· MI -

Perspective &: History

Placing images on the human body is hardly

a new' craft, but the recent popularity of tattoo art seems to have reached critical mass. You can barely turn on the television, open up a magazine or view a stranger's ann without seeing evi-

deuce of this trend.While th art has earned rhe a,cceptance of the public and adoration of InaI~y it is a form of artistic and ritual illustration rhar has survived t01: thousands of years, SOI.ne historians point ('0 a. period that may

One of the nzal1ycoimfiti tattoos you1l set! :t'tlustratcd in this book this pisto! andjlow{!r tlrrangrfHU!nt has hem pla.{;,e.din a su.btle location.

have been ~ ~ar back as 12000 Be when the fil's.ruse of ink-on skin was seen" The record books aJ€ a; bit .dtel:lChy that far back} but there is evidence many ,€_:ady civilizatlons used this technique to mark the flesh. The word tattoo, is

takEn from the Tahieian word "tatu, n~, 'which n1C;}nS mark something, early tattoos were EO

used to imt1j,fate ~ person's: status, drill Ieve] or availabilitYa6 a mate, The Egyptian people were
some of [he flrst
as 2000 B(~.

use' inks co mark human He h'l and the practice traveled to China as early
00

Tattoos were used by the Greeks to show the pmHciency of their spies) whilethe Romans illustrated their slavesand criminals, Many

rimes) sin~,e women of other [aces wore ink to indicate their availability (0, single men and the married WtUl1€ID wore ink to. do. the same After

As ifgetting tattoo u}or:kwasn't strar~ge ,e1.lO,'ugh in the

do the n.eedle work must haue bean ,a real oddzt.J" Rich "Tyro') Polldck
1930s.. hav,ing.1l nak,ed man

takingrhe h.ead of an ,opponent, a Dayak soldier would receive a tattoo. on his hand to illustrate
his prowess as awarrior, Western culture also used tattoos to highlight a variety of classes, and the Danes and Saxons were alnong those who had family crests tattooed onto their flesh ..

Of course with any popular trend; there

be those who stand against it, 787 AD saw the

'w~n

A ni~ofpmud td;ttO(t recipients POSt!:> to show off lbdr ;'l~ and ha,ving two uomen wetiring sanoos in IDe ~lUne i'oom mi:at h.a.1Jt been quite Tare. Pollack

han. of tattoos hail from Pope Hadrian, and Britains use ~'ould cease afte.r the Norman Invasion of ] 0.66. Mter existing and thriving for tho usands of yea rs, western cui rure would 11at see tattoo an again until after the 16th century. Fast £orward to tbe lareer pan of the 17005 and we find Captain Cook making his journeys toO the south Pacmfi.c"and returning with tales of illustrated people, After one of his sojourns he

The birth of 'the 1900s saw tattoos faU into

'the dark: shadcwsagain. People wanting to have .one added ro their skin needed to travel to the
seedy underbelly of the dty to find an artist,
overall the art

form once

again became some-

thing of a black art. The only people thought to he desjring such a thing were criminals and thugs. This was .UOt really the case, but the stereotype gJrew. B,euy Brodbenr was the "tatd h irein tooe dladv" anc rna de h way' tho .rougt _Iifei .a y .er [he fie·ak show of Ringling Brothel's Circus in the 19305., As popular as her pa.rt of the show was) it was h.a~·dlyconsidered something for a
proper woman to

V.,S. Soldiers heading overseas to do battle in

the Korean) or European, conflict often wore art

do.

showing, their dedication to a. loved one or their combat unit . .Although completed in typicaUy

.As OrIC'of the main attractions in the' Ringling B:rO'thers circus, Betty Brodbenr earn,ed a place in duri h' ,....J 'S. rsc h',tstor]' ··.urzng t., e 191,f}'O-'~ R:,"h'- i.J1ro J~l::l/'r'--k' .'.ouacs
{;{D '.

brought home a Polynesian native who was heav-

ily

and this seemed to re-ignite people's desire to get '[heir own. Of course one needed to be discreet 'when making "this decision and even tattooed,

more discreet when having, the work done.

As ineriguing as having. their ,own tattoo may have been back then, the process was nowhere near as fast or comfortable as coday's work" With a hand-formed needle being 'tapped by hand into
the skin) the process was arduous and quite

painfuL Taking
electric pen

at

due from Thomas Edison's

mar 'was used to mark paper pat~

terns, Samuel O'Reily patented the first electric: tattoo machine in 1891. This revelationmade the prooess far less painful as wdl as providing greater control ofrhe ink when held in skilled hands,

Although sailors getting tattoos 'Wits not U'1'lUflJIl~ ,having ,a iooman do the w()rle W{f..S prohdbly a b.itlJjf thl!beaten path. .Rich "Pyre" Pollack

simple"fQ,ym, t:bese bits 'Of hand 'crafted art ,providedt daHy reminder of whar they were proud

of.
After~the'Second World. War ended, tattoos once aJgaill found themselves 'being pushed into rhe dank!, dark shadows of American culture, Even r li Jlf W:3S known for his reclusive life

s,rrJe, George Fosdick was one of the most celebrafedinkmasters Though Georg~ died in IM6. his ~ege;nd lives on todayin the hist-ory boob [nd tales 'Of yesteryear .. Past forwa.rd 'to the newmillennium, and we find the art of tatroos once again becoming a

hugtly popular method of displaying your

1

own

p:e:rsona[colors.. Anyone curious about the P'f'0CrtsS hoping 130 learn more about those iJlVo~ved,-need only turn on the television) or

vi8'iu their lacru news stand. A variety of lprograms that chronicle some of tadar's most limcms artists can be Vc~ewed 011 any given nigh of dle week. The tattoo an may be somewhat muddled by the required on-screen drama of eadl ep]sode;;. but they reveal one level of the modem tattoo arena."
7ftjti~'ga cLuefi~om
t

Alth.ough he~foJly clad for this tattoo, bis sh.op looks to be less tha~nsterile, judging by the dirty sill that . R· h' ' .1.ryro R~l'l .'L w'oman is state d Ofl..Jt: ... ~(D ,'. ouace
j~

lh'(}ma&Edisoris electric b ,,,,,,.4.,.' 'u',,,·,d·t., m ark o ... r~'~ <1'# ~~~t.

';"h'tr

papel' pattel ns,

1891.

Semue]

01?ei~pqtentf1d the first electric tatt'()() machine in

One of [he best and most effici,en, ,vays to expose yourself to the universe of tattoo artists is. Ito visit '" co rive nrion ,0f [ili1''''' a "_" hundreds that criss-cross the country each year, the H,dl City Tattoo. Festiv,aI is rated as one of the best by critics and tattoo fans alike, The 2006 event 'was heid in Columbus, Ohio and was ,expec ed to draw near .. Iy 8000 people through the doors ..Once insidevrhey could visitwith almost 60 ,different tattoo anises f:1"ol1'1 across the country~ Many people waited months, or rears:) .for their opportunity to be inked by theiat' favorite out-of-state anis,t,while others were forced to stand by and 'watch, as time was Iimited. '~'llk' ng the aisles of artists, vendors and related craftsmen gives you ,9.\ real sense of 'what can be achieved once you've decided eo get some work done, There appears to 'be no limit to the, creativity
iI,:},I.. , _.J;, '. ··,IF' -_ -_ .•. 'c'

I:.~

,""""

17w1 main jZc)'or'of'the Hell City 1k,ttoo Festiv4~ held in ,Columbus" Ohio~ was action paclud with v'tnrlofJ' of flit stripes.

and, dare I say, depravitY' of some of the artistsv Not

everyone is happy with ,a smiley-face tattoo" Even the decor of the site was taken fron) carnivals of the past, wLh colorful banners hawking the circus enterrainers in their finest display of oddity. Tattoo con ... tests; educational seminars and filUll i-media displays are' all ~1part of the show) and 'make it aworthy event for anyonewith curiosity about the craft,

With the main jl(}orparkeil additionalartist: lJnd vendors could bejinmdo1l .the b:aicon), O1Jerlool?i11g the main floor:

to

The three day event indudes a variety of things

sse .and do, including the Hock City section for th€' kids., Chns Sablone
[0

and DJ!l rb Morrison are the gende:111enwhoput on the shQw, ::J;J,lid their 5 tli have annual spectacular set for August ~f 2007 in PhO~I::IiK~Arizona. As history has proven, rhetattoo has been scorned and mdo'[,ed by many~ bu t remains a popular choice for those wanting '[0 wear their eolers permanently Created on-site at .the Hell Cit), Festiual was this 1tUlrgay cat arttoo rk.

This C/}lorfolmacaw was created'in Horida and is just one of the many styles of'ink youZljiru:! in this book.

11

Larry Brogan
Tattoo City
With hisinterest in art beginning at a very young agel peopleknew that Larry Brogan would follow some path in that arena; they just weren't
respected in the industry, and the: walls of bi~ Sb.0PI Tattoo City; are covered in trophies} plaques and awards from shows and magazines. While he h~ 'his portfolio walking around on the streets" the in-store awards are one '\vay for a person WI gauge' his success.

sure which

Of ie,

He studied. an in both high schcol

and college, and went on to begin doing tattoos over 16 yeatrs ago. His work has become well

With a well earned reputatio» as a tattoo artist: whO' works in the horror field Larrys latest ,effort was to create a ~'7eafmar/~ characterfor his client..Wlth Halloween a strtrngjactor., and an image offiu:k Nicholson fm- impimr
cion)..Larry sketched (jut then put to skin this highly detailed black andgraJ1 piec« 12

· a big Nilil :ij{ the Halloween season" had inSJJrnM(~d.Larry to create a "leaf mad" next bit &f lFl~. 'Walking from some refer~'"J,,""".Fl~""~

~"UjIU"""

!'l!'''&Ii'''~

inci1JJ.jing one taken from a popular movie,tatry ~ketdted up the illustrarion. this basic drawing shows us his. abiliry to erein a {In, ,ilmtrrJ:1eDS'ion.,al form, but this is only of the ke0elrg W.h~11it comes to (he actual Fm.mki,e 1e\t~®d the drawing, and after a 1 SlllggsS1ilDllS they selectedthe proper locahi's 10wef l~ :fO.r the needle work. h: was 00 ifJ«' a ~la9!k and g;ray piece" and ] wonhl)w l!bfement ,h,e process would be when were1\10 &1@i~~liS mn the finished, tattoo. Oncefranlbi:e~s leg was prepped. and shaved, tral1rsferreiiti1le: image 'to his skin. A few fina]

Findi.ng this image on the internet, Larry used the

grimacing focial fiatures asa guide when drawing his own illustration.

up

a felt 19 "en eompleredthe required lines ::end Ltiry was ready to get [0 work,
putJvin~,a&il!i"l,e needle [0 the skin, he always ,the .m"1!~lill~S Qf the hardware through a. jew}i:¢ sawstbal: even rhe factory-sealed,
_~lIl'~A IlU1;tlU~

L~ nave bent or U'L k d" nps, .' nooxe _. a lot of paint :and resultingin a lower quality

't~tlil

if aft. with the-shrupness ofthe selected 7

mag me_edll~ 8€lrs,he loads them into [he ma.m.ilRle'S.- hvqr used a! disposable tube for 13 ma!~fi,e~ml'€ because he was running of (h~ sooe~ Fi,es ~ that can carry the bigger set. uses, tIh_(S~ ,djwo6able tubes when traveling a'S'a W~f '00 (keep his flying weight down, av;pi<11 a~iJil~, drag homea bunch 0 fused n tQ tJJr0:r~. nil this beiiRS mae fir.s,t blackand gray piece .I uked what Ith.a.nges in the process be used. The layen;~dlook of the leaf man's would re~l!li~ lIJine facial. features to be darker tl\e U~weFl1fiJ.0Sl1! would be a. bit lighter for No bla~ @uttJiilJ:i1e was used on the face .and i:IIhtsu:uion.,only shadingand contours define ~brat~~I!:!Eion. fe\\" of the upper leaves A gtt an &tttliwlt, if only [0 set it a.part f~om, ill higllfeclide6nirion. ith a GGj'" d 6u; eriginal sketch as well as at of, ~ m1S)vi.estar's grimacing face, Larry needles 001 ~t2Irk. Beginning around the lips, and 'lms~,tb sa:ape of the faoe quickly rakes
n

After a few minor chan~es to the skt,tch) Larry tes.ts

the size andplacement on Fr_a1'lk-ie~ l~g.

