few more tattoo ettempts

So I got a few more pieces shot in the past couple days. I posted these on "Bigtattooplanet" and the @ssholes there dont want to help you get better, but rather just call u a scratcher, tell u that ur trash, and that ur work sucks completely.


Im AWARE that they are bad, but without criticism , tips, and help from people who ARE good then I will never get better, So for now on I am strictly only posting and getting tips and help from people here at "teach me to tattoo"

Be easy on me guys lol.

Links to pieces:

http://www.Hostxpros.com/portfolio/Clown.jpg
http://www.Hostxpros.com/portfolio/Grimr.jpg
http://www.Hostxpros.com/portfolio/Joker.jpg
http://www.Hostxpros.com/portfolio/letters.jpg
http://www.Hostxpros.com/portfolio/notfinished.jpg
http://www.Hostxpros.com/portfolio/Skull.jpg

I wont bash...but make a suggestion instead. Start with some easier designs, these incorperate some pretty advanced stuff into them which makes them all the more difficult to accomplish. Try doing some simple tribal stuff, small flower designs, even some simple letters/names. After you get comfortable with that then move on to the advance stuff. I would still recommend some more practice skins to work on before doing real stuff but looks like your past all that. They are not horrible, but again, there not great either, your outlines dont look "that" bad, some better than others, your shading needs alot of work though. The only way to get proficient at it is practice and not really a recommendation to do it on another person until you got it down pat.

Best tip/advice I would offer........practice on Pig skins, alot of them, before moving to the real stuff.

i agree with Viper. you jumped in to quickly. you need to take a step back, and re-evaluate your work. not going to bash you, but give aggressive critisicm. take it for what its worth, your line work is not bad, but far from good as well. you have to many holidays in your fill, (slow down, and stretch well). your shading, completely horrible. you need to work on this, off of the skin. find some designs online, and re-create them on paper. follow and pay close attention to the shading. look at where your darkest areas are vs. lightest areas. this is your biggest weakness, and needs major improvement. like i said, not trying to bash you, or sound like a dick because i've been in your shoes, with noone helping me, or telling what i need to do.

I'm with these guys. Stop tattooing people for a bit and work on your shading. I know it seems like a kick in the nuts...but you, and your friends, will be better off for it.

Criticism:

If you are aware they are bad...you should stop giving them to people. Do you know why they call us scratchers? Because guys/girls get tattoo kits off ebay and "scratch" crappy tattoos into people. The work is shoddy at best and painful to look at. Your work, right now, fits the bill. This is where you make a decision...do you want to keep on doing what you are doing or do you want to be better? To be better...you must practice. You must take a step back, analyze your mistakes, and fix them on something that isn't human. And when you can line straight...or shade smooth...then you move on to people.

Construction:

Pick up a pencil and paper, and draw. Get your shading straight on paper...then with a machine on practice/pig skin...then on your friends. Take flash and lay tracing paper over it. Trace those designs with a fine tip sharpie. You will see every point where you pause (a potential blowout or botched junction). Get colored pencils and learn to blend colors. Draw one thing 20x until it's second nature to line it out...this is a design you should attempt on skin. Not an unfamiliar piece of flash. Always be learning, seeking knowledge, asking questions...but be intelligent in your pursuit. You don't crash a dozen cars to learn to drive. You stay within your limits and progress...tattooing is the same thing.

for what it's worth...I'm a scratcher too.

Mark

Mark

but everything Ive done is not beyond horrible right:? I can easily go back on all of these and make them look better right? I got no pig skins or other stuff. Fruit is beyond crappy... I have a lot of friends and people I know that have WAY worse tattoos than what I have been shooting.

All I hear is "draw more" I need more tips on how to make my work better on SKIN, not paper pencil and pen. I am past messing with rubber fake skins they are trash as well. NOTHING is like putting ink on REAL skin. Nothing IVe personally found yet?

SO I need advice from someone whos willing to help me and let me know as which needles I should of used on the pieces I did and how I shoulf approach them ect..

Thanks ..

now you are just dismissing good advice because it isn't what you want to hear.

if everyone tells you to draw...don't you think EVERYONE may be on to something? You have no grasp of shading. If you can't do it with a simple approach like pencil and paper then you are f**ked if you want to get it in skin.

