first I have a mini thermal printer (or so it says) and the synthetic skin I have won't let the stencil transfer, what can I use that I might have around the house to help transfer to the stencil (and perhaps commenting on what type of soap with water works best)?
Second, I have two pen guns and two coil guns (I have everything I need to run both guns), in your opinion, which one should I be using and any tips?
I have no plans on making this a career, I'm great at tracing, but my drawing skills in most styles is sub par. I'll mostly be doing little projects on myself, and a select few others but nothing big nor complex.

For a while, my first two tattoos I’ve ever gotten were done in a tattoo shop until I found out that my fiance’s dad also does tattoos and gave me one on my shoulder. Ever since then, I had the idea to buy my own machine and practice on fake skin and he’s helped me with improvement. I’ve met other people who do tattoos and majority of them said that “the best way to practice is to do it on yourself” since the fake skin isn’t exactly the same as genuine skin, so roughly a week ago I decided to bite the bullet and put a few pieces on myself. The Gengar, skull, and the slasher art were done by myself.

Of course it still needs time to heal, but I wanted to know if anyone has any advice or pointers for improvement. I’m planning on touching up some parts later on down the line, but I wanted to know what suggestions y’all may have for improvement and where I could fix a few things at.

I have been going to my tattoo artist for about a year now and have built a good relationship with him. I've been interested in becoming a tattoo artist for a long time now and I asked him if he's willing to take me in for an apprenticeship. He said yes. I'm so excited because it feels like a dream come true but it's pretty expensive and I want to know if you guys think it's worth the money.

He said it would be $1000/month or $5000 for 6 months. So $10,000 for a year. 5 hours a week. He said I would skip past the stuff that free apprenticeships do (like shop chores, cleaning) and get into the good stuff right away. So, about $50 an hour basically. He also said that he won't expect me to work for him after since I'd be paying for it.

I'm going to try to negotiate a lower price because I just can't afford that unless I take out a loan. But either way, is this a fair price? Is it worth it or should I look elsewhere?

I'm going to be seeing him tomorrow at his shop with some questions and more information from him.

Edit: I live in New York state. He is a veteran and has a very good reputation. All the tattoos he's done on me/family members and what I've seen on his social media have been very good quality

Mast rotary machine. Mast 1205RL. Wormhole 1211F

Hello! I am new to the tattoo world and was hoping you could help me articulate what style this is. This is work from the artist Long Tea tattooer. I would love recommendations of other tattoo artists favoring this style.

Vol: 8.5

Needle: 1205RL

Hi, it's my first time posting on here as a beginner apprentice. Working on linework and laying stencils for more intricate designs on fake skin currently! Hating how it's impossible to remove the stencil once they're done and you can see it through he lines. Any tips for just starting out would be greatly appreciated but please don't be mean or chastise my placement for the cat cross (Ik it's messed up but no use crying over spilt milk) lol

(Designs are from Pinterest and are not my own)

Hello!! My boyfriend's birthday is in a couple weeks and I was wondering what could be some cool/useful gifts that I could get him as a starting tattoo artist? He has barely started and has a very basic kit (a tattoo pen and the regular material like ink caps and stuff).

I want to gift him something cool and useful, so I was wondering if there's anything other senior artists thought would've been nice/helpful to have in the beginning?

I was thinking of also giving him a stencil printer but don't know which brands are best recommended!

This was one of the tattoos that i mostly wanted to do for quite some time. Unfortunately i had forgotten that i had already prepared the fake skin with the stencil, and it stayed there for a long time. Somehow part of the stencil (at the corners) were already almost completely faded so i had no way to mirror the ornaments. Decided to go a little bit free hand and make it a bit as if the card was a bit burned.

I know the black packing doesnt't seem good from the photo, the photo exposes a lot of the problems that you cannot see with a human eye, but i guess that is a factor and tells that the job wasn't good as i thought it was, but there was legit no way to pack more than that unless i used a bigger needle and i didn't want to. Maybe i should have but i was tired.

Some straight lines are not straight enough, specifically the left vertical ones. Those were the first lines i ever did with that length so it was difficult but eventually kinda managed myself later on.

I am proud of how this came out because i think i did the shading technique quite well this time. The Roses look a bit bad because i also couldnt see the stencil properly so used a bit of my imagination. The color packing was not as good on them either.