II._W~~,I:&& ]

......

-L' ...

Now seated' in-the chair" Larry ,'reps the area to be' ink:ed by wiping it doton with ctctl1'tsing soap prior to shaving the' calf 13

With th,e ,trllnsj--er p.aper removed we can see the ink blue lin:es that w_i Ii guide' L.a.rry ,throu.gh the process.

This blat~k'and gt:ay tattoo willlNt pro:du,ccd using only 2' needle sets" and' each is pre-lo.adedintO th~~,
own machine before the process b.egins.

Larry spends a few minute: making sure ,that ,every line of the piece is ens)!.to see' before getting started

A 7 mag set b,egins the basic work ,oj,me piece~ lh_'f very little' ,(),tttlining will be done due to th.e bittd'
and gray emoork that is scheduled,

and uses a filt tip p.en to ,add missing lengths of line.

••• •
'

A mt),lded trI:tJ holds ,htl hlack ink in 'place tIS well as the thinner shades of gray that will be employed dari'n,g th.e 'w:()'rk.,

Lan,; has b,egun work artJund ,tn.egrinning ,moiJpoj the leaf man and shades each area ctl,refolly tollflilti up the' shadow! tu~d shapes.

14

JlII'IIOU'i'll':l

\Vh~IDIwJ.!)rkil)g in the black and gray .s:~ie, deffinilii@ll.e£slup e and contour tills place 81aw1yas to. avoid turning any area into a refb~a€k. Sm·all sections of ink were J.nstlJI!€~1 lea.vlng behind a subtle shape that would imm'i n.;~arly 3~dimensional fo rm as he p £0)]'jlf! eups of ink were .fH led with a pure ~,~J!l as: a few rhat were thinned-out with
l

cer: ~r dl€ gray in-between shades, Given this

Jimit.t4lILMrn.g~.of density; I was surprised to watch as the rattiiOOllQMe to Hfewn ever-expanding derail, H villgl~aliAedabout eight tattoos ago not to ask qu.tstiml~s; 'Q,lfwhy something was being done, it was ama.zi~ at) see Larry work: his magic using onmy

shaH @J Mack.
rtq1;lil'~f,J., Lany

Even lacking tbe usual black outline we can quickly see the 3-dim'ensi.o'n effects of Larry} ink work.

40 "rutimre the depth. and definition he

also 6Ued in several well pb!;ced
areas~ltr~li nearly pure: black to make them appeal' as bad~Wf'areas among the highly detailed. Ail I toldhim during thework I'd be happy to be able to am..w.with such clarity and detail, let alone translate It in~m rattoo, As they say on TV" don't try thisat !i
bomt..

ftlkw breaks, were taken during' the' prooess, out

the ltl!t~ W0rk still progressed quickly and the tartoo c00kfJil mere life with ev:ery passing siting' of th netdlts. iPranki;e~s iscomfort seemed to be highd ~ tdlera~ £ro'f about 950/0 of the work, only sq'UirDlim~ ·,._~m:um certain sections of the calf were darlrem:ed.M()t being a beginner at geu~ ng new ink, behad bteJnready for whatever level of pain might oaol[i.~ in .aUhe said rhar other pieces he 'wears
WeJl

Holding the leg meat of Frankie' tllught~ Larry CQn ..., tinues to apply small sections of black andgray ink.,

Lntefl$biy asdle continued to an the needles" place ihe ink mtd wi,p'e away the excess. Every once in av hj), he would wipe the work dean to reveal his

&'1' Wfl)rse., tali. wedted. .steadily, and the piece grew in

progrnss,,ud that wou~d tell him mor-e clearlywhat

n_m
00

lJe addressed. His eye £0[0 detail was

2S[OUD~n..] he as

saw and added small bits that did-

~Eehe guide lines, When placing the 'transfer onrr0hj~l~",Larry left room for the next lnstallarioo bich wiU be an evil jack-o-lanrern that will
WJ1J1ef

on Frankie's calf required. him to change ruts posi [ion often so Larry could reach every

me pJI~e:nt

rut eeen i&l1lalll be required. The size of the art and to

/IeG.tJe between the leaves of this mythical creature.

Small details (In' added as thetedioIls prOtess moves along; ,exposi'ng mare and mor« of the epidural

IS

The [a t eo0 required nearly seven hours inthe chair, but in the end. al] parties were very satisfied with the results, It woukitake another week to tell days for the piece to heal completely, but the imm~

diare ·effects:ofLarrys talented hands were obvious, During creation of this tattoo, several people came into, or called the shop inquiring about get""

me

Shiading ttroufl,d th.eeyc$' willenh.ance

the uacan« ,(}rhs

ting W'O[k:. done, Sadly-for them, Larry had to explain that he was hooked fur nearly 2 monrhsin adlvance. This long lead time is ,on~y OlH~ more Wa'J to gauge the talents ofa gifted artist fi:OlU [hose; who may s!t:Ulbe learning (he crafcBeeween rhe awards in. his shop, and the amount ofea:g~r di~nt~

that 'will b'e highlighted in a later step..

waiting

00

receive his work it was obvious te me

that Larry has earned alr0p spot in the crowded

world oftattoo artists,

The evil gri,mac(J of the piece begins to talr'e shape as Larry $,tep.'S ack to review hisw()rk so fo}"., b

16

shades of black tIJ!lcl.gray.while those toward the top of/hi piece toilt r~tJ(!Je into lighter levels.

Thr il!tl'lles TIf1tlr the face will be done in d:arke1'

An area it], b,etween some of'the leeues will be much darker to enhance the depth of the piece.

Subdt!tfJntoursq/ifitch leaf must be' built-up slowly

to alJ(jUtm'ning (flO dark and appe.a.ring
lJniy

The sh.ado'wyarea behind's(}.me of the ft011:tat leaves

will create more lift when the tattoo is complete.

as

blttck chmrps.

Anotbrl' ttcp baek foo,m .the wort? sa for reveals Larry~ pogrtJS (ff1:d gives: Frankie lzl)1',iejrespiu from the sringhtg ner!dle!.

USing the wider 13 ?nag needles" Larry turns the machine sidetiJll:Ysto create a zhin detail wi.th the

bigger irtstru'!lUtnt. 17

Not sU"'C if'they

leaves 0'- Jil!lebztr,~7J~ bu,t Larry turns his attention to the fowlng lines ,thtU surr()1-~nd t.he m'outh.
art!

The areas' of p'l!me .black will contrast n_ice6i agai'lft the lighte~ more detailed' sections oftbe ,w{)r/e~,

Smudges of black i},'J,/r soon turn into amazing under the conirol of Larryls talcnte,d ha'1.lds ..

det:ails

Lanys ,efforts are' rtu)t.trded with a section of the fo€c ,that seems to be almost phot()grttphic' in its detail"

Certain areas a/the tattoo ere corn.pleted with long sweeps of tile needles win'ie S{l112e equire smaller r

Again~ the large,'; 13 'l'JItag ne,edle is bigge,.,. s,~grne1Zt of the art.

l:{£(!d

toftll ill a

movements.
1.8

Moping tDwan:ls tht, central regio''fl of the tattoo,

Lany c.()ntinlJc'S create eacb leaf in small steps for to t/~greatest r.qalfsm.

The' ongoing detail WI) rk on the leajjl flCf! continues and we can see how Larry} carefit! steps have created

a layered look on the flat

stu/ace.

fomy

To my unt1'ained ~JeJ>the initial stepS' always look

CJ"ttlil,

bu: will quickly develop into terriflc

Once ,agairl;the e.dg(!ofthe larger 13 mdg needle is used to create a thi'n line ,of ink.

deMil

Titnling,the width ,o/the 13 1nag l'leedles one way or fllJtJihtR' allo'ws Lt1r1]~ crease a 'l!.ariety of tine to widths.

~ can now see the ,beginnhzg of'Larrys efforts to go' from dark to light leav:es as he movies upwa;r:cis 011, the
tattoo"

19

TO.augment and accentuate the lower sections, more ,black ink is used to define the sbadoios.

U'iing bath sh.ading and outlining' ensures that the

upper leaues are set apa1~trom those lower on the f piece.

Making sure chlit the eyes of the leaf man stand out; a layer.of white inie' is used so highlight the vacant

The leaves that' will be seen against the emptjl skbA are to be' outlined as wellfor better d~finiti(Jn.

orbs.

Unlt'ke the lower leaues, the upper ,bits will be outlined in black so compensate for' their lighter shade
when filled in. 20

Slowly we see the ,blue guide lines being l"eplaced GJ

the permanent ink.

i:n:g two women ki$~b;.tgwh1ke'they smtdd:le a fu'a~hine-g1l!;n,., . Whit/I imll'f!'ovwints do ypu see .tamingi·n. tbe· tat,...
t'()()

i;ndust:ryt .

Tke .maahin¢s ~kem;selv~s're only· gLQxiije-d door a ·l!~H.s).acnai I a:oil,t see Mum cb.:an:ging4n ihrat :tega.citt FJ.ies.m, atld Tl2'.'id.ly talen:tedl artists" ar-e, malE.; itl~ a big· di£fer~n"e ~tI!o1llgh) as rhey .im.prove the "X~y p'€QP,I~.Sie~. f€u'~ of ~t as just that. etlr Tell us ,a.bout la:ttt),fJ Cif!j BOlJ,:F X6aI$ ake.1f! tarcin&, I wanted to open. my s own.shop~ r foun:d;this .laC~tj;on'for .rent, we
in 19'~4!~ hi~ ,se'Pttln:d -se'ction 'Of the busjn'es~ T ope:ned 'in 2'004, tlflJ.i caters mote to, the0ustom cltsip'e~, and. crear~a in.~. have :3 other artists wot:king her€, ,2' tQ,u:C4UgOS and one 6)'l" pietdngs. Ylha.t M'ind,()fa.rt 'baikgr.aundd(),:!:(!ttc.htwe?· I was dra,~.ing tM,in,s. ,even as' ,a kid.and' ·t.l1),dka ton. ·'Ofa'ft classes, j~n.hight. s~htlQl and colh::~, I

b~,

ana

w.~

never ."got~ farmaI' ·de.gfee~.bu t $tHl· create paintings

and i'lhillstmtibns :@aMidle ·df th€ tateoo wo.i5td. ..·

.Phe watts ana. shc/i)c£ in L.arrl·f

.(JtJJSt(Jm~ !ShtlWrfJom are cave~fd

has WlJnfo,r 'hi!.t.a?!tfllJ' 1(f/o.r'th· and'set hi"m apart froth many

wi#hrh'e trophies ~nt! ~ward$'he'

'other ,d,IF:tis.ts..

