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heathmalc · Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:24 pm Post subject: What needles to use when

I have only done 5 tattoos (all but one on myself - one on my brother to cover up a horrid tat). The 5th one is just an outline right now:

I am almost exclusively interested in portraits & Biomech type tattoos (anything that requires extreme detail), and have used only a single liner and 3RL thus far.

However, later I will undoubtedly be faced with larger pieces that require the use of larger needle groupings.

One of the things that I am pretty ignorant on thus far is what needles to use when. For instance, I have never even used a magnum or flat. I don't want to use one unless I am sure of it's purpose and that I am using it correctly.

There are a few local tattooists, but most have learned what little they know by trial and error, and are not the type of tattooists I'd go to if I wanted someone to do a large (or even small) piece on me.

I don't want people to think of me that way when I open my shop in April, so I would like any advice/assistance that anyone has to offer on this subject.

Thank you,

Heath

moondog · Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:37 pm Post subject:

nice work there!. afaik mags you need to work real fast for the larger ones?. my chest piece i have coloured in dark bars with a 5rs ans even a 3rs. am not sure if that helps any. but others here will chime i. and sometimes youtube has good tutorial type videos, as long as you can weed out the so-so ones, good luck man.

heathmalc · Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 10:04 pm Post subject:

[quote="moondog"]nice work there!. afaik mags you need to work real fast for the larger ones?. my chest piece i have coloured in dark bars with a 5rs ans even a 3rs. am not sure if that helps any. but others here will chime i. and sometimes youtube has good tutorial type videos, as long as you can weed out the so-so ones, good luck man.[/quote]

[b]TY for the info[/b], and [b][i]thanks for the [u]compliment!!![/u][/i][/b]

I am usually my own worst critic, so I try to do as well as I can everytime...especially on tats!!! Wink

Today (About 1 hour ago), I just finished some more outlining and a little filling-in. This was the second session, and I used a 1RL for everything....although I did try a 7rS, but it kept dropping puddles on me, so I quickly went back to a 1RL.

I got three pretty decent pics of the tat-update:

I will continue to update the tattoo as I complete it. I think that I will probably leave it alone for about 5 days or so before I do anymore.

Let me know what you guys/gals think... give me the good & the bad!

Thanks,

Heath

moondog · Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 3:35 pm Post subject:

damn fine work. with a mag from my experience you want tight fast circles. and for shading a nice whipping effect against the rubber band. thats allot of solid black for the needles your using. on my pieces i use a 5rs for solid coloring. but others with far more know how, will chime in. but top notch work there.

wow, forgot to mention. for myself i wait about two weeks before working on a one piece, is five days enough time?.

also mags again are hard, but you get allot less holidays which i am painstakingly learning about; holidays are the small areas tattoo artists sometimes miss. you'll know em to see em. but that is damn great work you have done. must be great to also have a wife to help. youre a lucky man Wink

good to have support.

for others to see it just copy and paste the links he gave into your browser hope that helps Very Happy

heathmalc · Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:27 pm Post subject:

[quote="moondog"]damn fine work. with a mag from my experience you want tight fast circles. and for shading a nice whipping effect against the rubber band. thats allot of solid black for the needles your using. on my pieces i use a 5rs for solid coloring. but others with far more know how, will chime in. but top notch work there.

wow, forgot to mention. for myself i wait about two weeks before working on a one piece, is five days enough time?.

also mags again are hard, but you get allot less holidays which i am painstakingly learning about; holidays are the small areas tattoo artists sometimes miss. you'll know em to see em. but that is damn great work you have done. must be great to also have a wife to help. youre a lucky man Wink

good to have support.

for others to see it just copy and paste the links he gave into your browser hope that helps Very Happy

[/quote]

Thanks for the compliments, I really appreciate it. I have seen some of the lines that need fixed later though.