Yes...these can be fixed. When you go to fix them, keep this in mind. I'll just cover the clown tattoo.

On the clown. You shaded smoke...as if the edge of smoke created a shadow. His head dissapears into a plume of smoke with NO value change and nothing to indicate skin has transformed to smoke. You shaded the blade but didn't bother to give any facial features depth aside from the lips. You shaded negative space between the head and smoke...that is just AIR! Your line weight is inconsistent but they do seem to be in the right spots.

You need to learn to shade, or at least understand shading as a tool for creating depth. You need to control your hand speed on your lining and be consistent from start to finish. Your lines need to be deliberate...know where you will start and stop each line. You should use larger rounds for lines until you can control the shakes, like a 7rl or 9rl. Your shading should be done with mags or large rounds...and your machine should be tuned appropriately for the needles and desired effect. you should have transitions from dark to light in shading...not just scratchy black. You need to understand washes...how to make them, how to use them.

Watch these...they will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mrnE2jc0PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iOZRB14vQA (WATCH EVERY VIDEO THIS GUYS OFFERS ON TECHNIQUE, MACHINES, AND INKS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hvaPzf30FA (how to shade a cylinder)

You need to be an artist, at least a little bit. Keep your designs SIMPLE for now.

Mark

now you are just dismissing good advice because it isn't what you want to hear.

if everyone tells you to draw...don't you think EVERYONE may be on to something? You have no grasp of shading. If you can't do it with a simple approach like pencil and paper then you are f**ked if you want to get it in skin.

Yes...these can be fixed. When you go to fix them, keep this in mind. I'll just cover the clown tattoo.

On the clown. You shaded smoke...as if the edge of smoke created a shadow. His head dissapears into a plume of smoke with NO value change and nothing to indicate skin has transformed to smoke. You shaded the blade but didn't bother to give any facial features depth aside from the lips. You shaded negative space between the head and smoke...that is just AIR! Your line weight is inconsistent but they do seem to be in the right spots.

You need to learn to shade, or at least understand shading as a tool for creating depth. You need to control your hand speed on your lining and be consistent from start to finish. Your lines need to be deliberate...know where you will start and stop each line. You should use larger rounds for lines until you can control the shakes, like a 7rl or 9rl. Your shading should be done with mags or large rounds...and your machine should be tuned appropriately for the needles and desired effect. you should have transitions from dark to light in shading...not just scratchy black. You need to understand washes...how to make them, how to use them.

Watch these...they will help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mrnE2jc0PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iOZRB14vQA (WATCH EVERY VIDEO THIS GUYS OFFERS ON TECHNIQUE, MACHINES, AND INKS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hvaPzf30FA (how to shade a cylinder)

You need to be an artist, at least a little bit. Keep your designs SIMPLE for now.

Mark

See this is more of what I was looking for! This is MUCH better man! Thanks a TON texas! Im going to spend the entire day today working on my shading. I will post some pictures today.

Also: If I only have like a FEW ink colors: Is it possible to mix colors in a cap to reach a desired color? Such as white/black to make grey? OR should I get water based ink and just dilute the color a bit?

this last post was VERY helpful indeed texas. Remember im a noob and only been tattooing for a week. I thank you for being honest and not too harsh at the same time. As far as the clown, he isnt really finished, I KNOW he looks dull/plain and no demension: BUT The guy I did this on like never wants me to shade SHIT. Not the corners of eyes, under chins, around the nose.. NOTHING! I tried to tell him that without it then he is going to look rather plain! Im going to try to start shooting SMALLER pieces for a few weeks.