21

qM,i'dt~,eccomplisJ.,ed :using the foIl width of the 13

Sor1'U! l)f',the' sh:ad£wlg lnag needle set.
is

Progress has been stead" but most of

the upp,er Leaves .have )fe't to he filled' i~~ 1!vith the black lInd gray in!e'.

Some foi,~iy lafge portions ()f,th,~leaves are nour ,addre:~$ed as [twry continues thl(? steps, .neaJing c()m,pletim'l.

22

A flcIWier (Jutliue is now app lied to the upper edges ofthi iet( mans foliage for ,added distinction.

The uppermost seC#OJJS of the leaues are now filled in

with contours and shadows.

~lladi.ngof the t~pper gret!nery tak'(;s shape as Larry

mOclJi

'S,{:tu.m place to plact, making subtle additions

tit evtfj'Slr;p.

Only a few more leaves remain to befilled in) and will require tess time and attention thal'l th ..rest due to their lighter density.,

Anor«rMlrge bllJtch of ink is thrown into the blend, wit}] .he ttl.,tt()(}S'omplet£on drawing near. t

Bold use of the bLack ink will be wiped away leaving behind a gentle curse that accents the shape.

23

Although subtle:. each step taken by Larry leaues behind another whiff of tlN{ jin£S:/1ed piece.

Tbe contours of eat:h leaf diffol~ h-ri:nging added

dimension and realism to the oterall tattoo,

The curving ,edges·(}f the leaves are darkened with

additional ink b :lildi'F~gtheir intensity.

With anI] 2 or 3 leaves left to be filled ill, we' are gettlngexcit.ed to view the completed work:

U0rk begins on the lass of tbr1leafmans fleial

foliage.

The previously outlined leaf designs an! now getting thei» share of'sh.adowy detail

24

tVith t/j'e upper sect-ion. now complete, bmy Jftmds bad? to look for an)! additional,dettlils he fiefs 1'U!f;'Cl to be added.

Here we can see most of·the·fi;ont section, ~~eve(dingthe details. (onto urs and shttding that have created a realistic tdtt(),()~ even though it lacks any form of color:

The backside of the piece is equally detailed, and will soon be joined by an euiljack-o-lantern that Larry has ltb~eady draum up and integrated into the tayottt of the leaf,mttn ph!" e..

25

Top Notcll Tattoos

'Once Cleen has discussed the needs and thoughts of the client, he begins to visualize the work that will end up on the skin. Setting his pencil to paper allows him to put his thoughts into a visual format, giving the recipient something 'to approve before work begins. Many that come: to him merely make a suggestion of what they're after and let his fertile imagination do the rest, Their trust is seldom if ever shattered as Cleenstechnical ability is on par with his creative

As a fixture at Top No,tr:h Tattoos; «D'rIlS~spends his days installing pie,rci,ngs on clients for ,the shop. With a canvas of skin that has already been decorated with other ink7 it seemed to make sense that hid let Cleen work his br_andof'magic on this piece.

26

skins .. When faoed with a blank canvas of skin, and the slightese due fhJl]n rhe client) he set's into
acnon, Preparation is a hIg part of the process, and
Cleen is clinical in hisarrangemenr of the

required inks, tools and working supplies, Top Notch goes through miles of paper towel and other sanitary supplies intheir que-SI to avoid infection. The 'WdUS ma.y be covered with artwork, but: the :floors and counter tops are as neat as a pin. Once rhe rools of rhe rrade have been set our, he begins the pfooess. Spraying the 'targe'['areawitb 'Green soap, the
skin is shaved clean to provide the bestworking surface, This smooth surface is then marked wich the heat nansfer layout created from, his initia] sketch. The simple black lines will provide Cleen with a basic guideHne, and changes win be made

as he gets further into the tattoo. 111 rhisexample, he felt the lleed [0. fie-shape the curve ofthe skull for thebest result. Much. ofthis work is done with a baU point pen drawn directly on the skin. His technique begjns by applying black ink
the outline of the; piece, Even this seemingly siInple task requires skin and an artistictouch, Unlike many other forms
to

Within the space of mayh'c 15 minuses, Cleen has created the illustration tha.t tlJ.illbe used for the tattoo, Some of his Jtt:ljftak'es: days to c:om::Pletetheir desired art; but it typicaliyd~J1mds Ofl hoio ornate the piece will be.

of art, once this ink is applied) there's no going

back tore-do your motions, Certain changes

can bemade later to the muoo)but doing them correctlythe first rime 5av,es a lot of grief Satisfied with

theapplication of the black

outline, he sets into motion

'applying the shading

required to bring depthto

theart" Viewing this process reveals a. su btle yet distinct changewirh almose

~€~ybuzz of the machine ..

The applicarion of a multitude of colorswill ,On,ceeveryone is satisfied with the image:~it is n:amftrred onto a shee.toftracing

paper:
27

,Cutting around the art, it is the,n Jai(/ onto .the locasio» to be inl?ed. ThiS: assures th'tlt the ima~e£5 the ,corre(ft dimensia n ,for ,tht! area receiving th.e
art.

After milking a photo copy of th.e ·tr.til:in~ another copy is made, but thu

time 1.tsingthermal fax paper; tmdit ;will be used to' place the outline ,on:t1J the skin before the tattoo can ,begin.

Top Notch

.takes an extra measure

rI

cautio» and cooers ,all th,f!'telatedfJ.a,. with plastic to avoid tra:mfor of any' bodily fluids from one client to tht· nexs. This includes ho'sts, cablr:s1md spray bottles.

28

Preparing the mttchin(! for use requires inserting the

chosenneedle into the tuo'e, A 7 round needle' will be usedfor most of the work.

After spraying .the target area with ansi-bacterial Green SOtlP, the region is shaved dean.

If '}zo·ts,ec'U'f;et4the

needle .would vibrate .freely with.in the tube Ult!'h disastrou: results: A set ,of tubber bands, designed for this use, d()' thetritk'.

Carifidly aligning the bea: tr:ansftt; a final check for position and location can he made'.

.A 'Sh,r:e.t clean pllper towel is set down before' of

arranging a small quantity of moistttrizing com .. pormt/, used' to ,ke'lp th.e small cup's foam tipping. 'The' tr:ansfir is .then placed on the'skinan,d'gently

rubbed

to

make a clean imprint of the outline,

29

cOlnplete the work, bur the selection and use seems to happen with littlerhyme or reason. 'Only after viewing the repeated choice of CQ,~0J\t
and techniques can we see the evil gf:nius of
Cleen coming to Hfe.,Some of his mo,(esapp~ to be quite random, but make more sense wi~h every passing motion. He also 'works in small areas :at a. rime, moving around to reduce distG'J!il"

Once the backingp'aper is remoued; we can Jet! the sketch which will become the road' ,map for the ink.

fort ro the tarrooee, Each time themachine touches the skin, a~ the mechanical buzz occurs, it locksas if only a small blocch of ink has been applied ..Once di€ excess is 'wiped Clwa.ywe can see the trausfonm:" don happening. Often times) repeated use of d!jf·

ferent hues and intensities are required to .ach]e~ the desired shape or color ..Working quickly b~~ steadily, the final contours come ro·life .. Blending ink colors to create the exact bu~ii

common with Cleens work) and the outcome makes his efforts become apparent. Even the smallest details, like the curvedteeth on this s1ml . receive numerous layers of colors to achieve th~
~'

Filling one of the cups with black ink~ ,themachine is loaded with the color: To avoid prerntlmre drying,th,(! r:emaining colors 'will nat be poured until needed.

three-dimensional shape that comes from the multitude of mOEions. As] watch the ink being applied, I often wondered what end result would be for anyparticular region, Oinlyatt·er seeing the repeated use of colors and shapes am his work truly be appreciated.

me

Some sections ofthis piece only required a single color to .fill in the shape, but even this task is done in smaH sections, often adding a s,~ight1,
different shade to achieve
a,

deeper leve~of tex,. rure and de(aiLWith this: tanoo being the fIrst I had. everexperienced in-process, the illeveJ. art of required made .my head hurt. ] had trouble s:ra:ringwithin the lines of a coloring book, and I used fairly sharp crayons to do the job, Severa] times in the p'Iocess) 1 'was certain that an areawas complete, Little did 1 know t'h~] Cleen still needed to add another touch of colQF here} or more contours there. Although done oW a" one-dimensional surface, the skull soon cook~11

,Ou,tiining the art is thefint 5tep"and requires a steady hand: 'The entire tramfer will need to be outtn4 i I L . (fore ' lluatt1()na wort< can . , . '. ". L ea _n ,b:f.UC~ ,b.·.~'£'·'· anyin»Il', '~" ···.t·'-,·· .. t: ca ·b- tgtn.
30

new levels ofderail

that made it appea.r to grow

from the skin. The glowing red burst that emanates from behind the growling skull hr.] Wl~

1iJ "educethe discomfort level for the client, Cleen

oJiPl movesfiom one area to another to spread the

setJJ1ttion a1'o'und:

With the black ,(Jutliru: complete, etten terns his attenti01:lS to filli1'lg in some of th.e black sections of
the tattoo.

Tbeprocess moves to the' upper edge a/the piece and

lrogress is swift.

Each buzz a/the machine lays down another segment of ink) leaving a beautiful contour behind.

11 r;{rntainerof hot water all()wsCleen to rinse the previous ink from the machine before beginning the

sh:ading andfilling.,

Cieen has a well-earned reputation for highly de,tailedtatt()t).s~ ,and thispiece will be no different. M£nltt1! sections of the art are filled' in as he moues
from one area to the next.

51

WOrkingftom dark to light again" (1 small bit of Jark blue is ,t.M,ed

~'e~.. ... ,

..

Cken sets out the uariou» ink colors abead of time.

A constant applicttt-i"on oj:moisturizing

ointment helps to keep the skin: moist and recepm« to the colors bdng used.

another level of depth to the completed piece; although it was done somewhere in the middle ~ the entire job. 'Having a fairly good ga.me plan
before starting each job allows Cleen to move around the site, although to 'the. untrained eye r~ appearsro be. a. random process. As we can see from viewing the. step'... by-stefl images, no masking, templates or friskers were uSled ro creare the image ..The raw talent of the artist, and his grasp for 'the technical aspects wa~ aU he needed to transform ordinary flesh into wo.rk of art. Patt of the technique used in appqr. ing 'tattoos is selecting the proper voltage from the power supply~This \eve\ Qf 'pow'·e-r needs tl.l ~ adjusted to' meet with the section of skin in qu· tiornas w,dl as the customers own special con:d .. nons.

