elliesmyth

[elliesmyth]

Dot work / geometric design

[elliesmyth]

Bold tattoo design

[elliesmyth]

Neotraditional tattoo design.

Neotraditional is a style of tattoo design that features bold lines and a contrast of thin lines with highly saturated colours. It has a feel of dimension without being exaggerated or 3D.

It consists of a bold colour against more muted tones. Neo trad has a larger colour palette compared to American traditional.

It is influenced by art nouveau, Art Deco, and Japanese art.

[elliesmyth]

American traditional tattoo design

American traditional is a style characterised by its clean black outlines, vivid colours (red, yellow and blue), and minimal shading.

It is a bold and iconic tattoo style that depicts women, daggers, roses, wolves, skulls, ships, anchors and more.

It represents a uni era in mankind’s connection to tattooing, paying homage to the tattoos they’ve descended from.

This is my attempt at an American traditional tattoo design. Incorporating the thick lines with bold colours.

[elliesmyth]

Colour packing.

This is my attempt at colour packing, my design is unfinished at the moment but it was an experiment with colour.

When colour packing it is best to use small circular motions with a magnum shader or round shader. And again starting with the darkest shades same as shading. Once the darkest shade is packed into the skin, you can go over it with the lighter shades without affecting the pigment. When tattooing on real skin it may be harder as the skin will already be sore.

[elliesmyth]

Here is another attempt at tattooing on fake skin.

With this design I plan on adding colour. So I chose my design and drew it in procreate, creating two designs. One for the stencil and then one finished work colour as my reference for when I tattoo the colour.

I created the stencil myself by printing out the design and using the transfer printer.

I chose a 5RL for the main lines and a 3RL for the tattoos on the bear as they are smaller lines.

From my first attempt on fake skin I can already see a massive improvement in the steadiness of my lines. There are a few places where you can evidently see how I have gone over the lines, but that is something I can work on.

[elliesmyth]

Tattoo design on fake skin 2

To begin I drew my design using a mechanical pencil and then later drew over it in procreate to create a stencil to transfer to the fake skin.

This was my first attempt at shading using a tattoo machine. When shading it similar to using a pencil, you create the darker shades first and keep the highlights till last, especially if you are using white ink.

From this attempt I can see I need to work on where the shading meets the line so there isn’t a gap between. Also I think I went in quite heavy too fast meaning the lightest areas could have been lighter. I am really pleased with this and found that a flicking motion is the best when shading.

[elliesmyth]

tattoo design on fake skin

this is my first design i tattooed on fake skin. using my design that i had drawn up. i went through the whole process of creating a stencil and using the stencil primer to transfer the design. i found it difficult when i started tattooing because as youre wiping the excess ink away, the stencil begins to fade and you lose some of the lines. luckily having the original design next to me helped me continue. i used a 05RL (round liner) to begin with for all of the lines, and then decided to go over with a 07RL to darken up the lines. for the thinner lines in the leaves i used a 03RL liner to get the finer details. for my first design on fake skin i am really pleased with this. i have a lot to improve on where i am going over the lines to thicken them up. also where i lift up from tattooing a line and go back in, i need to try and be more precise so there isnt any overlap.

[elliesmyth]

first fake skin practice

for my first practice using a tattoo machine i used a variety of different needle groupings to tattoo some lines and shapes on fake skin to get a feel for the machine and experiment with. 

as you can see i have tried the different needle thicknesses, i found that with a thicker gauge needle you can get a smoother line for someone who is not confident with a tattoo machine. i also experimented with trying where lines meet and circles. you can lift up of the skin if your hand doesnt feel strong enough and then go back in again on the same place, this was something i found hard at times to match up completely to where i lifted off from the line. 

