Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Practice your tattoo drawing skills.
• Method 2 of 3: Getting to know the equipment
• Method 3 of 3: Practice with a tattoo gun
• Tips
• Warnings

A career as a tattoo artist is full of exciting challenges: squirming clients, equipment that tire your hand and back, and can recreate different drawing styles. All obstacles that only a trained and dedicated tattoo artist can overcome with style. But even in an internship, it can take a year or more before you can tattoo someone. However, thanks to a few techniques and your full dedication, you will be ready to tattoo.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Practice your tattoo drawing skills.

1. Draw constantly. As a professional tattoo artist, you need to be able to draw the drawings your clients want from start to finish. For this you have to be able to imitate different styles, which you can only master by repeating a lot and gaining experience.
   • Move from pencil to pen, which gives a more permanent feel.
2. Draw on objects of a shape. Drawing on apples, oranges, and other objects, such as stones, can mimic some of the difficulties you will encounter when tattooing on different body parts. Pick out objects that closely resemble body parts that are often tattooed so that you are well prepared when someone asks you to get a tattoo on a more curvaceous part of the body.
   • Alternately you can draw from an angle so that your drawings have perspective.
3. Test your tattoo skills with a non-toxic marker on a friend. While drawing on a person's body with a marker is very different from engraving ink on the skin with a tattoo gun, you get so used to drawing on a living canvas and different body parts. You may even visit your most ticklish friend so that you learn how to deal with a squirming customer.
4. Use henna to learn how to apply drawings to the body. Henna is a traditional paint that has been used for centuries. It is relatively cheap, you can buy it online, in retail stores or in organic stores. Because henna remains on the skin for a few days, it is good to practice this once you have already made good progress with practicing on objects. To do this, follow the instructions on the packaging:
   • Mix the henna and take the henna applicator.
   • Apply it to the skin in the desired drawing.
   • See what improvements you can make and ask for feedback.
5. Practice ink lines and tracing. Many professional tattooists start by tracing sample tattoos and simplifying drawings so that they are easier to transfer to the skin. This skill can be academically imitated and studied by enrolling in an inking course. This is the art of practicing alignment and interpreting an original drawing in pencil.

Method 2 of 3: Getting to know the equipment

1. Use a weighted pencil or weighted stylo to mimic the tattoo gun. Some tattooists recommend strengthening your hand by mimicking the weight of the tattoo gun. This machine uses an applicator heavier than a stylo or pencil to apply the ink to the top layers of the skin, resulting in permanent skin art.
   • You can exercise the weight by attaching 80 grams to a drawing pencil.
2. Buy a cheap tattoo gun for practice. With this you can get used to the machine. Besides the opportunity to learn how the machine works, how to replace broken parts and how to evaluate the condition of the machine, you can also get used to holding the applicator for a long time.
   • If you are doing an internship, your mentor may have a machine you can practice with.
   • You can also put a pencil in your tattoo gun and learn to draw with it. That way you get used to the machine and the cord.
   • While a cheap machine works great for practice, you shouldn't use this machine on clients.
3. Learn about the different types of tattoo guns. There are several types of tattoo guns, but bobbin tattoo guns are the most commonly used. Some guns are used to achieve certain effects, such as shadows and coloring. All in all, you should become familiar with:
   • Tattoo guns with coil
   • Rotary tattoo guns
   • Pneumatic tattoo guns
   • Tattoo guns for shadows
   • Alignment tattoo guns
4. Learn to compensate for the vibration of your tattoo gun. The force of the working gun creates an intense vibration that you can feel throughout your arm. Be prepared for this when you turn on the gun and dip the tip in the ink. Learn to keep your hand steady.

Method 3 of 3: Practice with a tattoo gun

1. First, watch a professional use a gun. Observe how an expert tattoo artist prepares their gun and equipment as well as how they prepare their client. If he / she starts tattooing, watch the artist hold and tilt the gun and notice how much pressure he is applying.
   • You can also watch videos on YouTube if you want to practice more.
2. Practice on fruit. Fruits have challenging shapes that mimic the client sitting in the chair in front of you to get a tattoo. They are cheaper and easier to obtain than other options. Some fruits you can consider to practice your tattoos on:
   • Bananas
   • Melons
   • Grapefruit
3. Consider synthetic skin. Synthetic skin is a relatively new technique in the tattoo world. You can easily get skin on the internet, but many tattoo artists believe that fake skin is too far from reality. Synthetic skin can:
   • handy to start and get used to your gun.
   • help you exercise your hand strength.
4. Buy pig skin for a realistic practice experience. Pig skin is very similar to human skin and can give you a more realistic experience than fruit or synthetic skin. Pig skin is also the traditional way used by tattoo interns due to its resemblance to human skin. You can practice on this how deep you should insert the needle.
   • You can buy pig skin online to learn how to tattoo, but since many butchers throw away the skin, you can always ask the local butcher for it.
5. Tattoo at the correct depth. Human skin is made up of 3 layers and some of these layers have sub-layers. The top layer of your skin, the epidermis, is made up of 5 layers in total that grow outward. This means that the ink in the epidermis will eventually fade. You need to tattoo the middle layer, the dermis, which is about 1-2 mm below the skin.
   • Going deeper into the skin with your tattoo gun can cause unnecessary pain and risk causing infection.
6. Give yourself a tattoo. Before working on another person, tattoo your own skin so you know how it feels and how deep to insert the needle. You will also learn to take care of the tattoo and how long it takes for it to heal. This is important information that you can share with your customers.
   • Then you hand out free tattoos to customers. Many people would like a free tattoo from a rookie for you to practice.

Tips

• Always keep a sketchbook. Everyone has 30 minutes to kill in the doctor's waiting room or long bus or train rides. Draw instead of fiddling with your phone.
• Not everyone will like your work, so make the most of bad experiences. Evaluate what went wrong, go back to practice on paper and improve your skills.

Warnings

• Do not make eye tattoos. This can lead to permanent damage to the eye.
• Sharpies and henna can contain harmful chemical or natural ingredients. Make sure you or your volunteers are not allergic to this material.
• Sharpies are non-toxic, so there is no risk of ink poisoning for your customer unless they are allergic to any of the ingredients.