Stepping to the next pbsse, a slz'ght~ brighter shade of blue is used to enhance the lower jaw oftbe skull

Wi' a;foH c(Jmpliment of in,k at hiJcommand

Chm:rften .blend! the hues to meet with his specific

Although only a small amount a/ink has been

tl_pplied we can now see the sh.apes and direcsion of t.he tattoo .ta.king shape.

needs.>

A ~ofiS't'4nq'application of m,o'isturizing ointmen t helps to ~eep the skin mois.t and r:eccp.tive to .the colors

Before changing ink colors again, de.tails are seen to..

,(J

few more minor

being used..

Al/iJ;itlonallight blu'(! is used to set the jl,erce teeth tfA1tt{iom the' backgrou.nd.

Ag/owing red backgy:(JtJ,ndwill help to set the skull apart from th.eflesh and is a great contrast to the cooler hues of the' primary art:

33

increase in size, bringing new lifo to "the art.

W0rking- swi[t-/y,ye,t;ca.refoL~ we see the red area

.

Adding sOfflebright:ness so the teeth, the white will be joined by mustardyellow and other hues to complete the. dental w(J'rk.
The latest overall view begins to show us ,the shape of things to come" but Cleen has only bl1gun his work. Thinner areas of flesh require Iower voltage than thicker segments, and so on ..To know this and to be able to properly apply the corresponding numbers is all a part of the craft. Anorher bit of black art is in the touch of till artist. Some, Hke Cleen, use only enough pressure on the needle to do the job. Less experienced artists may use an excess of force" causing unnecessary pain to the client. Of course certain portions of the body ate more responsive to stimuli,

""-

"--. .~ -..:

while others remain unfazed by the stinging needle, AU of these aspects must be considered when applying a successful tattoo. Having a client squirming around in pain makes for a difficwt
As mentioned earlier, moisturizing ointment is continually ,applied to the ,afficted area to keep things ,from drying (Jut; target. As work draws to a close, Cleen begins adding tiny spots of ink '00 add highH,gh£s tothe skull. These: miniscule e:ffolfls may 'be seen as.

34

With the tee'th nearlyftnished~ 'purple ink is: 'used to Jbegin cf;t!ttting the fl~k'td-t-ongue.

M(}r.~',clearly defi:ne:d' .than the

las: s.tep~ UN! can see

,the skutldevcloping

into a tMarf:y thrte-,dim:eriSion

form.

what Cleen has in store fo'" this bit of ski 12 ar.t.

~lh ,every step completed, we get a better idea of

Additional de,tail work on the fissures and plates of th.e skull tu:lt:l realism to tbe otherwise fontdfY' b(/S,ed bit ofcrafomanship.,

JAdl:itional defini.tion is ,achieved by ,adding darle ink rt#htJhadoW] porti(J'1'tsof thepiete.

The gently sh,aped' contours reveal ,the overall .c()nfig~ ura.tioti while the sharply ,outli'n'ed deta,ils separate the ttoo aspectJjTom ,each other:

35

Helping to hring more dep.th and shap'c to' the dark. regjo1JS-,a .bright hlue ink will diffus:e a.nd highlight the work.

By wiping away ,the remaining ink 'we een see the

delicate details left }.ehind. And' each layer ofcolor hrin_gsmore realism to the art.

The use of light, ink on, dark 'onlyworks due to the tra'nslucent nature of th.e colors" allowing the sh:a'ftt£ beneath to ShlJ'W' through and add dimemi()n~ compulsive, hut clients: never complain about
much detail, When both Cleen ,and the recip,ie~~. are satisfied 'with the results a heavy layer of

moisturizing ointment is applied to the surfa~,.,

This will aid in the healing process, and alloWfOli the final piece to retain its intensity The Iayo ,o£i sandwich wrap will also ensure thatthe new~ inked section of skin holds the ointment in. ~Ii~ Toy'pica1 healing time for '3, fresh tattoo is about 10 days, leaving behind a one-or-a-arne of art, at least when it hails from CI~en's Top
Notch Tattoo. and protects the vulnerable skin from
,exPOS,lJ.mi

With several large areas leftt;o be fillet4 we now see

eteen wing largeapplicatiom of cow, to b,egin the final stages.

36

W!ith a:nother section lzppli'ed and wiped away we

~e.ff), witness

to

the resulting detail

Again~ t-h,euse of light ink' on top tldark will leave' b,ehindan indelible marl: that helps so create shape
and contour:

,Mii'ition4i sections that had remJ;.1.ined untouched are

~w

treated to the .skilled application of ink, leaving nQ~a slJuareinch untapped.

Some of the w()rk is so sub.tle it makes it difficult to see theeffict" of each application, but a closer look
reveals the efforts.

'he {BPller ortion of the skull is nota the recipient of' p ~er sections of ink, filling in: the blanks and
i(iAlf,w·J ~f.;.rue ...o.. t t

li/e det-ails.

The larger areas co'ntinue so befilled in with ink, and will be enhanced ~y the use of details later.

37

'With the subject heing a human skui4 there' needs to

be some' sections that arealmt)s.t white to ,bri"ng some

,added r.ealism to the'pir;ture~

Some of the last ink to be appLied is that of the white flm~~ In·i'-lzginghe final hits of dimension and t detail to the piece~

Once ,any minor .bleeding has been stanched; the entire tat-too is coated w.ith a heavy layer of maisturizing ointmen: to help aid in healing.

Much lik,ea flesh cut of meas /rom ,the butcher shop> the area is then wrapped in cellophane and sealed to'
ensure ,that the' brigh,t:iy co[():redskin can now begin

An overall shot of,the fi:nish.ed piece flrings ,aU t?fthe r.edunda.nt .step now s.hows us how th.e use oj,these .... ..' t: ,J1 su hue insertions can aaa 1tp.

ti~J 1forts into focus. What often, seemed like a

its return to normal,

.3.8

39

Adrenaline Tattoo
Like most talented tattoo artists, Lance prefers doing custom ink Some customerswill still choose a bit of safe, factory art for their images, The more adventuresome, however, understand that a truly individualbit of design sets a tattoo
aparc frOomall the rest. Having no limits as to what kind of images hell do, Lance is fairly fearless in 1: "1 h oetrer ) tnat arena, "Th e ,-ark an,d more evu, tne b "- ~), _"" d"1 cer

claimsLance when asked about his favodte style of

tattoo. "G"" ", ruesome,

ghou I'lS,ma.ca b stu ff" IS me h h O'i, 're I

While requesting the safety of anonymi~ Lisa happily llgreed to have her latest bit a/ink ,created'by Lance Norrie Her txiJting veldt of jungle foliage and creatures made ,thepeifect backdrop for her latest parrot art) and closely resem,btes one' ofher own at-hom e P',ets.. 40

ink sets me rr,ee. n

mo-st. un, especially when the person getting rhe f

From what I have seen so far, the majority of tattoo shops are kept as clean as they-can be, The fr'ollt showrooms m.ayappear to be a bit, dodgj; 'but 'the actual tattoo booths are antiseptically clean. Lance is no different, and strives to make and keep hits area as neat as i pin. In his case, '[he pin may' he sticking through an illustrated eyeball,

btu you get the idea.

for this blue and gold Macaw tan, Lance began with at simple outline of the bird. in ,question,and then added his own personal flair to the piece.Often times, additional details will 'be added to the piece as it progresses. Lance says that he can see the finishedltattoo in his mind long before touclUngneedle to skin. This level of creativity is. fare; but makes for a terrific ink-master, Given his druthers the bird would. have been sportinga skull

Wor.king with an existing,P'iece of art; Lance tracts thedesi,red form to ft,t the ,c/i'en,ts request.

of some sor-t, but he was able '£0 behave h.imsdf this time around. The next guy m;ay not be as lucky.
The procedure for creating any tattoo begins with the transfer of an image to skin. Once this g!l~.ddine has been positioned the real work begins. The basic black outline wiU determine the @vetall image as well as creating boundaries tor the ·soon to be applied colors. Any areas to be shaded in black are: completed next so that the, 0010.[8 can be laid on top, creating the shapely contours in the finished art. Having seen several other tattoos being ci',ealted by now, Lance's methods were fairly typical while lis attention to detai] was top-shelf. He targeted ~neareat at a 'time then movedto another. This fJrocess keeps the discomfort leve] to a. tolerable threshold for the tattooee. Not being a fan of the ~v.iatyworld, it was something to watch him turn Mank skin into a highly derailed bir-d, with an incredible amount of contour in the feathers coveJring the body. The tiny spots on the bird's face we're another highlight that a lesser artist may have

A clean sheet of material is placed on the work surflct! and the b,asic needS' are' set ou:

'0"verlooked.
The pain threshold and sensitivity of each ,tecipient is different, and the needle didn't seem. to botheJ:Lisa. too 'badly, but wiping away the excess

Black a.ndb.lue ink witl .be used in tIlefirst steps~ and the colors ate squeezed into .the waiting cups.

__________ ~'1IIIl
A series of additio nal ar:t will help to guide Lance
thruugh the maze'

of details

In typical ftlShi()n,~.the wo.rk begins by outlining the

,tattot)' in black,

to be used' on the tattoo.

A sLight amount- of pr.essure transfers the im-age.from the p-ap,er to the ski'n.

'." s.taytng

h·}· ,L. .1' 'wtt.tn Inc unes

.'

a k ~ngre6uentt()' a fi .ry .'.... J'~' tme-

!y detailedpie:ce, aith'ough the task is tedi'O'us.

After lifting ,the backing papler, a clear image of.tbe tattoo is left behi'nd, pr:o'viding Lance wi.th a m:,,:P'to the fini:shed piece.

As the black outline progre-sses~ excess ink smears the

area until wiped clean.

42

ink was avoided when possible, Other ratcoos are wiped dean rna re often as theartistgauges his progress and checks for needed details. Attempting
to

keep Lisa's discornfQr~ llievelunder control,

00

Lance was for,eed

skip that step :a few times.

JPersonally,'I have a tough time talking and

dOlug much of anything else at the same time.

Lance on the other hand was' able to chat 'with

Lisa, her husband and I without a hitch as the needle buzzed away on Lisa's skin. Our topics of conversation seemed to center around grue'some

motion pictures and other related subjects, Lanoe

has two kids, one of which already has a bu-ge tattoo featuring an angel holding irs own, heart, hav~ngbeen ..recently torn from its chest ca;-vity~ Not '[he happiest of images) but right up Lance's alley;, He told us that hils son has a nice collection of !Sharpedged wea.pons in his 'bedroom, and was a

Beneath' tJJe smudged area we can se« th.e completed outline of the !lira,s tail feathers.

peinr of pride for Lanoe. Some kids collect trading cards for~un~ but rhatwouldnt seem. ri~ght being
all

offspring of Lanoe.

