Guidelines for Giving Feedback
Guidelines for Giving FeedbackPlease consider the following when giving feedback on a member's tattoo:
Line work: Does the artist seem to have grasped the technique of applying smooth, consistent lines? Do the lines flow with no shakes, skips or blow-outs?
Fill: Are all color and black areas a consistent color?
Shading: Does the tattoo show smooth gradients and transition effectively from light to dark?
Color Harmony: Does the tattoo have colors that compliment each other?
Placement/Size: Does the tattoo seem to be the right size for the area chosen? Is it centered and lined up with any other work? Does it go with the flow of the body?
Design: How well does the overall design work? Does it have sound composition? Does it feel well thought out?
Feedback: What areas could be improved?
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I Need Some Advice... Really, what am i doing wrong? |
  Sep 20 2008, 03:43 PM
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#1
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so, here's a tattoo on my leg. i'm not looking for a critique on the tattoo(i see about a million things wrong with it!),
i'm wondering if someone can shed some light on what i'm doing wrong. i took this today after i tried to do some more work on it. there's red patches, obviously, and i don't know what i'm doing wrong. i think this is known as "scratching" the skin(making it red without laying ink). a little ink is going in, but not much. i've tried riding the needle, riding the tube, varying my handspeed, reading tuning manuals word for word, using different machines, using different strengths of wash, tightening the needle loop around the armature bar, using different hand motions, different taper needles, etc. i've also tried using different grommets, nipples, top hats... right now i'm at a loss. i'm sure it's something basic that i need to learn, i just don't know what. i feel like this is the only major thing standing between me and being a whole lot better. my lining is pretty decent, but when it's not so good i can tell what i need to work on; with this, i'm baffled. my shader is a crappy chinese machine, i know that it's not ideal but i don't think quality of machine could be entirely to blame. i also have a pretty good liner i've tried to use to shade with(after some tuning of course) http://www.americantattoo.com/searchquick-...c?keywords=atbd i'm using scream ink. i know that it's also not so great but again, i don't think that could be the eitire problem. in advance, i plan on using kuro sumi (i have starbrite colors), and buying a better shader. and yes, my leg is very white. This post has been edited by InKiN-CO: Sep 20 2008, 03:45 PM
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Sep 20 2008, 04:54 PM
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Well mate, about the only thing you haven't mentioned is what configuration of needle are you using, looking at other parts of the work, it looks like you are using a flat needle, are you holding your machine at the right angle? Try round shaders until you get the shading down pat. Have you diluted your ink too much? It may look black in the cup, but goes in light, so you have a tendency to then overwork the skin trying to get it darker.
But really it is hard to tell what the problem is here, unless you can get someone who knows what they are doing, who can sit down and watch you. |
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Sep 20 2008, 07:04 PM
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#3
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older newbie puttin in his two cents... are you getting enough ink to draw up into the tube tip?
-------------------- I'm only here because I'm not all there.
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Sep 20 2008, 07:22 PM
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#4
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could be a couple of different things... as pete said you didnt mention the type of needle or how you are running your machine. it could be alot of things... I didnt get my shading down until my machine was set for it and my power supply could power it correctly.
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Sep 21 2008, 10:19 AM
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#5
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there are to many vairibales to tell....could be angle, could be needles, no ink flow .....could be tons of stuff
one things for shure yur rippin yer self to all hell lol to me it seems like angle and lube.... a tad of vassaline and not as mutch angle as liner and make shure ya dont ding them needles.....but i would say draw more. -------------------- the more i get done today the less i got to do tomarrow.
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Sep 21 2008, 01:23 PM
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#6
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Agree that it looks like you're using flats.......don't. They suck. Use a mag....it's like night and day. Throw away the fucking crappy scream ink and the chinese machine. If you don't have a lot of cash, get a machine from Huck Spaulding. Not the greatest in the world, but for the money....it ain't bad. 'Cause actually, the machine could be part of the problem. Make sure you're keeping vaseline on the tat and make sure you have a constant good stretch. Watch your angles and depth.
Just me running my mouth. Take it for what it's worth. -------------------- Tattooing.................what else is there?
