Ink Trails Tattoo Forum: 1/2 Sleeve - Ink Trails Tattoo Forum

I debated on taking this one on. I decided to go for it.





What really got me worried when lining mid tattoo was how soft and squishy his inner bicep and tricep are. It was really really stretchy and I struggled with how much I had to stretch the stencil. It was like tattooing a big fucking marshmallow. The curved lines in the flame part of the stencil were practically straight by the time I got a decent stretch. This was a tough one for sure, and humbled me quite a bit. Though I learned a whole lot about my lining technique. The line work had me worried, and I didn't feel good about my decision at first, but after seeing it healed tonight, and being able to get in there and doctor it up with shading, I feel really good about how it's going to finish up. I initially went in with a tight 9. I feel after fixing up most of the lines with shading, I can fine tune the lining with a bigger grouping, and all will be solid. If anyone feels I bit off more than I can chew, I can take it, but I honestly feel this is already starting to turn into a great tattoo. Paul is super stoked so far and the excitement in his eye tonight made me feel good about my decision to take this on.

If you look close, you can see the many lining inconsistencies, and some holidays in the black fill. It will be interesting to see how the fill heals up. I'll obviously go back in to take care of any holidays before I call this one finished. I've been warned about how difficult it is to get a good solid fill in larger spaces. I now see how it's not as easy as I thought.

>>>EDIT: AFTER A FEW COMMENTS WERE POSTED, I EDITED OUT A LINK TO THREE SEPARATE PHOTO'S OF THE TATTOO AND REPLACED THE LINK WITH A PHOTOSHOPPED MERGED PIC<<<

J.D., on Oct 14 2009, 12:15 PM, said:

It's got all the potential for being a classic example of an over-ambitious tattoo, but in the hands of a slow and careful chewer like yourself it'll turn out as good as it can be, because I can't imagine you settling for less

Nightmare before christams meets hell's kitchen, I love it!

looks pretty good ... if u like send me the pics in an email and ill make em look pretty together in 1 picture so u dont have it all spread out

gotta learn photoshop

looks good. but you should probably wipe the tattoo before taking the picture, too much glare you know.
Not much a fan of the artwork but thats just me. Good to see you're getting big ass pieces so soon. Gonna get better maaan

Not too much to worry about so far, should look good when finished,,,,as for worrying about your lining, always remember to trust your stencil, when stretching straight lines will appear bent, curved lines appear straight and so on, just follow them and it will all fall into place.

:Raises hand, feels this was over-ambitious:

The good news is that everything can be straightened out.
Did you sit him up to line this? When you go back into this again, lay him flat to line and to color. That way, you'll have the back of the bed to help stretch out the loose skin, and give you a little more confidence in your lining. The 'biker grip' just isn't cutting it. Remember to use barriers on the bed.

I would also recommend you to develop some line weight throughout this piece. You don't have to use a big ol' 9 blaster, just go back in with a 5 or 7 and sculpt the lines.

Moon, on Oct 14 2009, 06:01 AM, said:

Yeah, I realized I wanted some pics after I lubed him up. I didn't have the heart to wipe it all off just for a some pics of an unfinished tattoo, so I left the goop on.
I just got my hands on photoshop about a week ago. So I took your advice and just winged it. I edited my post with a merged pic. Took me about an hour. Thanks for the offer though Nerd. Much appreciated.

The art is based on this stuff:





We tried a few different options, and we decided on the art I finished and posted. I felt the same way Jabards commented. Kinda Nightmare before Christmas meets a my guy, Paul. He's a chef.

cHiKkEnLiPpS!, on Oct 14 2009, 10:21 AM, said:

Thank you for your honesty and the advice Chikken. Yes, he was sitting up. I'll lay him down next time, but don't worry about barriers on a bed. I'll lay him down on my massage table.