Beforebeginn.ingwork

on the p.arrot, Lance

,§tuessedan elapsed time of about two hours Ito ootnplere the work .it ended up being slighdy morethanthar, but the constant chattering: b.etwee;nthe people in the: room m;ayha:V,e been tihe'canse for' the extension, In the end" Lisa: was
f,Iwe{llwith her new art, nestled amongst the vir~Ra~ jungle she has: growing on. her armalready
M,j!Hlkey'S.)

tropical plants and 'other assorted anibeen inked onto her arm so fax,wlth

,Continuing upwards~. ()u,tlining the h,(),riyof the' parrot is now in process.

dhave
lfi6te

addirions to foUow. "In about 6 mon ths" she Glalm~il.As with, other pieces I have seen, the . am~iN~ usually ask the clienr if they intend on. will ~tiIDFi:g',m'oreto the area in the futun!. This allows

tt&emtbe ability to plan ahead, leaving space for 6resh irtrk 'asthe clien t req uests, This small geS£[Jlrt; _~~ Ji£e-3lt easier for the artist and avoids the f Uie~tfu work around an existing piece or to cover tID ~It ~pl~tdy with fresh 00101:. ~ hi; we mentioned earlier; a parrot is hardly 1!1if;hft IL¥amd~ypically applies to a customer, t but he lS llillly Gapablft of ere acing a, finished piece that is
W~rt~y flit histalenes.

The inkc,()12,'tinues to smear ouer th,r! ajfoctedregio'n, but willS()(Jn be cleaned ojfto reiJealthe work sofor:.

Returning to tbe scene of the crime, more details are

The parrots head is the last th.ing.to be outlined,

leading us to the more extiti~g a:pplica,tion inks.

,added to the' body ,of .the bi'r:d.

~lc()ll)red

./ d' .. tal.", ana requtr:es more attentzon.

The body ,of the bird contains more detail than the

The ,()'utlirucomplete, but has yetto be wiped clean of the smudged refuse.

With most. of the Mtlt:aw~ body done, additional

outlin« work is done on the tree hranch.,

.After beingcleane:d,we can see ,the clear outli.ne oj the tattoo awai.ting the firs-t dabs of blue'.

44

Jflf.N.J·l~·..

tv the tail feathers} the first bits of blue . >ROW being appb~td.

Cont(Jurs and shading are achieved by !Ising difforen: shades of blue~ going fro:m dark to /£ght.

Comple.ted in: small sections, t-he ink' will slowly be built up to become a fin:ished bit ofart.

. 'the cearlieJt applictltionsbegin to show us the '$IJ4itJlrtr (Jnd conlours tha,t will mak,e the flnished' ~:Pltl~e'tIJ~:JJt~~r'to be' .3-dimensional

D'espite the clutter a/excess ink~ we can begin

to

see

the centaurs of the feathers taking sh.ape.

45

Small . sum.

Sf-ChOTIS

of lighter blue are used to add ,dimen ...

Moving to the bodjfoathers, the Macaw is startbzg to appear shapt:lie.t7~

Every step shows usadditlonal detail and clttrity of the finished pitce.

With tbe unused ink wiped' clean; we can see tbe

re.sults of the b4Siccolor appl£e:ation.

With many s.teps to flllo~ we can already begin to see the bird comin:g to lifo.,

As the piece continues} smaller details are added 'will enhance the completed art.

AI. _

Lance Norris was the artis: sekctedfor this tattoo, and he plies his craft at Adrenaline Tattoo in Orland()~ Florida.

Again wip,ed clean, the

body of the Macaw is taking

shape.

Section

by section use can see how the application of

iheblue ink turns blank skin into a ji,nished' ,bird.

47

Mareftequent

,cleani,ng. of the area is req.uired to

keep tabs on progress and required contours,

The ti'ny st~ps being taken are. now adding up ".. bod} of the parrot gets closer to' be.ing fi:nished .

nw""","

'The intricate effor,ts w#l set thls ..,tattoo' apart'yom

.Another vi-eweleared oftiJ,t: excess ink shows us·(/,

tb'ose done without t.he same fttte.ntion to detail..

nearly complete b,ody.

.Feather .by fiat;;er we can:see the work coming to

Lighter shades ,t?f blu'(!~laid over the' darker base.

O'YS,
"1.. • . J;' , pves tne art t.ts extra asmensum,

lifo·

48

Lo'nge-r tail ftathers are filled-in indiv'idually before lighter sh.adesare placed on top.

M(J.7jJitJt/~()m head to the tail ink' can now be the iIPIlidllJ fJ!jat region of the piece.

Although not yet cleane:d:, we can sec that the basic blues of the ta'il feathers are ,nowcompie,tc.

Mdni/Jtfal sh.ades ofblll<c are introduced to the canBJ1J:~ tlJ1l1ing new level of realism. a

Befort! moving on to the lighter colors, we now get a ,glimps:e at the completed blue segmens:

49

blue , 14" . .~"", B' ,61nga .... an,d,.'go.·ld·''...1J'JaCtlU$ iss time to b,.epn , .: wue ..' ".: adding some f!f tbe ,brighter ink to the .head.

Highlights of white are drawn onto tbe·face, brin~ ing new levels of'detail to thc·piece.

Areas' .a/goid hav'e also been added'to the cbes: and tail.to hring more realism $1)' the art.

A hint' ofgrerenis added if)' the top' rOf.thehead we set on .the .actual bi..,.dused as our model.

.1fdPFn.rII

Shading on the pointed heak comes next and is also don,e to sbmo shap,e and dimension.

Ayellt;.w eye glares at us after being filted:in .tI)jj$ appropriate hue.

50

tree limb gets its first

bit of color, and is begun II widtyy mag needle"

Gently' shaded curves define the branch but don't; take away from thep'rimary focus.

iiNf"lefl!rm'F_'lS' /;n! first {

rmn,~".,'1'/'llf:'

ttdded to"

filled in b,ifor.e shades of' .the branch~

Theupper segment of the branch is now ,addressed with the fi'rst touches of brown.

A r-eddi5b-brown is now thro,wn into' the mix to

~rm!·lifito the perch.

The' last area to be flnishe~ the twig is completed' by ,using other shades ,oj,the same color:

S1

Insight Studio,s
As with the other artists we'll meet in this book, Scott begins the process hy discussing the
needs and desires of [he client, Once a direction or theme has been chosen, Scott puts pen to paper and begins to sketch our his version of what he

thinks will work, It luay take a few attempts tn Sll'~ isfjr 'the requiremems, but no work will begin Unti1
all parties agree on the: art) color, size and loca:dQH of the piece,

Scott prefers creating original art over using

With ab,o.Jy ,already adorned wi-til se7)e~alother tattoos, "Pyro" was all too happy to agree to have a new bit-of fte-s,h ink inst-alled on hi~ skin:. He selected Scott Fricke'.for m'l! job, and the evil grin,ni'ngtievil nota peers (}tlt /tom th.e top of his low-neck t~s,hirts.

52

. ~1~.'mJi(j)~1is;J!!'V:la~il~Jble. There are some peo-

~nr ,~§im,:plebit of iak, and forthemthe . Imf ~I 'aai ·Wi11. .suffice .. Doing. those 'ratrees is . €aaHe:nging ocr rewarding .for Scott, _,-,.._,,, ....arpJiS'l' I have mer, Real satlsfacrioa '-""'''''''.,' _-

ifrn-e~~~rli1~:m;~\i,~:-,ip_g the piece up

:6:0,111

a mere

iot;r~!htJ!):f~jf~~tlon~. then transferring the ink to ~ dreams to life, ·

~.-..e bl~1& seen, cleanliness is paramount and

'Ghvw~ ~ina:er of that practice. Ea:chbay is lth- pfellty .of shelving, storage slots and '1ng'te allow for uninterrupted work. ¥lork_area has been wiped down with dis_-fd~i 5'OOtt begins to la.y -out the tools of his ~ l)Jt~ar;;dsts:wiU rypically pre-load each
ma~him!lf:wJ~b- needles-they will need £0·[ the ratthe (~-a.ldi~d~Mter loa.&ing the required needle sets
~J\e~i!chines, fresh tubber bandsare used to Ilclltl~Ii~m' ,Pl'al(]~:.Hoping to avoid. the transfer of in any'mi :~i-aJsbetween clients, the use of the fn!sh ~~. ~S proof-of the details we .may overlook. Al~~WJie_'Partides land on any available surcan :tl~~ ~"bangjngas many oomponents as possible -td!§the recipient. Anything not changeable
m[0

~ ~J(wm,g (;punt~r-co.pst Insight Studios are an a

~ ~~lrOOin plastic.
.

: both the area: and tools ready to go,the After discuslions as to the desired subject matter, :th.is illustta:tit:in 'Was created by SC()# US~ in the tatto«

f.]~dtor cups are filled 'with the hues needed ..As

~h~Alnr'ows~additional colors wiU be added to the g

Q]~lbtJ: and are only poured when required ..The

_~~ -tJallsrer can
IJ.OW

fl"

be positioned one last time

cbe jiob call begin. The, area to be r:a:!:cooe:d is ~~~~d with asolution iha€ will make 'the tran~fer- '. bener and last longer, Peeling off the transfer h~lefCa few places devoid of the needled markings,
~C"'~§ott a marker to complete [he road map. uses

m~srink an

H;,l.'V[ng dear outline to follow makesapplying at

the

easier task, .. loaded with a. 5 round set and black ink, the

outlining l?.to.cess egjns. Depending on the region being b ~~ne~ andthe settings of£hemachine" [he skin ~~netththe outlinewill swell sUghdy. If nothing else, this result 'will make it easier fa r the artist to know wh.ere.he)s been .. Scott moves around a bit as he applies the black to reduce discomfort. As [be

]jEst machine buzzes to life andthe

Trimming the excessfrom the art allaw$ for better

place.ment of th.e piece.'.

53

Warl#n,g his finished tattoo b~ga tank top~the transfer

y:pper back.

is placed

so be visible when

ueer-

high on tth;~

Progress is swift in the creation of the basi: .black lines that will comprise the background ()f the fin-

ished pie,c(;~

Now with the art complete, ct.l1,d in she aa:ep'ted positim'l.~w()~·kc.an begin.,

A bit of additional pen wm·k was n:qui'red to' {{)m~ p les« the basic 0 ltdi 11.(1.

The first ink, ,applied to ,the twisted vines behind the J'" b J_ ".t: aeuu snanas, is oJ cousse b'l k tuacs.
+

.Moying c~()unter-clot:kwist, Scott

C(J'nti11UfJ

to mort

'Up the thorny uine.

54

steps continue, [he skin win grQw' increasingly raw

[rom the snnging needle, Lacer in the tattoo Pyre is becoming visiMy uncomfortable, but soldiers on likea Hooper. He has had many tattoos done in the past, but for some reason this one seems to be more painJu.~, than the rest. Being a Chicago fireman he is no stranger to undesirable situations and rhisis no

differenr) albeit less dangerous.

