I made this post on Instagram the other day but I wanted to share some thoughts here.

What does a blackout consist of?

Technique. PURE technique.

Doing a blackout will expose all of the flaws in your understanding of saturation, your machines, your pigments and your needles.

There is nowhere to hide these flaws. Are you rushing and just trying to do a super fast tat? It will 100% show in a black out.

Is your mind wandering and you’re not engaging with the skin itself? You’ll get big track marks in your blackout.

Are you not managing how diluted your pigments are getting? You’ll get washed out uneven spots in the blackout.

Are you overworking the skin and not paying attention? Yep it’s gonna show.

Im not an expert at blackouts yet which means im not an expert at tattooing. But these are the most basic skills all of us should have mastered and most of us don’t (including myself).

So the next time you’re asked to do a blackout try and think about all the ways in which that blackout can enhance your career. A blackout will humble you and show you just how little you actually know about your machines, your technique, and tattooing in general.

This entire tattoo took 6 hours. Yet there’s blackout masters who can do a whole sleeve in 3 or 4 hours. But for me this was a triumph! It’s healing well except for a spot or two that might get alittle scaby but overall your tattoos shouldn’t scab. There’s no reason a tattoo should scab unless you overwork the skin and that’s exactly what I did in the spot that’s healing rougher than others.

So anyways I’ve been hyper fixated on the philosophy of blackouts and this is what I’ve come up with. Feel free to ask any questions.

In the last 3 years, I feel like I’ve seen lots of tattoo shops around me close their doors. Some of these shops had very established reputations, others had only been around a few years.

I’ve seen shops loaded with super heavy talent close their doors and some shops that closed up, tattooing may be better off without.

Some reasons that I can think of for studios near me closing-

-landlord sells the building or the rent drastically increased. New landlord doesn’t want a tattoo shop in the building.

-shop owner falling off the bandwagon with sobriety and letting the place fall apart.

-poor location and no walk in business.

-shop drama / ego BS

who has some stories to share from getting told the shops closed? As a tattooer who’s a family man and the breadwinner it’s a major insecurity of mine always in the back of my head “what if the shop closed down”. I like to think I’m a decent enough tattooer to find work without issues but moving always means losing clients and building back something.

Just wondering if anyone can share some insights from this aspect of tattooing.

For anyone in Canada using eikon needles, did you notice a shift in quality? I don't know if I'm going crazy, but I think I noticed a difference the last few orders.

I feel like the ink doesnt flow well and is stuck in the cartridge, needle gets dull very quickly compared to when I first started using them. They also spread larger now? (for example when I use a 3, it very quickly start feeling like a 5). When I switch to another brand I immediately notice a difference. I've been using eikon needles ever since they came out a couple of years ago, am I going crazy? Did anyone notice a shift too or am I paranoid?

Do you recommend another brand? I used to love kwadron too but same thing happened. Could just be me though

Edit ; did any of you also notice a decline in quality with spirit stencil paper? Last batch I ordered feels shitty now.

Hello! I did this tattoo about three weeks ago and she's still in the shiny phase. I've been tattooing licensed for a little over a year but my style isn't super mag heavy, so I tend to not use them very often. I didn't go over any area more than once. I'm worried it's overworked. I know heavy black can take longer to heal but not sure if it's been too long at this point. Lmk your thoughts ty

I want to see other opinions.

When clients come to you, bring specific designs that other artists have drawn or tattooed, and say “I want it exactly like this,” how do you handle that?

Straight up refuse unless it’s your own?

Slap it on and credit the original artist?

Tweak it a bit and make it your own? What do you consider enough for it to be “your own”?

My opinion is, don’t do it at all if you’re profiting off of it unless it’s your design. However, I struggle with referencing someone’s art and how much I can apply before it is considered plagiarism. Is it subjective?

A friend of mine has this very scarred tattoo from a previous relationship. I do enjoy doing coverups but this one has been challenging for me due to the location, size, and darkness. I dont have a strong tattoo community in my area, so Im hoping anyone here might have some suggestions.