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Sep 21 2008, 01:49 PM
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#7
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QUOTE (Big Pete @ Sep 20 2008, 05:54 PM)  Well mate, about the only thing you haven't mentioned is what configuration of needle are you using, looking at other parts of the work, it looks like you are using a flat needle, are you holding your machine at the right angle? Try round shaders until you get the shading down pat. Have you diluted your ink too much? It may look black in the cup, but goes in light, so you have a tendency to then overwork the skin trying to get it darker. But really it is hard to tell what the problem is here, unless you can get someone who knows what they are doing, who can sit down and watch you. yeah, i forgot to mention that. i usually try to use 5m1's, i hear they're hard to overwork skin with. i've also used 7m1's and various round shaders. i have had more success with less diluted ink, but it's really hard to control it(even then though, it doesn't go in as easy). and i go in at about 45. i've also screwed with that and it didn't seem to make a difference. and yeah, i could probably get this all ironed out in about 5min with a tattoo artist one on one. i don't have an apprenticeship yet though, and i'm pretty sure that if i just went into a random shop and asked them, they'd tell me to get lost.(that's probably what i'd say if i was a pro. lol) |
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Sep 21 2008, 01:50 PM
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#8
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QUOTE (rocklife @ Sep 20 2008, 08:04 PM) older newbie puttin in his two cents... are you getting enough ink to draw up into the tube tip? yeah, i think i am. i know that you should ideally be sort of dragging a drop of ink on the skin, i can do that great! but sadly that doesn't seem to help. |
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Sep 21 2008, 01:53 PM
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#9
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QUOTE (Bones2008 @ Sep 22 2008, 09:23 AM) Agree that it looks like you're using flats.......don't. They suck. Use a mag....it's like night and day. Throw away the fucking crappy scream ink and the chinese machine. If you don't have a lot of cash, get a machine from Huck Spaulding. Not the greatest in the world, but for the money....it ain't bad. 'Cause actually, the machine could be part of the problem. Make sure you're keeping vaseline on the tat and make sure you have a constant good stretch. Watch your angles and depth. Just me running my mouth. Take it for what it's worth. you dont need vaseline, i dont use it its more of a pain in the arse then anything, as for your problem i have no idea you need someone to sit down with you and watch what your doing, could posibly be your machines running to slow for your hand speed so your dragging the needles against the skin, but thats just a random thought. |
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Sep 21 2008, 01:53 PM
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#10
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QUOTE (yone187 @ Sep 20 2008, 08:22 PM) could be a couple of different things... as pete said you didnt mention the type of needle or how you are running your machine. it could be alot of things... I didnt get my shading down until my machine was set for it and my power supply could power it correctly. i know my power supply shouldn't have any problem running my machine http://www.americantattoo.com/product.sc?c...mp;productId=13 that's it, and although it's not top of the line, i think it should do the trick. i'm almost positive my machine's tuned right, and i would think that with how much i've fucked with it, i would have tuned it right accidentally by now! lol |
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Sep 21 2008, 01:56 PM
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#11
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QUOTE (xXCaineXx @ Sep 21 2008, 11:19 AM) there are to many vairibales to tell....could be angle, could be needles, no ink flow .....could be tons of stuff one things for shure yur rippin yer self to all hell lol to me it seems like angle and lube.... a tad of vassaline and not as mutch angle as liner and make shure ya dont ding them needles.....but i would say draw more. i don't think it's a lack of vaseline. i've definitly tried that, it didn't seem to help, and made stretching the skin a pain in the ass. i also don't think it's a problem with drawing skill. if i could tat like i could draw i'd be running my own shop by now. |
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Sep 21 2008, 01:59 PM
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#12
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QUOTE (Bones2008 @ Sep 21 2008, 02:23 PM) Agree that it looks like you're using flats.......don't. They suck. Use a mag....it's like night and day. Throw away the fucking crappy scream ink and the chinese machine. If you don't have a lot of cash, get a machine from Huck Spaulding. Not the greatest in the world, but for the money....it ain't bad. 'Cause actually, the machine could be part of the problem. Make sure you're keeping vaseline on the tat and make sure you have a constant good stretch. Watch your angles and depth. Just me running my mouth. Take it for what it's worth. i'll definitly be gettin a new machine soon, i know it's junk. and i know scream ink is also crappy. i've looked at spaulding machines, and they look pretty decent. i've thought about getting the apolo from unimax. what do you think? |
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Sep 21 2008, 02:01 PM
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#13
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QUOTE (PainT'n'Skin @ Sep 21 2008, 02:53 PM) you dont need vaseline, i dont use it its more of a pain in the arse then anything, as for your problem i have no idea you need someone to sit down with you and watch what your doing, could posibly be your machines running to slow for your hand speed so your dragging the needles against the skin, but thats just a random thought. i've definitly considered hand speed but i've experimented with that a lot! and yeah, it's probably a lot to ask for people to figure out a problem if they don't know how i tattoo. i was just hoping that there was something little and stupid that i can't figure out on my own. |