Once the black outline has been complered ewe canstart the more entertaining portion of the

show, Some dark, shaded areas

are

also filled in, A.lthoughmaving quitk~ the early stages of the tattoo are barely an indication of whatwillfollow.

bringing some shapeto [he otherwise black work. Adding color to the piece allows us (0' see the work become real. Although predominantly red in color,

a palette of hues wiU bring more life and definieion to this devilish canvas. Moving around the skin, the red ink. is being

applied (0 both small and large areas, depending on the space being: targeted. A 7 m.ag needle set puts
down a. wider swath. of color allowing for shading aswell as fining in larger sections with less motion.

The larger needle does add some addi rio nal sensadon to rhe process~burPyro holds his ground, Ir doesn't matter bow often 1 view the tattoo process, I am always amazed at how the: seemingly mndo,mapplica.tion of inks can result in such a dimensional bit of an. Scotr's hand! places the needlesat nurnerous pointsof the piece, buzzes some ink lUW placewipes awaythe residueand before [00 long we can. see (he fruh:s of his labors. He will periodically lay a sheet of paper towel over rh.e art then hose it down with cleaningsolurlon.Wiping rhe mess away reveals the latest layer of his work, sh.owing us more detail [han before.
The bulk of rhe red hues have now been com-

Tbe demon} horns are now ,{Jutlined ahead of the color to be added later.

pletedl)bur he returns to the scene ofthe crime to add a. touch here and there, bringing even more ]Jluncatepauernsa.nd 'shapes co the forefront. By
US~llgthe

highesr quality inks) the tattoo will look

as:good afcer healing as 1[ does when fresh. Some

it{:llo,.[s even brighter once the 10 day healing are pmcess is over, Almost invisible hints ,of lighter
shadeswill bring a new level of amazement to whomever views the final piece. Whi le viewing the

fArs:r tattoos heing done for thi'S project} I almost qlH~stioned the reasoning, but held my tongue only

Never as' interesting as the color port£(}'f} .of the w()rk~ we' can still see the design beginning to come to' lifo.

55

Continuing in It righ,t to teft pa.ttern~ more of the vines are completed.

The right hand' ,and fl,ce now get some attention

the black outlining process moues on.

tIS

Prelim:irutry work is speedy as we have already reached she for side ()f the background uines.

A lot of details wi'll be seen as the artproceeds; Ifnd carefol,application of the black is a key Jactm'in t&

jinishedpi'ece,.

With the vine outline nota complete there is much

'W,orkl~fi to be done.

Tbe simple outline' of the vine is now additional details.

accenue

56

to ~ the beauty of the work 'before: me, Small bits

clarity and _nsian to the evil being created O,Q Pyres back. &dJy for him, the ordeal has taken. its tol], leaving th¢'afTeGr~ area raw and even more sensitive to (he rlwhite,~a the: eyes and teethadd

needle)s fIDuch.
The',6nalleg of [he journey will be the addinen of fine bright green background color, Not £e<tuiroo by any means} but the contrasting color

~lln,d andthe flesh that lives beneath, With the a;mv(Hrknearly complete, Scon returns 'to add, a few m:0r~ouches of detail It seems like he and other t an!s1lSare:never satisfied asthey push the envelope

willlliJp"to set the: red devil apart form '(he back-

Shading of th.e nails of the rz"gh,thand, as well as most ,oj the uines, are nmo being readiedfor tbe chosen
color.

afinnni:tt details to the limit and beyond ..

'With the needle work complete, Scott will ottGemOE,!;wipe the area dean with paper rowe] and fl.lli,d.Before wrapping the fresb ink with gaUf.e~ he applies a heavy coat of an ointment that is~i(i;}ln vitamins A, and 0 to the affected area. i lo/ff.I ishappyto be done with the piece after nearly fOurhours of stinging. i~ end of the day, we have witnessed the the birthof yet another example of human flesh turned xnt0 art in motion. Sure" you can buy a. collectible p.aim.ting by your favorite artist) but try lugging it around with you wherever you go. Spend.ing as mueh time On a. motorcycle as he does, FYIo prefers to huve,his art attached and part ofhis own body.

Facial accents and details are added in bla,ck to pro-

vide ,a soiidfoundation for the red that will soon be

added.
Sf~r;dJ progress is made

·in the process a/outlining

the'piece dnd gro'ws near

"be(l.ppiicdtion(}j color

ink.

57

Outlining near the top of Pyros neck caused some additio1'lal disc()~for,tbut ail parties trudged on,

Additional detail and shading ejfortsare made' to entire piece bef01~eshifting into t.he use of'Ted' and gre,en in,les.

With the details of the hands now complete, work can mooe to the face.

Several cups are now filled with the red, green and
whitei12k as Scott gets readyfor the final steps:.

The eyes and mouth are now given attention in preparatio n for the use a/red.

The firstapplica:tion of red ink isplaced on th'e IrA hand' bringing lifo to the o'utlined £rnage.

58

'Using larger needle allows the area to a /;efilled in more ,quickly while still
Jnaintaining control.

P;''eliminary color work on the right;

hand has nour begun.

WOrkingin small areas .helps to minimize discomfort for the recipient tIS
Scott returns to the l'!ft hand for more attention.

59

Turning his focus to' the devil} foce, Scott begins to apply' the ,bright red hue.

Larger areas call be filled' in ,qui.ck~ but 'will.stili reveal anotherfocet of the artists vision and ability ..

Each sfl'Utll.step reveals another section of detail,

,d~pthand form.

Ov:erall "Wecan see the' art moving ,alcm,g swift~ wi"th lJVer-,changing sections .ofgreater contour dha

depth.

The deta'il is in thede-v,if as work continues to mutate ,()'rdinary/lesh into' a work of art.

Using a brighter shade of red' will br£ng added dimension ,1;0 the hands as well as the rest of th:e· ptace.

60

The left h.and is nmo complete and appears to blJ'O/ real flesh.

Mt)ving back to the foce a/evi.l brighter red is installed to bring shape to th,e curvature of the cheeks.

By applyi'ng the inks in layers goingfrom dark to

light) we can see the results of the multiple st.eps

taken.

61

With the red sections complete, timeto add some green to the backgroundfor contrast and effect.

its

With the'green ,ba'ckground glow now complete, ills

time to add thefinal touches oj,detail

The .lustrous green hue' will set the head and hand.s apart from the skin for more dramatic results.

Continuing with the dark to lightprtJcess} is now applied to th't!first of the monsters horn.

Filling in the green sections requires a larger needle

than used on the details and thro'ws dawn a .b:~g

spread of ink. 62

Clean, white teeth are important, even to the of darkness, SO whitt ink is also used to JJ',;teIJlt2'fJtJtI!t1 pointed fangs.

The most minute details malee the difference as we set th'c glowing white teeth b'foughtto lifo..

'The'fillish.ed piece now can be viewed in its entirety;

Once th.e healing process is complete) the cosors will become more vivid ,and lose the sheen they wear now.

Nodemon would becomple"te without a set ofgJow~ itzg orb'Sand white ink is used to light up their' evil.

A final coating of moisturizing ointment is applied to the skin r4w'fi"()m the needles' sting:

lbe· menacing grimace and glowing ,eyes art compli(me:fJted by t-h.ehighly detailed.focial jel/;tur.rs of'the ,iece.

Covering the tattoo with a soft ckJ,thwill ensure safe

transport bomeas tht healin,gp recess begins.,

63

Little Ftank
It's Just A little Prick
Unlike most, if not all, of the remaining artists in this book, Frank, has no formal training in the world of art, drawing or illustration .. His intrigue with the crafr he,gan 'with some: ink on his grandfa[hei's arm, and his interest grew from. that single
'

exposure, Arthe render age of 9 he knew he want·

,ed to get tattoos, and probably go on to bec:ome:l1 tattoo artist himself Many of us arestil] dreaming of being astronauts or some other unrealistic choice at that stage in life, so we can see how in
'LoG-,',U "'_.

With their pending nuptials on the horizon, Autumn, was eager so hav:e her husband apply her nextbtltch ' art. She is no stranger to the craft and her fiance has been In the racket for m,t'~Yyears .hz~mlelf Thefoh WlIiJ onepiece in a tong series of plaJ'l:nedpieces.,

64

a persons persistence can pa.y Q{£, JL':' .~ the rest of the artists here, Little Frank ,rile in the cleanliness of his shop. His new ~~Il"'Jj~o"Jn ecatur, Illinois used to be a dentists D
• !EaS ,

IUJiU.J!·,\l'U.l:I.,~

Nice watlil(n~'l:UQm and reception area, with several that have been converted into tattoo

8" the layout of the SpOol'was perfect,

~lenty of shelf space and 'terrific lighting ~ fox a. friendly environment. Frank himself is an B1liibffieguy who is easy to get along with right . from1ih:,c ·get-go. Wf0re setting up fot the tattoo, he deans an
'.l)£Itttttlt),~,

aImad_f spotless work surface and wraps the req,uirMgear in. disposable plastic sheathing. Ifl,~e ,effortS will prevem cr,QSS contamination ~~n. clients, and keep infections at hay. Several watIiq tattoo machines hang at the ready on

of the cups get filled with black ink, and tbe machines art loaded for' action. The water cup will
nOO

be' used to rime outthe

needles b,e.twee.nsteps;.

ro-afie racks, and can be put into service at a, m@m,iftn'f~otice. Frank and a partner designed a. n ma~ll1eof their own years ago. By drawing the &@!t, 'on Autocad first, men laser cutting the steel .n.tm <dhape~they had a machine to call their very
~~ C'@mbin.gtheir initials, the "Duf" tatroo i1liadU~ne came to be.
Star, is: also lin) namce, and! has received many bits: of tattoo , ~if,rom Frank over the years. Frank has even

HIs willing participant" Autumn

~ted. a major back piece on Autumn's mom, so ~kn(1JW her family is OK with his appearance tmdt€ar,eerchoice. Not everyone in his position ea;l1lby the same. 'While on vacation in Las Vegas recently; Au.itLml.B and Frank. viewed an enormous fish tank.
restaurant. Enamored of the colors and shilifes of,tbe fish and their surroundings, it was
lft ~chain

After ,conferring with another artist in the shop, final location for the neurplece is decided on and the .transfer is put inplttce.

>l@n decided to be hernext bit of ink. 'Upon mwrrung home, Frank sketched outs small diora~~ of sea life before continuing; The combination 0 tlthe fish and the related undersea life captured rtlle essenceofwhatthey saw on vacation. Franks Mlis~onhad. lots of bright colors to really bring the
1

ink to life.
While many shops use a copymachine to A 3 rouru:/,othenois« known as a 3-liner n,eedle~will be used to begintl1e basic outline' of:the' tauoo: The starfish is the first to get attention. 65
meve their sketch to the transfer paper, Little ~fankprefers '[0 do the work by hand. Additional manges can be made to the art this WaLy" providing onelast opportunity to improve the work.

Before comp/tting th~' outline of.the 'sta.r.foh Little

l

F"rankmtlvQ.f to .the sand dollar below .it to .continue

The coral; fish and seaweed are ~"ecei't?'iftg th~ir btIJia .()'utiineswith' color inks to follow ..

