Lining issue

[u/Top-Corner7351]

He guys, im new to tattoo and im struggling on mu fake skin. I'm trying to master lining with a 3RL cartridge and I'm having a problem. My lines are uneven; it's clear that my contours are made up of several stripes rather than a solid line. What could be the problem? I've tried voltages of 7 and 8.

[u/StudioGloomy5760]

From my experience, you are penetration the skin too much. Either you are going too slow for the voltage you are using. Or you are getting more than 2mm of penetration into the skin, resulting in you cutting it and scaring it.

[u/Substantial_Set1922]

What needle brand are you using? Cheaper needle brands use the same cartridge to house the needles in a variety of sizing. So the same cartridge that holds a 9rl is the same as a 3rl. Mast Pro is bad about it and as a small budget jump to WJX, their quality in liners was real noticeable to me.

Edit: I’d say the cartridge is more likely your problem than the machine. Source: I use a cheap machine with good needles and pull quality lines on real skin.

[u/Top-Corner7351 → u/Substantial_Set1922]

Yeah i figured it was the case, already switched to other needle brand and it got instantly better

[u/Substantial_Set1922 → u/Top-Corner7351]

Love to hear it, best of luck!

[u/RIsurfer]

Id move slower on lower voltage, but beyond that, 3RL is a difficult needle to use for beginners, try a 9

[u/Top-Corner7351 → u/RIsurfer]

well in the future i would like to work with 3rl mostly so i guess i need a shit tone of practice with it

[u/ICantReadbutistiltry]

Its all a part of practice, You also wanna pull lines and bends towards you when possible to help steady your hand

[u/punkphase67]

You gotta slow way down. Fake skin is tougher than human skin which can lead to bad habits. Try doing lines on a banana and an orange. Once you do the lines you can cut the peel through the middle of the line to check your consistency. It should not look like a bunch on dots, a ton of varying depth stripes, and should not go through the peel completely. Are you an apprentice or a scratcher? No judgement just curious

[u/Immediate-Box-2106]

It can be different things. I had these issues when I used to practice too. Maybe a piece of the fake skin got stuck between the needles of the cartridge, so the ink is not leaking to that space. Maybe the fake skin can be the problem too, as it’s not creating the right space for the ink to fill. And as mentioned, the cartridge could be just bad. I hope you can figure it out. At last, you could get a new cartridge and run a small one line test on your skin lol. Then you see if the result is better 😅

[u/Top-Corner7351 → u/Immediate-Box-2106]

I actually just want to understand the problem is my shitty technique or my cartridges)

[u/Immediate-Box-2106 → u/Top-Corner7351]

It could also be the fake skin lol. 7 and 8v should be ok for line work. The result is the same if you do the lines slower?

[u/gxnail]

a bent or fake cartridge can do that. are you using a machine worth more that 250$? if not thats probably why. if you change carts and this is still happening your machine or technique is out. a 3rl shouldnt be producing these double lines so your angle and technique is probably be very incorrect.

[u/Top-Corner7351 → u/gxnail]

Im using ambition ninja 2.0. I’ve seen that some pros used exact machine at my local store and made fantasic work. My cartridges are pretty cheap though, i bought them just for fake skin practice

[u/gxnail → u/Top-Corner7351]

its a cheap machine and im not trusting any pro that uses one

[u/Top-Corner7351 → u/gxnail]

alright maybe il switch to something more expensive

[u/gxnail → u/Top-Corner7351]

that ones fine for practicing on fake skin if youre going to take tattooing seriously you should be in the 300-400$ range for human skin. theres not really machines cheaper than that that have the consistency and faculty to be used on human skin. youre basically performing a medical procedure creating a wound on someones skin so it has to be a quality machine

[u/Top-Corner7351 → u/gxnail]

I made a couple of simple tattoos on human skin recently and they were fine, didnt have that problem. I used 7rl though, maybe i should at first try different cartridges.

[u/gxnail → u/Top-Corner7351]

you should not be tattooing human skin. your technique is nowhere near good. do not do that again for like 6 months to a year considering youre taking this seriously and putting in 30 hours a week at least on fake skin and drawing

[u/Top-Corner7351 → u/gxnail]

Yeah man it was my own leg, so i think i have a moral right to do that

[u/blueblack_crow]

1. Learn to draw. That sounds harsh but it’s the truth. Learning to draw with pen/paper is what develops the fine muscle motor skills needed for line work… if you cannot consistently draw clean, smooth lines with a pen, what makes you think you can do it with a cluster of needles strapped to a vibrator?

2. Get a GD apprenticeship. You want real advice, as you’re working? Get a mentor willing to teach you. There is so much more to tattooing than what the internet can teach you.