Thanks for looking y'all.

cHiKkEnLiPpS!, on Oct 14 2009, 05:21 PM, said:

Chikken is right about line weight but just be cautious trying it because you can over work lines easily doing that technique. You saw how careful I was when I was line sculpting all those lines this week end on the decorative parts of those butterflies. It can look good or be a horrible mess if done wrong and over worked. Along with cleaning up and fixing the lines that are going to fall out next time try not to use all black on your line work like in the fire and cauldron. Try using the color they are supposed to be.

Mario AKA mark, on Oct 14 2009, 12:40 PM, said:

As much as I respect Chikken's opinion and advice, I'm not skilled enough to sculpt this yet. I was in awe of your ability to sculpt such delicate lines with those butterflies. I just can't do that yet, and know better than to attempt it here. I'll get it in time, but won't be sculpting this one. I'll reline it when I've completely finished the shading. I'll be able to make good decisions on line thickness then. Thanks Mario.

I would say wait till you have the lining down solid. Afraid to say you really can't practice line sculpting with pig too well.

Mario AKA mark, on Oct 14 2009, 07:18 PM, said:

No, you can't.

i like it. it definitely is a real piece. now that you have the lines down, knowing what we know about you, you will only make it better from here. and it is good already. can't wait to see it with color. i know somebody mentioned lining with shaders in another thread and that is what i prefer to use for sculpting lines. i still use liners primarily for putting down the initial lines, but i found (as mario mentioned) that when sculpting with liners it was way too easy to overwork the line. while sculpting the lines with a shader makes it much easier to avoid overworking the line. jmo

inkling, on Oct 15 2009, 06:32 AM, said:

I don't know much about anything yet, as you know, but I watched my tattooist sculpting lines with a mag, and just using it like a calligraphy pen. Looked easy as pie! Dammit, lol. Anyway, thought I'd type that just incase it is somehow useful or relevant.

Progress update, session 3:


The black is still a little scabby, but you can see it healed patchy. I'll go back in and clean that all up later. I did the flames tonight. He tapped before I could get as much contrast in as I wanted, but I'm happy overall, and can throw in the dark reds after I see how it heals. Overall, I'm happy so far, and feel good about how this one's gonna turn out.

Chikken, THANK YOU! I layed him down on my massage table and stretching was a dream. Thank you so much for throwing some common sense my way. Thank you.

if this would have been posted by a different user i'm sure many of you should have rant about the bad linework and poor shading.

I don't know if it's the picture or the way it's healing but some of the black looks scarred.

bret, on Oct 21 2009, 01:49 PM, said:

hehe "unskilled tosser" ... well i'm not very much into forum fights so i won't give you much attention but next time try to know who are you talking about before writing, or somebody could easily make you look like a fool. about this tattoo, if you tell me the lines are correctly executed and the shading is ok, then it seems you are not the skilled one here. not that they are very bad lines and of course they can be fixed easily, but they do not look very ok to me. nothing personal about you JD, it just seemed to me that if this regular work would have been done by another one it would have received worst comments, i'm sure.

Fabio M., on Oct 21 2009, 05:40 AM, said:

The linework is no good. The black fill is no good. But that's been addressed, and I can doctor that up as I go along, or in the end. The pots are getting a few more gratients blended in there, so although I struggled with the stretch to get the ink in with the black, it's gonna smooth out with the added gradients. Chikken's advice on laying him down on the massage table to get a hold on his arm and get a good stretch worked absolutely beautifully with the flames, and I thought the flames gradients showed that. I thought the flames looked good, but if the forum feels they suck, then by all means, tell me. If I'm delusional, y'all need to tell me. Don't blow smoke up my ass.

pokerguy45, on Oct 21 2009, 04:54 AM, said:

There's no scarring. There are still scabs, but not enough to inhibit me going into the flames. Plus the black fill is patchy. That's gonna be fixed.

bret, on Oct 21 2009, 04:49 AM, said:

I thought about posting just the finished piece, but it's a work in progress, and I'm happy I posted, as I already got a HUGE piece of advice on how to handle looser skin by laying the person down instead of having him sit. To be able to get critiqued and pick up bits and pieces of advice, to me is worth y'all seeing the imperfections and fuck ups.

The gradients in those flames are beautiful.