'With the ()utiine.

The v.asit: bltu:k'outJine moues alang !iU(.iftiy as tlther

bits of undersea lifo ar,e completed ..

Tinybuhbies great setting.

and sea weed are (lIt a part

of t,hiJ:

ttndersta vision and when compltoted will mttAlfr;1

Moving ~tJan;other $txtio'n of the skin~ the conti is now jiven itsfirst bit%utlini.ng.

To aid in th,(J#lusirYfZOf heing '1~rz.mt:1U,t:Q:nj~~fJ~ fer (Jutli ning on the coral is nota adiled.

66

Pleased with the amounsof color and

detail .Frank can now moue on to another s.egment of th,f_ tattoo.

Bright yellow .ink w.ill bring some liK" ter t-o the lower section of th is u:ndcmen in'Jage addzng to the'ov,erall appeal· .
intensity

Highligh.t-s ,of.tbe sam'tbr-ight

'\I.e.'U()WI'mi

bring the shape into sharper fl~

now .added to the' ,edgesof the coml18

70

A ligh.ter-shade of green is now added to the sea wee.d to create a 3-,dimensional effect to :the 'Wav'ing

foliage.,

the sea weed a dark g'f<een ink will begin (hemultiple stages needed to fill in the afficted areas.
M:ovifZgto

Even the otherwise orange coral gets a bit of bright

green ink

to

add some flair.

Overall we can see' the tiny bits of color adding to the entire piece.,etlch in thtir own: small measure"

As Little Fr.ank r_amps .up for the final stretch, a vast palette of colors' art pu.t into thew'tliting ink cups.

71

u:tetting .a.paper towel with solution wilt allow Fmnk to clean off the J.trtly ink so he cn-n view his work completed safar..

The small santi do/Jar at the bottf)m now grts som« illuminating corai-colored ink to In-lng it to lift.

'We get a ,quick' glimpse atpr;f)g!ess made so for beft":;!!

Fmnle returns to .cole«
.tilt]

skin with his loaded needles of

Background sh:ading will help to set off the brlgliih colors used on the variety ofplant lift seen on thh fles.h canvas .

Returning to the aneFnonewith some vivid red i'",k lJ _J J_ . reauy t«uu' some sc "}J~ tf'Jit .tattoo. pop to

Subtle iasen tier shading on tbe hody of the foh

f1m'

tUJwbitgin) and will be the fir1t .of.many steps tdifJI

7.2

A !ttM/ttlted periwinkle ink is· noto ~~7fJJ; 'thebody 0/ thefoh and will L ttmong many color: utilized.

1hturning with the lavender ink,

iflmtzli: works on the top section of the

brightly ,colored fish.

Steppi.ng h'/Jckfto'm his work. Little Franksizes up what needs to he don«

next.

73

The lowerjin receives a large section Qf #ght yellow in,Ie'to separate it fi~.om ,thblue' and purple body.

Adding It stripe ,of orange to theytUul1J ,ufi-_l.. ' ... .... :, LJ. fi 17. WUt ...urtner as'd'In sne aecorat/ll8
nature

of this piece.

The dorsal fin nota gets its OW1Z .' yeilo-wand orange to match the 100ftr fin.

74

..

..

'-~---'-~----.~.•

_ rue Fran k' .. I' &.A : Li

kmg /iarilt:.Jf(J,1f, ~,e14fiffjng"1Ji!ttt)r)S?
yelllJ.F5 li.l:~; .

<

WtJIrt#J'¥ ;jr~'lfa1itDd.~:ou..gil/lle

anomer' per ...

puc a ~Jnid, lb1lln1ieirHr,eAtJ:;1o'Opt;mn~ ankle . .you IIi/Ire tjldrllqr_~,~e ryte. r.w g¢?n.re:yc¢u like sa s
in! likedl.il1g rea~~~rli~ fJie«s. with: lets ceurse if .8Jf· .dimr wallt'S b~ackand

9fcolor. 'wnite,

Are th-e.r.e rQrtfsPJ tltyW

there who inspire )Iou.? There ar€ ~v.~aI t~ieEes done by s.cott Wlnske the l(!\)ltib~aad! h:is w!,e.:and 'way of U;S1.ri; colare S0'fl'e lig mp-- f~Y(Wf1f¢S.
fJitt

can cilf0 ra·all! as ~elt .

75

A black outlint will help to .define the edges coloiful tail fin.

of the

~ can now seethe sha¢ing added to tbe gills as as the lavender ink being used to color .the'fo'ce.

What "unders,e.a creature. wO'uldn'tlik£ a set of'hright

red lips? The' entirtain.ing fin"J~ome ~eative'li(:en'seF .nature of this tattoo allows

White ink is noui ,appli'ed to' the background to :bcP. sure to .k~ep the colors sQ,gregated.from .the tnat:u.ral skin: tone.

The firs.t· slashe» .that represent the gills of thefish arc

now added. Ever see a fish with
f!)(!'

lashes before?

Returning: once agaln to. the tu.bu/a,. anemone; Fr.an.k creases .small sections of whic:e ink to add . finishing touches to ,tIle lift~ creatures. lik,e

76

, . ,eaw,e:ed also' receiaes a bit of

to htJf}·
''C

its edges and contours.

UJi/tlg white ink Little FranJe adds almost invisible scales to thI •..' of tht fijh. It is details like
·.JI!1f1IJII'.n:zu~

lJJjj. .~iiat akefor a terrific ta.ttoo.. m

!fi/Qe we see the completed piece before' ~eit1g wrapped Upfo., take out. Once' rit.;gJJt heals the colors will remain. true'

for many years to come.

77

U.D.
Art With Atattooed
Having spent the better part of New Year's Eve in the shop documenting [he process for this 'tattoo" I found it difficult to put a finger on off is about right. The man moveswith a. nervous, yet highly focused~ action. In addition to the tattoo shop, he delivers packages for ~l....... nent J;:arrielr..i(lf I didn'r have kids, IH do. tattoos full-rime," datiU1S 'Dale. The benefits that are
'1"\ .....

''-,

U.D'.'s energy level. Somewhere between a

Japanese buller train and the. space shuttle at Hfr~

Returning to the chair for' a second f'tJu,1ui ~TJro n chose <"U.D"n of Art with Ata:tt()oedfDr his neuiest ink-. Borrowing heavily from the art of Ed "Ra: Fink" Roth:, the new art features a ,d1'lJoling rat grllspi1'1g ,a high set of handleba)"S-.~omplete with, the:{lying eye' hall of Von Dutcl». c 78

~df&l:dl earrooartisrs I've met, ..Dafe does ~ f~municate with the customer ff)IUitiirilllg a. needlete sian. Alongwith the OOJJ¥'$~uions and comparing notes~Dale
ro m~IDJfnp,{1rate the person's arrirude intothe

s.&Om.

him:tkrough his full-rime job provide r~HJhfufamny~ thus making it a: difficult

transfer, the better the end resuhswiU be. In his. earlier days) Dale actually designed and built his own t-at t-o 0 power supply, based on what he found missing on existing units. 'Using a vari-

bb~ at@ne. (~Ihave sent Q. few people horne mIDiI~ deeply about their desired tarrs
i11.iJwlngthem to rake a seat in my chair," le\~[~t' pel:sonru inpur rnakes for a, happier 31l!dIWe:ps both new and old customers

ety of electronic components~ his machine deliv.. ered supper-smooth flow of po:we;[ and allowed almost anyone to create high-quality ink work. This facrposeda problem for experienced artists) thus foecing Dale's machine into the shadows
before wreaking havoc in the open market. Nothing Uk.eproviding amateurs with gear that can produce professional results to mess up the works. Dale considers: tattoos to be "The mast form. f fr:ees·.h.·..t·l&o·ar. .. .. ... . ·t· r;. rna n·.. W~rll!~ e many ·t" kn',·o·,wn· 'V .-.. .... the ..· ·... u variations and derivations I have witnessed so far, rd have. to say he's correct, There maybe genl'es~
,0.··.·
. . ."" !o;.

fiDr ore. The shop offers a wan full m ~ran;(!liJ;~ to choose from, but most clients art a lD1\~{)if:..akind bit of an. Some wil] bring .. f h ;rou~tTh~~~mcnes· ·h . r he o. wr .ar . Ie:YU .1 k an d tne lL.e, ~ra~ a more finely honed illustration tirt~·workbegins. :Ot'la€" :thechosen design has beenconfirmed, ~ij dmrt with either a heat transfer or scribe @mftm' directly onto the skin ..Additional ~,al.so be added to a heat transfer before aG'lmtd rocess begins ..The better the road F
!1I~lr.;{g1I1'Nl! :~_l
0

styles and formats chat

be put into groups:;. but it appears thatmany of the tattoos being

can

done today fall into categories that refuse to be IabeledvHow could a. person define a cartoon mouse that was widding an assault rifle and a

bloody head?

At-many communications
~112

shtilitir
therilain.

U.Dand PJro~.hefinal t .r.tadytllbe transferred so

Placing thefinalJzed sketch on .the target area assures both parties that size and location are correct:

The beas transJer art is now applied to theflesh~ then pealed away iea,1J-"

ing t.he blue lines behind..

Cleanliness is again the dominant feature ot

the shop and. the process, Numerous effores are taken to ensure that no fluids are transferred from

the client to anyone else...Repeated use of the ultrasonic machine keeps the tattoo machine in tip-top form aswell as keeping colors from. blelld~
ing until needed. Surfaces of the work station are wiped dean before: any other steps are talcen,and,

individual containment of the. requiredtools hdp to. safeguard the client. Beinga bit of a maverick, Dale used ['0 make his own needles for use in the machine. AIlthough they did the: job, current production units ar·e'o·f f;at better quality and deli-vera: consistent flow 'of ink. Despite his old world talents, some new-,fangled hardware really helps his cause. l\rt with Atattooed employs about six al:tists ahhough they are seldom aU on duzy at the S1Jme time, Early morning appointments are not an optionas most shops in the arena, don't even op.en
before noon. 'You can"[ force: creativity out of b6:d

Onefinal check of the placement and size before the needie gets put to use.

too soon. Even though we were working on New Year's Eve, the How of people into the shop ,vas steady and many had to wait for over an hour 10'F the chance to get their work. done. Nocomplains
were heard as' the eager CUi-

comers sat and awaited

their number to be caU~d, Although his life is divided intothe rates of family man and working
man, Dale still has plenty of passion and energy to

create his own for01 of art-' on the clients lucky enou,gn [0 get an appointment wirll him, Maybe: one: daly his other responsibilities will
allow for more rime behil~

the machine, but for now hes happy to. create what

With bla;ck being the first color required, the small cup is filled with .ink:.

he can, 'when he can.

80

D'etails on the' elongated tail are n:umm"'()US and wiLL makefor.it terrifle pie,a when annpi/!,:t'e.

The black outliru! helps to $ho~w V,D.the way as he continues lay-

Moving ,inward blade 0 tttl.infs d!11i min·ardeta.ilsare, made in tiny

increments.

i ng thegrmu1li 1,{);()rkfor the rest of

the work.
-

Teeth, tail andpert of theforearm

are now oudined in black and ttl,uait: addit:iCJ}.al color:

Filling' in some areas around tlu p()'inted t-e.(?,thadds to the dim,ensJ,()n ()fth'ea~·t.