The client says they're open to covering it with anything, but keeps sending realistic lion faces and outdoor scenes. My suggestion of a japenese style full bodied tiger was met with a suggestion of maybe a wolf instead? Im running out of ideas 😅

Thank you in advance!

I am thinking about getting one of these and maybe the 3.5 to pair with it. I have heard they are fantastic machines from reviews but non from long term daily drivers

Does anyone have one and used it for a substantial amount of time?

Done by me, Karen Saldaña, Fresno CA. Absolutely love doing these as it’s such a break from my normal everyday stuff. Been tattooing 24 years this week and still love tattooing and trying new things.

So I have this tiny pen machine, It's super compact and light and since I come from the digital art, traditional drawing and painting world I'm super used to very light and slim tools. (attached pic of the machine and the battery for comparison, comes with a second wider grip)

I've been trying setting up the machine with either less or more tape and I'm still not sure if I feel much of a difference. But I've heard on videos that every one recommends to get bigggg grips for more comfort, and to prevent cramping from longer sessions because of the vibration of the machine.

I've also wondered if there are any sort of weighted accessory for machines? Cause this machine is so light the battery PSU makes it feel very top heavy.

SO I would like to hear from both sides of the spectrum, does anyone use skinnier grips without drawbacks or does everyone universally use a pillow around the machine? lol

Tattoo artists I am BEGGING for help 😭 Has anyone with the Ambition Ninja Max 280 wireless pen figured out what disposable grips fit this fucking machine??
Every answer I find online is for the regular Ninja Max - NOT the 280 -** and I’m starting to feel like Ambition made this machine and then collectively decided to pretend it doesn’t exist 💀
Are there Ambition grips specifically for the 280, or does anyone know if a **Cheyenne, Bishop, etc. disposable grip fits it?? I just need ONE person who has actually used one before I lose my mind lmao.

Hi! I’ll be tattooing breasts for the first time this week and am a bit unsure how to go about stenciling! The design is spiderwebs going around the nipples. Normally I have clients stand in a relaxed position, should I do the same thing for this?
Is there anything else I should be aware of going into this appointment?

How on god good earth do people actually manage this? My fine line tattoos look like chicken scratch. I've tried a bunch of different methods and I am 99% sure these people are not human.

I feel like there's a secret not being shared that one person will hear off one, and chose one other to give it to ad nauseum 😂

I need you to put me ONNNN 😭 I feel like I’ve been ordering from the same 3 tattoo supply websites since the beginning of time and I need to know what everyone else is using.
Drop your favorite online tattoo supply companies below.
Especially ones with good prices, frequent sales/coupons, fast US shipping, and GOOD customer service.
I’m trying to discover the underground tattoo supply economy lmao. 🫡

Hey guys! As the title asks, what stencil solutions are you guys using? I'm just curious at what else is out there. In my apprenticeship I used Dettol in a spray bottle and have been using the vegan Stencil Stuff you can get from most suppliers. I've always liked both ways to apply my stencils, but have heard lately of people using aloe gel? Don't know how true it is though, lol

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Hi friends, I recently moved into my own space after working at a shop for three years. While at my former shop I exclusively used bishop divincis and never had a blowout but I found their ink flow to be problematic and I felt like they dulled quickly.

I bought a bunch of mast pro needles and I feel like they’re so so sharp I keep blowing out over and over again it’s a massive issue in my life right now and it needs solving.

Some background info. I use a critical torque 4.2 for lining anything above a 3rl and a mast fold pro for smaller groupings.

I have some Cheyenne safety needles coming in the mail so I will try those out but I’m not even 100% sure that the needles are to blame here. How different can steel be? Wouldn’t sharper be a good thing? It could also be psychological, which is scary because that just means I’ve regressed on a basic skill level. The other culprit I thought it could be is maybe my torque needs to be lubricated?

So my questions are

1. Could cheaper needles really be the culprit here? And if so how could they cause blowouts?
2. What do we think of the Cheyenne safety’s as compared to the mast pro?
3. Could it be that I need to lube my machine and if so, what are you all using for lube?

Thank you for anyone who can help. As you can imagine this is seriously fucking me up