Going to watch these videos now. Thanks a ton texas

nice to see you have taken the critisicm well. most people would get pissed and shut down to it. as for needles, like texas said stick with the 7rl, and 9rl for outlining. your shading needs practice so i wouldnt go any bigger then 5m, 7m for that. stay with small designs for now, about the size of a post-it note. nothing bigger. you can mix inks to lighten, or darken, but if your tryng to do black n grey work, your best bet is to set out out 5 ink cups; either #9, or #16. fill the first cup with straight outling ink (of good quality) cup #2 gets 4 drops of black, fill the rest with distilled water; cup #3 get 3 drops of black, fill the rest with distilled water; cup #4 gets 2 drops of black, fill the rest with distilled water; cup #5 gets 1 drop of black, fill the rest with distilled water. you now have 5 different hues, or shades of black. that is a basic wash. you can add more, add less, you have to find what you like, and what looks good. try this; set up a grey wash set as i explained then take a small artist paintbrush, or even a rolled up piece of paper and dip into cup #1, blot it onto the paper, clean brush (or use another rolled piece of paper), and dip into cup #2, blot onto paper, and repeat through to the last cup. let this dry, and take a look at it. you will see 5 different variations of black. you could mix black and white, but your getting grey. which is not what you want. you also have to remember when going from 1 cup to the next; its just like color, you have to clean out your needle and tube otherwise your shades will not stay the same.

now im not telling you to try this in the skin yet, you still have alot of learning to do. you can go out and buy yourself some canvas, and a few brushes, and practice your shading on that, using the wash. this way you get an idea of each shade, and you have some cool paintings to hang around your tattooing area.....i hope this helps, and you listen to the advise given.......stay safe.

nice to see you have taken the critisicm well. most people would get pissed and shut down to it. as for needles, like texas said stick with the 7rl, and 9rl for outlining. your shading needs practice so i wouldnt go any bigger then 5m, 7m for that. stay with small designs for now, about the size of a post-it note. nothing bigger. you can mix inks to lighten, or darken, but if your tryng to do black n grey work, your best bet is to set out out 5 ink cups; either #9, or #16. fill the first cup with straight outling ink (of good quality) cup #2 gets 4 drops of black, fill the rest with distilled water; cup #3 get 3 drops of black, fill the rest with distilled water; cup #4 gets 2 drops of black, fill the rest with distilled water; cup #5 gets 1 drop of black, fill the rest with distilled water. you now have 5 different hues, or shades of black. that is a basic wash. you can add more, add less, you have to find what you like, and what looks good. try this; set up a grey wash set as i explained then take a small artist paintbrush, or even a rolled up piece of paper and dip into cup #1, blot it onto the paper, clean brush (or use another rolled piece of paper), and dip into cup #2, blot onto paper, and repeat through to the last cup. let this dry, and take a look at it. you will see 5 different variations of black. you could mix black and white, but your getting grey. which is not what you want. you also have to remember when going from 1 cup to the next; its just like color, you have to clean out your needle and tube otherwise your shades will not stay the same.

now im not telling you to try this in the skin yet, you still have alot of learning to do. you can go out and buy yourself some canvas, and a few brushes, and practice your shading on that, using the wash. this way you get an idea of each shade, and you have some cool paintings to hang around your tattooing area.....i hope this helps, and you listen to the advise given.......stay safe.

I will definitely listen. But where I live it is hard for me to get things like a paint canvas and brushes ect... Ive been practicing the past 2 days with a few pencils that very a bit in shade color (dark to light):

Also I thank you for the tips! Since I Really only have my skin and a few friends to use for practice, I will tone it down and start doing some SMALLER pieces (post it note sized) My buddy needs some rather smaller pieces for this fill in on his arm anyways. So I will draw for the remainder of the day until this evening, then I will attempt A MUCH smaller piece than I have been doing, I will post the end results.

I am also going to use the 5 cap grey wash technique. I usually just try to shade with the black, and just do small tight circular motions in the real dark areas and then trying to "flick" or "whip" the needle out from the dark shade to make a 'dark - light - fade' kind of look. But the way you explained it sounds a lot better, with 5 tones I can easily define my dark side/ light side of my pieces, rather than trying to flick shade it with just solid black.

Thanks again guys~!

But one question? A 7RL -9RL on a 'post it note' sized tattoo? Wouldn't that be rather 'thick' and hard to manage smaller parts. Such as eyes/ teeth/ and other small things that need outlined in a tattoo piece? Or would I use the 7RL-9RL for the main 'outside outline' parts / then like a 3RL-5RL for the smaller 'inside outline' parts?

Also if I am currently shading with RL's should I switch to mags or flats?

Thanks again! This place has helped me SO much! You guys will save me from failing in tattooing and have kept me encouraged/ eager/ and strongly dedicated to not giving up on this!

Thanks~!
-Blaze

...........just outta curiousity are you using the stainless steel tips or plastic ones?