Bringing the two together When tattooing it’s really important that we consider both. When lining for example, we want to move our hand at a comfortable and consistent speed for each line we do, that speed will be unique to you. We then need the machine speed to be fast enough that it creates a solid line and not just a line of dots.
Lets say we’re doing that same line again with the machine set at 1 volt (image 9). Again we took 2 seconds to complete the line but the needle now only goes in and out of the skin 10 times within that 2 seconds. That isn’t going to create a solid line,
instead you would have a row of 10 dots with spaces between them. Understand that tattoo machines create tattoos by going in and out of the skin and pushing in ink, so to create a solid line we need those dots to be actually over lapping each other. Having the machine running too slow means we would end up getting dots with spaces between them, however, if the machine is running too fast it would be going in and out of the skin too many times in the same place and could potentially cause damage to the skin! The key is to find out find what works for you and your hand speed.
Later, we can use this knowledge and understanding to create some awesome effects, for example stipple shading, but we will get to that later in the course. Hopefully the hand and machine speed makes sense to you, don’t worry too much if you don’t get it yet, this is just the first lesson! Now you aware of it and as we progress through the course it will naturally start to make a lot more sense. There is one thing that I want you to fully understand. Obviously, every tattoo artist is different. We are all going to work at different speeds and hold the machine and move our hands in slightly different ways. Also were all going to be using different machines that run at different speeds. So now I hope you understand that when watching other artists and asking what voltage they are using to tattoo lines is a complete waste of time! I get asked this question all the time and it just shows a lack of fundamental understanding of how tattooing works. You need to find the correct hand and machine speed that suits your style of tattooing. Copying someone else’s setting will never work for you. I have a video on my YouTube showing exactly how to find the right speed for you. It’s actually a really simple process when you understand the principles we have just been through and how hand speed and machine speed work together.
Stretching
This is actually a really simple one to explain and understand but I’ll be honest with you. It’s the one that most beginners struggle with and I think I know why that is. Because it’s simple! Usually when something is so simple it’s seen as less important, however when it comes to tattooing the opposite is true! I’ll start by explaining what stretching does to the skin and then hopefully you will understand why it so important. Then I’ll go through some different methods of stretching and also make you aware of some bits of bad advice I have seen all over the internet that just simply aren’t true!
So what do you think the skin does when the needle hits then penetrates it? Well as the needle hits the skin it pushes it down and causes the skin to bounce. When the skin isn’t stretched it bounces more, and the bounce isn’t consistent which means the needle is going to be going to a different depth all the time. Sometimes the skin will move a lot and the needle will barely penetrate the skin, sometimes the skin can move less and the needle would penetrate more. Well, as artists we want everything to be as consistent as possible, how can we minimise the bounce? Imagine pushing your finger into a balloon, if the balloon isn’t blown up much it has a lot of movement because the surface isn’t stretched, however if we blow the balloon up more therefore stretching the surface it is a lot firmer and doesn’t allow as much bounce.
As with the balloon by stretching the skin we can reduce the bounce. There is a lot of misinformation out there on the internet. I have seen countless videos teaching how to ‘correctly stretch the skin’ even videos stating that they teach ‘the only way to stretch the skin’. Believe me it doesn’t matter how we do it as long as the skin is tight. The only aim of stretching the skin is to keep it nice and tight and prevent it from bouncing as much as possible to keep needle depth as consistent as we can.
I’ll go through some of the most common ways of stretching and then it’s up to you to try them all and see which you prefer. It also depends on the body part you’re tattooing and the space you have etc. And of course the biggest factor in all of this is how stretchy or tight the customers skin is in the first place.
4 point stretch
One of the most commonly used stretches is the 4 point stretch (image 10). Here we use both the stretching hand and the tattooing hand to preform the stretch. It’s called a 4 point stretch because we have 4 points of contact which are all pulling away from the area to be tattooed. We use the thumb and fingers of the stretching hand above and below and we also have the palms or side of both hands again both pulling away from the area being tattooed. This is a very reliable way of stretching but the only down side I find is because you’re using both hands to stretch it doesn’t allow a great deal of movement with the tattooing hand so you have to work on relatively small areas at a time.