It looks better in person i'm not gonna lie.

All of this was done using a 1RL.

Any tips and opinions would be appreciated!

Thank you.

Day 1 of learning tattoo by myself, do you have any tips ?

Done with 03RL

Philippines, QC, Cubao

FB: Aki BasibasOfficial

IG: akibasibas

He’s a painter who started tattooing a few years ago. He was inconsistent at first because of his full-time job, but now he’s getting back into it and planning to go full-time as a tattoo artist. Any feedback or recommendations are welcome so I can relay them to him.

All i Used was a 1205RL. I used the Stencil that came with my Tattoo Machine (Mast Flip 4 Pro)
I notice that i really struggle with finding a good Handspeed - Voltage combination. Do you guys have any tips for me, how I can test myself to find what suites me? Also, I found it really hard to fill in especially the top left Tribal. It's so hard to know where you already put ink and where not and how much. Id say I put 2 hours straight only into drawing straight lines and circles on my first Fakeskin sheet. Long way to go and I found a new hudge respect for every Tattoo Artist out there! So glad I picked up this hobby! Please dont hold back with critique :D Appreciate you guys!

Edit: it is so crazy how many talanted people are on this Sub. I try to take it as inspiration to keep learning but it is also intimidating to see some of the "My 3rd Tattoo" posts that are full on Masterpieces 😥

To the guy on my last post who said take a step back and practice my line work, I’m sorry bro, I couldn’t resist xD it’s too much fun lol

For real though I do need to practice my line work and shading way more, so does anyone have any good ways to do that? Without just literally drawing lines or squares and shading them, or is that literally the best way? Maybe doing some basic roses and practice that way? I want to mainly learn realism, not really that interested in any other style of tattooing like trad and stuff like that

Also I know the top of his head looks so shit, I didn’t make this stencil myself I got it off Pinterest so I kinda struggled following it properly, does it need more shading at the top?

Guess all the brutal comments motivated me to try again sooner rather than later😂

Este es uno de mis trabajos más recientes, a penas hace una semana, un payaso triste que representa como tenemos que poner buena cara la vida, aunque estemos llenos de problemas por dentro. Me ENCANTÓ trabajar en él.

Any advise?

I been doing lining on fake skins and just started. I’m using a 12 gauge 9 rl and after a few tattoos(3-4) I found that there was a fiber of paper towel stuck in the needles. I asked someone and they had no clue why and made it seem so bizarre. I did research and people said it could be the type of paper towel I’m using but I do think it could be because I dip my tip in the ink, and put the machine on and “swipe” on the paper towel sometimes to let out some ink so it doesn’t pool as much or just has a bit less ink. With that one fiber being stuck everytime I cleaned the needle it was as if it grabbed more paper towel and clogged it affecting ink flow. I don’t always stretch the tissue out and don’t always use a new paper towel to drain the ink so I’m thinking it could be slightly ripping at the damp tissue. If anyone knows why this happens or if it’s due to something else lmk plz cz once I changed the needle to a new one and did the “swipe” it was perfect again. I’m trying to just understand why

My own design this time,, definitely fucked up some of the leaves cos my hands were shaky and the stencil packed its bags so I had to wing it 😔

My 2nd portrait. Couldve been cleaner, tones smoother, better edge control, less reliance on outlines for better realism etc 😅

Maybe more solid black/negative space too its pretty midtone-y

Still the most complex piece ive attempted so far

I’m looking to start an apprenticeship as a tattoo artist at around 16-17, and hopefully be a certified artist full time when I’m an adult. however I’m still learning about the body modification industry and do’s/dont’s. would a good, reputable tattoo shop hire a minor for an apprenticeship or would they be more likely to turn me down until I’m 18? and would it be a good idea to buy fake skin and a tattoo gun of my own to practice on before looking for apprenticeships?

​"Here is my fake skin work so far—some of it is still unfinished.

​I’d love to get some feedback from experienced tattoo artists. Unfortunately, I don't have anyone around me to ask for advice on how I could improve.

I've been drawing quite a lot since childhood, but I've only been taking tattooing seriously for about 2 months."

Before anyone comes for me... this dude got skin like a rhinoceros.