and let the customer check it also. It takes a certain knack to do this cleanly every time, so a great deal of practice is required on the tattooist’s part to get it down pat. It is easy to practice this, since it can be washed off and tried again. Your friends, wife or yourself work well as practice models.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: dragon tattoos, tattoo art, Tattoo designs, tattoos

Place all machines used in a rack and set it in the ultrasonic cleaner for 30 minutes to be cleaned. Mix a 5.25% sodium hypochlorite solution and put on your plastic apron and rubber gloves. Fill 2 glass or stainless shallow pans with straight bleach (must be puncture proof) and begin to wipe down everything that was handled during the tattoo procedure (ink bottles, machine rack, transformer, clipper cord, sink faucet handles, table top, spray bottles, etc.). Turn off ultrasonic cleaner and break down machines. Remove needle bars and place them as a unit in one of the pans clearly marked “Sharps”. Pull the glass tubes from the machine rack and place them in the other pan marked “Glass Tubes”. Continue to clean the machines by throwing the rubber bands away and wiping each machine off with the bleach solution then place them in your drawer. Mop the floor and carry the 2 pans to the cleaning area. Wipe out the trash can and replace the liner. Staple the trash bag closed and autoclave it. Recover your table. Pour your bucket of used bleach solution down the drain, this is acceptable.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: dolphin tattoos, fairy tattoos, tattoo, tattoo art

Never go into a stock bottle while working, but instead pour from it into the sterile one-use container being used: e.g. ink into small plastic cups or paper cups presterilized. Remove vaseline with a sterile tongue blade, etc.
Never touch your face, hair, or eyes while tattooing. If you have to, remove and throw away your gloves; wash your hands again before putting on another pair of gloves. Never smoke, eat, drink, or apply make-up in the tattoo room. Never blow water out of or off a tattoo machine. If the machine is dropped, put it out of service.
After the tattooing process is complete, clean the tattooed area with green soap and dry it. With a tongue blade, apply a heavy coat of Bacitracin ointment or triple antibiotic ointment to the area. Cover with a Telfa pad and either tape them in place using hypoallergenic tape (called Dermalite) or bandage with a conforming gauze called Kerlex. Another fine bandage is called Coban in that it sticks to itself and is elastic. Give the client a tattoo care card so he knows what to do and what not to do.
An example of a care instruction flyer for you to hand to your client would read like this:
1.            Remove the bandage in 2 hours.
2.           Wash the area with Ivory soap and cold water; be sure to wash off all of the small red spots.
3.            Blot dry. Air dry 10 minutes.
4.            Apply a thin layer of Bacitracin or triple antibiotic ointment like you are trying to push it in.
5.           Apply the ointment every 3 to 4 hours- keep it shiny.
6.            No salt water or chlorinated swimming pools until healed.
7.            No direct sunlight for 30 days.
8.            If it scabs, DO NOT PICK IT.
9.            Relieve the itch by slapping or scratch the area around it.
10.          Keep it covered with loose, clean clothing.

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

After your client has chosen a design tattoo and you have come to terms, accept the payment and fill him/her out a receipt. Have them sign a disclaimer (explained in a later chapter). Wash your hands using a good grade hospital approved soap (tincture of green soap, betadine) and a brush. Scrub, don’t just wash, up to the elbows paying close attention to the nails and skin folds at the finger joints, etc. Rinse under running water. Put on your latex gloves, proceed to the work area and assemble your machines. Place the assembled machines in a tube rack that contains a solution of Benz-all until needed.

PREPARING THE CLIENT
Pour a small sterile basin (1 qt.) about 1/2 full of sterile, distilled water (HOH). Remember to keep the inside of the cap pointing up when you remove it from the bottle. Recap the bottle and place it out of the way. Assemble what equipment will be used for the tattoo and replace the table cover over the remaiivmg.
Remove 12 4″x4″ gauze pads from a 2 qt. sterile, covered stainless can with a pair of pick up forceps (set in about 2″ of Benz-all) and place them on the table. These pads can be prepackaged in Kraft paper or a sealed plastic bag and autoclaved. Fold 2 4×4’s as shown in figure 3 and hold them as shown in figure 4 to form a scrubber.