3 point stretch
Next is the 3 point stretch (image 11) which is basically the same as the 4 point stretch however this time without using the palm of the tattooing hand which obviously brings it down to 3 points of contact. This is still a very good, strong stretch and because were no longer using the tattooing hand it allows a lot more freedom and range of motion with the machine.
full palm stretch
The full palm stretch (image 12) is actually one of my most used stretches, however it does require a little more room around the tattoo so not the best suited for small areas for example down near the wrist. So to preform this stretch we just place the full hand near the tattoo. I usually go below when I can but you can also go either side or even in some cases above the design. And then just with the entire hand pull away from the tattoo area. This is obviously only pulling the skin in one direction and could be classed as a weaker stretch however, as pulling the skin tight is the only goal, if we can pull the skin nice and tight in just one direction and the ink is going in nice and smooth then this stretch can be equally as good. One of the things I love about this stretch is that it obviously allows total freedom of the tattoo hand but I always rest my machine on my stretching hand and use it as a support. For me personally I find this really helps stabilise my hand and I find it really comfortable.
grasp
This stretch (image 13), if you can call it that, is more of a grasp and I have only ever used it on the upper arm. When I have been tattooing this area and struggling to get a good stretch with one of the other methods I end up doing this. So instead of stretching around the design I grab a large area of the skin at the back and grip it quite tight, this causes the skin at the front to tighten right up. Not something I use all the time but when it’s needed then obviously the option is there.
So what do I want you to take away from this section? Well as long as your getting the skin nice and tight and your in a comfortable and stable position while doing so, it doesn’t really matter what method you use. I have seen enough artists at work and each have there own ways of stretching, tight skin is all that’s important. Well I hope these key areas are starting to make sense. It may seem like a lot to take in just to tattoo a line and yes it can sometimes feel that way at the very beginning however trust me, it will all become second nature to you a lot faster than you think! Next we going to be putting all the concepts into practice and actually tattoo some straight lines. Well done for staying engaged, are we all ready to grab the machine and get some tattooing done?
practical lesson
So in the last section we covered the main focus areas we need to think about when tattooing a straight line. The reason this is so important is because you need to have at least a little bit of an understanding of these concepts prior to grabbing and machine.
Everything will make more sense with this foundation to build on. Remember, I have put this course together in a very particular way. I want you to learn how to tattoo in the fastest and most structured way possible. In a way that makes sense and builds skill upon skill in a progressive manner. For me to bring the best out in you in the shortest time possible I need just one thing from you: Please follow the lessons from day one in order right through to the end. Don’t skip lessons. I believe that when anything is broken down into small enough segments and repeated over and over that anyone can learn almost anything and master that skill in a much shorter time. That being said Rome wasn’t built in day, please don’t expect to get everything perfect the very first time you try, but do have a little faith in the system I have created. We all love that feeling when we sit back and look at something amazing we just created and you will be amazed at the level of tattooing you can reach in a few weeks.
As I mentioned in the introduction before we start the practical part of each lesson we will need to get our practice station, template and machine set up. There are videos on my YouTube channel that explain all of this step by step and I suggest you watch these to help you get everything ready in the correct way before we start. And remember, to get the stencils all you need to do is sign up to my 30 day course (for free!) and I will email them to you. In these initial lessons I’m using my Sol Nova Unlimited, with a 12 05 round liner and solid black Dynamic ink.
step 1
So the first thing I want us to do is a little drill that helps us be more aware of a few things. This drill will help us with: needle location, understanding exactly where the needle is going to hit the skin, needle control and needle depth. This is super easy to do and
great at building a muscle memory in the hand. So first get our machines loaded up with some ink and dab a little ointment onto the area your going to be tattooing. Then I want you to move the needle slowly towards the skin and stop as soon as you feel that you have made contact or we can see a small pool of ink on the mat, then instantly pull back. The needle just touches the skin and enters the first layer (image 14).