Also: Thanks for the info on "Mags" , that will help a lot!!!! I tried a 7flat but I couldn't get the ink resevoire to work right. Does it work different than when you use rounds? I know the tips are only half-tips, so I was thinking maybe there way a different way to hold the ink (continuous dipping?).

As for my wife... yes, she is awesome! She was just talking about maybe moving to a larger populated area so I could have a better chance with my business. How awesome is that?

I'm not sure if 5 days is enough time or not. I did the 2nd session after about 2 weeks (I think), but I could have done more work about a week ago, but didn't have time until yesterday.

Anywho... I have a cover-up I want to do on the other side of that arm, so I'll do that outline instead.

Also: one of my friend's girlfriends was over today, and she has a few tattoos. She wants a sleeve done, and I told her I'd do it for $100 (That's what I figure the cost to be). So she was going through all my drawings, and picked out a few. I'll re-draw a couple of them so everything fits together, and then I'll keep the forum updated on how it turns out.

Heath

paullwrt · Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 3:35 am Post subject:

Most of your questions can be answered at the website posted below.

Be Scary

Paul

moondog · Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 6:49 pm Post subject:

awesome links. tyvm Very Happy

Aussie_Al · Tattoo lover Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 70 Location: NYC

Some nice work there brother! Very Happy

deaded518 · Tattoo addict Joined: 07 Oct 2009 Posts: 166

looks real nice so far.

Aussie_Al · Tattoo lover Joined: 21 Sep 2009 Posts: 70 Location: NYC

Anything more done since then?

zapzapzap · Tattoo lover Joined: 17 Oct 2009 Posts: 81

You guys think that is nice? What the hell is wrong with you people. You suck. Stop fucking people up.

deaded518 · Tattoo addict Joined: 07 Oct 2009 Posts: 166

i do think its a decent piece of work, i mean cmon, the guy, with no formal training and only having done only 4 or 5 tats, and on his own upper arm, and did the whole piece with a 1rl. sure its not perfect but i think the guy deserves some kind of props. just think how far he might go if he had someone to show him what's up. so yea, it looks nice so far.

zapzapzap · Tattoo lover Joined: 17 Oct 2009 Posts: 81

I know this dentist.... well I guess he is kinda a dentist... He has pulled 4 or 5 teeth. Only thing is all he's got is a screw driver and a hammer... You should hit him up next time you need a tooth removed.

The thing doesn't even warrant a critique. There is not a single redeeming quality. Horrible application, horrible composition, horribly rendered.

I can understand having a hard time applying a tattoo without any training. People who know whats up aren't talking. Meaningful advice would go right over your head without a basic understanding to begin with anyway.

What I don't understand is why people would go ahead and try to tattoo themselves or anyone else without being able to draw for *****. Goto a library and check out a fucking drawing book. Hell, there are great websites with tons of instruction on technique in just about any medium you would want to work in. I use the internet almost daily for reference material, I have a ***** ton of books, but when you want to see 900 different photos of something instantly nothing beats google images.

That thing is one of the absolute worst tattoo's I have ever seen.

icolorwithcrayons · Tattoo lover Joined: 27 Dec 2009 Posts: 33

zapzapzap... instead calling someone out on the forum, why not try to counsel and help the guy with some constructive critique? instead you rag on his post.. what a piece of work you are...

deaded518 · Tattoo addict Joined: 07 Oct 2009 Posts: 166

oh no...

heathmalc · Posted: Mon Jan 25, 2010 7:51 am Post subject:

Zapzapzap.... I never said that I didn't have art training. I taught fine art at Ohio State, and I've had many shows...MANY. I decided to get into tattooing because it was the only medium I hadn't tried.

As for your critique; I paid it no mind. I've had more than 12 shop-owners tell me my work was very good. Of-course I have progressed quite a bit in my knowledge since October, but none-the-less, they have all seen my first 7 tattoos, as well as all the ones I have done since then.

One very important thing I learned was to have a very good power supply, and (I prefer) Iron-cast machines.

How about showing some of the masses your fine work zap? Or, are you only good at running your mouth? Question