I need lining tips please

[drftbred]

So I have done a few tattoos but I’m very careful on what I do I won’t do something I don’t think I can finish,
But my lines don’t always look so great they look a little wavy

Will a diamond tip be better then a round tip?
How tight can’t I put the rubber bans?
And should I or should I not rest my hand on the client?

[Ramenuzumaki]

I prefer to use diamonds yes
it makes a slight groove for your needle to rest it so it has less of a chance of moving around

your rubber bands should be tight enough to pull the bend needle bar straight, but not so tight that they bend the needle bar towards the coils

yes rest your palm on the client. you should be doing what is callled a three point stretch: index finger, thumb, and palm. You use your index and thumb of the hand you arent holding the machine with, and your palm with the machine in it to stretch in three directions.

also try to push your needle sizes. if you think something might need a 5RL, try to use a 7RL. it will more than likely do the job, and will show less of a wavy line. in the end its just conditioning your wrist, and practice. try drawing with your pencil in the machine vice. it will help you get used to the weight of the machine

[drftbred]

I was putting the river bands to right then thanks

If I rest my hand I feel like I can’t get a full line in on shot?

Btw thanks for helping

[Ramenuzumaki]

dont run the machine, and just hover your tip over the line. this way you can test to see if you can do the whole line in one shot. If not you CAN stop if there are lines that meet. like you can TECHNICALLY do T in three lines if needed. You can stop where the top line meeds the vertical line, and do the top line in two lines. It’s best if you can avoid it thought. You can also put a bit of ointment on your glove so you can slide your hand, but I don’t recommend it. I try to use as little ointment as possible so I don’t make it too difficult for myself to stretch the skin.

[drftbred]

thanks!! ill be sure to post my progress after ur tips

[Vory]

First off, I completely agree with what Ram said.
Overall, his tips should solve a lot of problems.
That said, there’s a couple other things you can try to step your lining game up.

To “pull” a line (for lack of a better phrase) in a single pass consider riding your pinkie finger. What I mean by this is, rather than holding the machine and resting the side of your hand on your client, drop your pinkie finger down and use that to hold up your hand. A little bit of oinment on the tip of your pinkie will help you glide right along. It will feel really wobbly and uncomfortable at first but I’ve seen many great artists use this technique. Try making the exact motion several times across your clients skin before you attempt the line. Give your hand and arm a couple times to learn the movement you want it to make.

Ram’s way of stretching is dead on. He’s very, very right about too much ointment making things difficult. It’s something you’ll come to know by feel. An effective method I’ve see is using a paper towel to gain traction against the skin rather than just stretching using a gloved hand. The towel is set on the skin using your fingertips, add a little pressure and pull. It can be very effective for certain areas and can also take some of the stress off your stretching hand.

Remember what Ram said about the rubber bands. Bending the needle bar toward the machine is bad. Your lines will look downright shitty.

Anyway, I hope this helps someone.

[Ramenuzumaki]

I always have a paper towel wrapped around my left middle fingers so I can alway shave paper towel to stretch. However, once the outline is done it doesnt help too much as I wet wipe once the outline is done.

[drftbred]

Thanks for all the tips both odds you guys!!!

I also had one other thing I struggle with, my shading is solid black and looks good but when I use grey wash my powder shade does not look even it looks a little patchy

Do I need to make another post for that or can I ask here?

[Vory]

@drftbred wrote:

Thanks for all the tips both odds you guys!!!

I also had one other thing I struggle with, my shading is solid black and looks good but when I use grey wash my powder shade does not look even it looks a little patchy

Do I need to make another post for that or can I ask here?

Another post couldn’t hurt, you may get more opinions that way.

I like this guy’s grey wash set up for the most part;
viewtopic.php?f=17&t=3791

How are you building up your gradients? starting from light to dark?
Does your GREYWASH machine bog when it hits the skin (my opinion is that it should).
What I mean by “bog” is that it slows down a little. You’ll hear a change in the pitch when the needle hits the skin. For black and grey work, I like my machine to have a much lighter hit. I build up my tones slowly and remember it will heal a lot lighter than when it is fresh.
There are tons of good and bad machines out there. I won’t begin to cover them as there are a ton of good topics for it on here already. Someone like Ram could help you out with that better that I could anyway. I’m not much of a machine guy.

Another note, don’t forget that the skin itself, is a tone. You’re not working on a white piece of paper. The design needs to made with this in mind or it’ll look bad no matter how solid of a tattooer you are.

I hope you find what you’re looking for!

[Author]

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