[elliesmyth]

needle groupings

round liners - these come in the the format 07RL for an example, this would be quite a well rounded needle, the finest being 01RL which is a single needle liner, going up to thickness of around 18RL

round shaders - these come in the format 3RS and go up to the thickness of around 18RS

magnum shaders - these come in the format 7MG, 9MG, 23MG to name a few. these are two layers of flat needles

curved magnum shaders - these come in the format 7CM, 9CM, 11CM, 13CM to name a few

flat magnum shaders - there are flat and only one layer of straight needles. these come in the format 04FS, 05FS, 13FS 15FS to name a few

[elliesmyth]

setting up tattoo machine / station

this is the tattoo station that needs to be hygenic due to health and safety standards. to begin the set up you get a pair of gloves out the drawer and using the detol spray, spray the surface and place a layer of cling film over as protection. 

using eco tat you cover the clip cord for sanitary purposes, eco tat is biodegradable. then using grip tape you cover the tattoo machine to make sure there is nothing showing and is fully covered by the tape to secure the clip cord cover.

you have the foot pedal plugged in to the other output on the power supply. 9 vaults is an average amp to have the machine on. this will vary depending on various designs and methods of tattooing.

you will have a spray of detol mixed with water and green soap mixed with water which will help clean the skin when tattooing and is an essential. these are both wrapped in eco tat again for sanitary purposes.

taking a tongue depresser and ink eeze (lube for skin to help wipe excess ink). use the ink eeze to help stick down the tongue depresser to the surface and use the ink eeze to keep the ink pots in place which will sit on the tongue depresser. 

when setting up it is helpful to have a needle tray so when swapping between different needles they are easily accessible when needed.

when setting up the bed / chair, it needed to be wiped down with detol and then covered in a plastic sheet specifically for the beds, this is then taped down with micropore tape (medical tape).

[elliesmyth]

stencil process

when creating a stencil it is best to print a variety of different sizes off so the customer can choose their preferred size when holding it up to the placement area of the tattoo.

this is my personal design i drew in my free time as a tattoo i may want to get. i decided to use this as a practice when learning about the stencil machine (thermal machine). 

this is the thermal paper that is used to create the stencil with the printer. so you begin by taking the extra sheet out of the thermal paper and loading face up into the top of the machine, line up the design that was printed off making sure it is face up place in the slot closest to you. you then press copy whilst holding the stencil paper tort whilst the design is feeding through. 

the design will then be transferred on to the white piece of the thermal paper. this is then ready to be cut out and used as a stencil.

when placing a stencil on skin, it is best to cut sections in the paper so it can curve around any place of the body and it wont crease. 

firstly you need to shave the skin area using a disposable razor. then using a detol spray mixed with water, you need to spray the area and wipe making sure the skin is clean. then using stencil primer you take a small amount of work into the area that is about to be tattooed. once this is spread on the skin you can get your stencil and place it in the certain area, then using a pad of tissue pat down firmly to help the transfer stick to the skin. then peeling off the stencil carefully, you then need to leave it to dry for around 10 minutes so when you begin tattooing it doesnt wipe away.

this is my first stencil placed on to Katie’s skin. i was pleased with this as a first attempt, for next time i think i will need to use less stencil primer to lesson the amount of smudges and amount of ink that has been transferred.

after leaving this to dry for 10 minutes that would then be ready to be tattooed.

[elliesmyth]

tues 25 jan

Tuesday was my first day of my placement. today was mainly based off getting to know the other artists in the studio and learning where everything is put and what materials are used in a studio. there are 7 artists and is a mainly female based studio. 

luckily enough i have already purchased my own tattoo machine as i am so passionate about a career in the industry. this has enabled me to be able to practice as much as possible in my own time as well as being able to bring it in to the studio during my time on this placement to be able to practice next to a trained tattoo artist. 

[elliesmyth]

This is going to be my blog platform for my work experience journey I will be completing over the next few weeks. Luckily enough I have the opportunity for my work placement to take place in a tattoo studio which is based in Coventry. The studio is called Tattooed Llama and is full of various self employed artists, I’ll be working alongside a friend of mine - Katie. She has been tattooing for around 3 years now and can cater to many different styles depending on what the customers want, her personal favourite being colour work.

Tattooed Llama studio ^

Some of Katie’s work ^

[elliesmyth]

Hello!

This is my first attempt at creating my very own blog! This is where I will share posts of my sketchbook pages, ideas, finished pieces of work, photographs, anything art related basically. This will be my first year studying at Birmingham City University where i am studying Illustration. I hope you're as interested as me to be on this journey to see where creativity takes me.

These are a few images of my favourite personal work.