Posted on September 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: angel tattoos, flower tattoos, foot tattoos, tattoo art

Don’t tattoo below the wrist, on the hands or fingers. If you wonder where to stop, don’t go within inch of the first wrinkle you make when you bend your wrist, on the top and bottom of the wrist. Tattooing over the wrist bone is fairly tender. If possible, pull the skin to one side, off the bone. Your needles shouldn’t be set so deep that they go clear to the bone. Your nerves are wrapped around the bone and it can get fairly painful for your customer before you are through.
Don’t tattoo below the ankle bone, or on it if you can get out of it. The ankle is also a lively spot. For some people, it is next to impossible to hold still for a tattoo in this area. A better place is just above and slightly ahead of the ankle bone, on the outside where it’s more meaty. If someone wants it on their ankle, on the inside, the area slightly behind the large bone is a good spot. Again, don’t go near the foot. Stay on the side of the first wrinkle when you bend your foot. The reason you don’t want to tattoo below the wrist or on the hands is because the skin is too loose and stretches easily. It gets put in grease, dirt, garbage, dishwater, pockets and everything else You can think of. As a result, it leaves a tattoo in this area very susceptible to infection, which you don’t want anywhere near your work. You don’t need that kind of headache.
Don’t tattoo on or near the feet because they are near the ground and can get infected more easily. Also, it seems that tattoos which are lower to the ground take longer to heal and give customers more grief during the healing period.
Don’t tattoo above the collarbone, or on the neck or face. Besides being a poor choice of locations, it is very painful there.

Posted on August 20th, 2008 by admin
Tags: angel tattoos, free tattoo patterns, tattoo art

Skin is the outer covering of the body, it consists of an outer layer called epidermis and an inner layer called the dermis. Beneath that is fatty tissue. The epidermis protects the body from injury and invasion of parasites. Skin is waterproof and helps contain water in the body. Skin also excretes poisons (sweat) and also acts as a sense organ. The point here is that skin is not some board to be etched on but an actual working, organism to be dealt with carefully, so extra sensitivity is needed.

Up to a point, all skin shares a common bond and certain characteristics. Beyond that, the variation is infinite. You should be aware of this because eventually you will come in contact with it all. Some people’s skin is quite flaky while others are naturally oily. Some skin seems to reject ink through an entire tattoo, and some accepts it quite readily. Certain people have extremely sensitive skin and others just the opposite, totally impervious to abrasion, as it seems. You should be aware of the type of skin that you are dealing with. For example, you shouldn’t grab everyone the same way, some bruise more easily. Be open to individual needs. No matter what skin type a person has, it can all be somewhat equalized in texture by keeping it moist. Always keep the skin lubricated with vaseline or bacitracin ointment while working on it.
A good tattoo does not have to go extremely deep to stay permanent, but can survive quite satisfactorily in just the epidermis layers of the skin.

Posted on August 13th, 2008 by admin
Tags: lower back tattoos, star tattoos, tattoo, tattoo art

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 needle groups actually have three needles in them. Two are soldered slight-ly back and the third needle (the tattooing one) is sticking out just ahead of the other two. The two that are back add stability and guidance to the one which is forward and this group is popularly called “single needle.” This is the one that you hear so much about.

It makes a very fine line on the skin. Three needle groups are three needles soldered together and are perfectly flush with each other on the tattooing end. It makes a little thicker line and fíve needle groups make even a thicker one. All of these groups are soldered on liner bars and are generally used for just outlining a tattoo. The outline of a tattoo gets thicker as the size of the tattoo increases. Single needle for small pieces, the three needle for médium pieces, four needle for bigger pieces, and fíve needle for larger pieces such as back work. As the size of the tattoo increases, the outline of it (in thickness) also increases proportionally.
The above also holds true for shading needles. These groups are soldered fíat on shading bars. One needle is right next to the other, on a fíat line, as opposed to liners which are soldered in a circular group. The most common sized shaders are four needle shaders and six needle shaders.
The four needle shader is used for smaller áreas being shaded and the six needle shader being used for larger áreas. The only exception is the big 14 needle round shader, used for large work. This group holds so many needles that it is made round instead of fíat.

Posted on August 1st, 2008 by admin
Tags: free tattoo designs, tattoo, tattoo art, Tattoo designs, tattoos

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