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Sep 21 2008, 02:11 PM
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#14
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QUOTE (InKiN-CO @ Sep 22 2008, 09:59 AM) i'll definitly be gettin a new machine soon, i know it's junk. and i know scream ink is also crappy. i've looked at spaulding machines, and they look pretty decent. i've thought about getting the apolo from unimax. what do you think? i wouldnt recomend getting a unimax machine havent heard anything good from them you get what you pay for, and with the amount youve spent on crappy machines you could of invested in a real nice machine, get rid of the scream ink, save some money, its not a race, polish up your drawing while your saving and get some qaulity gear then see how you go from there. |
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Sep 21 2008, 02:41 PM
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#15
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I actually had the same problem and found it to be a combination of things, the biggest thing being my machine, next was my stretch and 3 was i wasent using vasaline, i find when the ink isnt going in i crank the power supply up, i used to try to dig the ink in which only fucks up your tat, your machine should do all the work for you, you really shouldent have to apply pressure to put the ink in
-------------------- I haven't failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work.[http://www.facebook.com/p/Marc_Chislett/623005117
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Sep 21 2008, 03:18 PM
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#16
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QUOTE (emcee2 @ Sep 21 2008, 03:41 PM) I actually had the same problem and found it to be a combination of things, the biggest thing being my machine, next was my stretch and 3 was i wasent using vasaline, i find when the ink isnt going in i crank the power supply up, i used to try to dig the ink in which only fucks up your tat, your machine should do all the work for you, you really shouldent have to apply pressure to put the ink in i don't really use vaseline. maybe that's where i'm going wrong. i've tried it before and it didn't seem to help and made getting a good stretch a MAJOR pain in the ass! i might try that again, maybe that's my problem. and yeah, another person has suggested getting a different machine. i think that's a good idea. and yes, i've tried applying a lot of pressure, and turning the power up. it sounds like i'm in the same spot you were in. i think i'll try working on the basics, maybe the problem i'm having will go away as i learn more about my equipment and get a better set-up. |
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Sep 21 2008, 03:21 PM
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#17
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QUOTE (PainT'n'Skin @ Sep 21 2008, 03:11 PM) i wouldnt recomend getting a unimax machine havent heard anything good from them you get what you pay for, and with the amount youve spent on crappy machines you could of invested in a real nice machine, get rid of the scream ink, save some money, its not a race, polish up your drawing while your saving and get some qaulity gear then see how you go from there. yeah, maybe a unimax isn't the best idea. i should probably get a forgiven, i've heard nothing but the best about his machines. do you think drawing is the problem? i've posted a couple of portraits on here and i don't really think that's the issue. but hey, i just started trying to tattoo and i probably don't know as much as you! |
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Sep 21 2008, 03:22 PM
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#18
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dude vaseline aint your problem, dont know why so many people use it, ignore vaseline focus on the other stuff, vaseline is definetly not a problem here.
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Sep 21 2008, 03:24 PM
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#19
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QUOTE (InKiN-CO @ Sep 22 2008, 11:21 AM) yeah, maybe a unimax isn't the best idea. i should probably get a forgiven, i've heard nothing but the best about his machines. do you think drawing is the problem? i've posted a couple of portraits on here and i don't really think that's the issue. but hey, i just started trying to tattoo and i probably don't know as much as you! nah i havent seen your drawing dude didnt mean to imply you needed to work on them just stating that it always helps to improove and if you sit back and save for good gear just practice hard on your drawing. |
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Sep 21 2008, 03:26 PM
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#20
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QUOTE (InKiN-CO @ Sep 21 2008, 03:18 PM) i don't really use vaseline. maybe that's where i'm going wrong. i've tried it before and it didn't seem to help and made getting a good stretch a MAJOR pain in the ass! i might try that again, maybe that's my problem. and yeah, another person has suggested getting a different machine. i think that's a good idea. and yes, i've tried applying a lot of pressure, and turning the power up. it sounds like i'm in the same spot you were in. i think i'll try working on the basics, maybe the problem i'm having will go away as i learn more about my equipment and get a better set-up. yeah i didnt use to use vasaline for the same reason but then someone told me how important it is to clearly see what your doing and to help the needle glide along the skin better, just apply a very small amount of vas to the area you are immediately gonna tattoo, like and area 1" by 1", when your finished tattooing that spot spray your paper towel and wipe off, make sure you flip over the piece of paper towel so you dont smear more vasaline on the tattoo the next time you wipe, you can get away with vasalineing up bigger areas and wiping less as long as your strectching hand does not come in contact with the vasaline, if it does, spray your hand and wipe clean with fresh paper towel, id unno if this makes sense, but after a year of tattooing ive found this is what works best for me. -------------------- I haven't failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work.[http://www.facebook.com/p/Marc_Chislett/623005117
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