Bla.ck ink hilS

1UJW'

heen appli,,~m

most of the upper ponio}? ,of thee

transfer and we can b~gin to Jet tIt creature come to life.

82

S11il1/J

lZt1Jf1J

,of heavier concentra-

The large ears are now apP1''O,ac.hed

Even having the smallest space'S

li~fJ1V.iIJ {lorl7plete th-e'bJad~,work

bcfo1t mtlm'ng on to the UJ:e()fcl)l~

Ot'J.

. lng.

and ar~ giv.en their share ,ojshad-

filled in wi:th bLack helps to' .illum,inate the dir:ection ,of,the work .

,fJtltlining on the/lying eyeball

raw begins.

MOj,t of the st.eps ~~.equired seem ttl ath.i.t1Ni little until w'e set those that

follow.,

A mqj()'rity of t.he blttck outline is now complet« and awaits further de,tail effof'tJ..

83

Returning to themouth shading will help to dCfi'ne' the jagged teeth .that lie withi'rz,
j

Addi'tional detailing on the fingertipswilildter' shoeo us the results of

these minor touches .

Wiped clean ,of,the excess in'k} zoe can now ,begln to see .the thr.'et-

dimensional form taking shape;

Subtle shading.in the ears helps to bring depth to the work ,and sets U;D, ~ tattoos apart from the rest

With the black ink work now com-

plete we all look forward to the installation of the rna":), hues ,tn.'at

.A variety of colored inks .will he used' to' complete the piece tm'dltJmrt aml)Ut/.;ts are meted o'ut in:Jotbe

wilt be used,

waiting cups"

84

· U~ll.

JllI,(~U'H;li1i'')

uitr4Sonic cleaner continues to clean as we prepare for of cotor.

Dark green is, thefirst tolorapplied

as U.D. ,wor!(Jjrom dark to light

colon.

green are now .completed as the transflrmation continues.

Smaller Jl:gm.ents

of a brighter

85

The needle' piaCl!S the ir"k into place, leaving excess color that will h,e wipeel clean to reveal tbe next

With green: being ,appli'ed ever

much of the piece,
toe

can see more

and more of the details 1'''evealed

Tbe green p'O'ttiO'TlS a/the pim (l,re now complete and the extra bIb bos been wiped clean

bit of shading.

Moving into a range of lightr:rcolOYJ} bits; of yellow are ,zaw added to

th'eeqUtllion,

Bright red will bring some addl~ tional hrilliance to the' flnished piece.

Large areas of'the b.elly n',eea f() 1M filkd in with red, ,but if d{meIf) i~ ., l smau.'!sections.

°6·' 0'

Red(l,nb'l seen in the f

f}e'S;;

tongue,

M~ gH."flS ,of the mouth" and

!rowing th't?[eve/of detail being
JrtdJm:d.

Pet£(Jdicatl~ the area is washed Work now begins on th.e letters of down with diluted,green soap, cov... the shin with ye.llo,w as the domiered tvlth a
5,Oft

pap',cr towel and

nant hue.

cleaned.

to be folto,~m:d.hy additional colors for YJdpt,an'd detail

EaCb 1ttter is outlinedfirst,

Bright ,blue is selected

ryes
U)I

to'

brin;:g the

lifo.

The canvas of Pyro s flesh is" taking on a new lifo tIS ,details ,(In:d ,c-(rrrt()ttrs .con,tinue to b'c added,

87

Pale blue' highlights will do ,tbeir

part tn
....._ .c : ,

b" '. .' ,_ d··" .. ,nngtng:eptn ."1_ t. , ,me tjjort, to ~L" ",a;,

The results ,afthe incremental steps art becoming more ,apparenttts 'we app~oach thefinal steps.

A.nt)ther cie'tt:nsing of the' p.iCCt-e lll;ll

Sh()1l)'U.DI"

where the last hits of detail will be r:equi,red.

The hi,gh-rise ha;ndlebar$~ ar:e given their own bit of contour by using a bright, blue de:tail.

A few Jubtle sh:apes help theflying O1·b.

to

,defi~n;,(!

,Areas of hright color' willgitl'e a ,lifo like appearance to the compi'e~eJl'f

ball,

88

C8n')!)~ jlyi'ng eye through ,the the l1ighMkies will be a pair ofr.ed

,Anyone' with an eyt? fl,t de.tailwill discover the tiny battle of XXX potion at the ,top l!f the art:

The blue line applied M' :the handle ... bars is now highlighted with a brighter shade to proviae ,t/. tuhula,r loo]:

Afinal 'lath {)f green soap w'itl MVP~'ttj,e (J'Ompleted"tatsoo

Details seen in evtrysquare inch ,of tbe piece are a testamen» to tbe

Sboum here in all of its final glory is

,th'f!latest addition to Py.rt/S collection

ability of U.D,. and his many years

,oj,expelie?ue in thefield

of body art.

89

jae Capobianco

When deciding to ,g.eta. tattoo done, people can go about the process in one of several ways, If ,) .hi . Its somet!-_IIng (( .1;)\) mey can 'w-alk mtot .h eir stock _L s. local shop, pick a piec-e from the catalog and '[he

work, can begin. Since most people wish re atioo

something original, the first step

for them is ta

meet with their chosen ink personto discuss. tlle art to be created, After a period of time) dep011d·

Erin had wanted a:tattoo from .Joefor ,ne:a'rly3' ]¥lean and booked her si.tting ,6' ,m,(),rtths in adva:r;;,ce, ,Cre.a,te.d ·during the festivities- at the Hell ,City Festivtll~Erin was more tha.12ptetued with the'r.esults. Giving joe nothing, than the theme" he drew' up-th,t g/rt and ,turned it into a pain:ting of the flesh. 90

ing on the request, the arrist win contact the per-· ion saying the sketch has been completed for review,'Once [his process has been approved, lite pieoe can be put onto the skin.
In the case of Erias geisha-vampire piece, the path was a bit longer. Having seen 1.oe:'5work in numerous places, Erin knew she wanted Joe: to do

his magic. She has been ge£tingta.t£'oos for nearly a:decade, but was willing to wail: fot the chance
Since she lives in Ohio, and joe ~¥Ol'ks out of his shop in Connecticut, they were to work wirh

Joe.

hardly neighbors. AJter waiting three years for her oppouunity, both Joe and Erin were scheduled to ,be,at[he H·eU City tattoo convention in 2006. ~eeing[he chance [0 finally get some ofjoes art {Inher body, Erin made her appointment 6 months in advance, Joe typically doesn't book .c. early, but knew [he Hen City event would be busy~and accep ted the assignment,
Knowing

.After moisturizing

the skin~ the .hcat transfer isputi

place to check for size and position.

aJt[ooguy; Erin simply told. him of her "vampiregeisha' idea and let his imagination and pencil Dunwild. Artists like Joe work best when nor 00.0~tminedby too much direction and prefer to. fly by the seat of their pants, This is not to say that &in would have accepted any old sketch tor her ~f, but had faith and confidence in Joes work, When seeing the final drawing, she was immediately pleased and eager to get the ink started. Her initia.l esire was for the tattoo to represent joe's d ta;ltnt;. and to be recognized as one of his pieces.

Joe's abilities

as an artist as weU as a

Sat£ffied with placement, th.e·hacking is removed to expose .the guidelineS' beneath.

Many artists. have

a signature that runs' through

lliPSt of their custom work, and Joe Is no differ-

mE.His choices: of colors as wen as his use of s&adingand contours sets his work apart from the

msf.
BesidesJoe's vast exposure in the world of tatr0n~] uch of his illustrarion and airbrush art has m Iwtnpuhlished in several books. He was showing a~!fance opiesat the Hell City event, and would c ~€ :dehucingthem on Sa.turday evening ..While

dQl1lg the tattoo 'we see here, Joe was deluged.

~w~huestions about when and where people q eQuid buy their own copies of his laresr books.

1Jh,e ag.es of his latest efforts were fHled with colp

With thepap.cr now p'eeled ,away we can see the beginning of th.e piece to be created.

91

JOt uses an ink pen to define some of the mare remote

Seeing the'finishedpiece long in advance ,alltJwsjpJ

to create minute details that :will enhance theflll-

edg1!sof't-he art before se:tting needle to skin.

i-shed pie:ce,

As is typic(/l~ the case}' the ,black l}'u,tline comes firs.t~ butfoe :needed to clear up a few implf,ifr;cti.ons b'ejore' starting out:

After a quick wipe of the excessink we can ~BI outline wo:rk taking shllp,e.,

Using either a 3 or 5 liner needlf!J dep'ending on .the

section chosen, the outline work b.egins.

Details in ,the geishas kimono ,wi{Ll!4tel;, major part of the art.

9'2

. '¥aj.dy graphic illustrations of beautiful

of which wore smiles, and little tQJlll~~u.rQ the pinup influence in his see ~;i.311rm;QlllelO.was not' your typical approach it
~y

.form.

I asked Joe ifairbrushing was similar eo art, he qUIckly explained that the two werie.3,5diiFel!ent as night and day. The ,heis so capable in both forms of art is his talents ..Most, people would be ..n:'i'~~,,'possess the ability to do one or the &t alone both. Ra¥ing no formal training besides high ;n1,ll!.'lIU'~H' . class, Joe's use of colors and textures in tatCoo or airbrush art are obviously ,While certain aspects of any art form can 'fal!lgh(~ true artist seems to have been, born a. 'Dle ability to create the chosen illusions in ~t~a.@5i!n medium. Despite his .level of talent . •,Joe retains a level headed nature: . makeshim easyto deal with. This cannot be 'f aUpartie's who achieved any level of norotheir field. ~luringthe creation ofthis book; I have ~Jl~d [hat the tattoo machines are basically the: srune matter where you go. Oh sure.there no may be some models that are: different in one way &J:ianother~ but for the most part they are built IllSing the same principles and design. This being sUd,it's amazing to see these same machines :bIng used in such a variety of ways. AJlt~ough f-adllays down ink using' a needle: or set of nee.,es, ifs the technique of the user that makes the m~c happen. Much like a surgeon's tools" in the ~#tt ands, wron& can be made right, but h laced into my meat hooks, only bad things wiU w. Since there are no rules or regulations as tID' who can own and operate a. tattoo machine" &neneeds to do some research before having the needles taken to the skin. Opening a proper shop reqllires the usual Iirany of paperwork and approvals, but once purchased" a tattoo machine can he used in the convenience of your own living room. This is where the troubles can begin, although many talented tattoo artists did their
L,.~ .. !,!~,~,,< .. Q
I

The ,tlCl.r:iy use of blue ink will assist Joe' latsr as he returns to' the location to complete th.epiece~

Picking up'the ,bla'c_kJu.tlin,eprocess again~ Joe con( tinue: to .define the shape of the k.imono.

The fruits of his labo» so for, we can see how much more w()',r.k lies ahead.

93

Wi:th the lower section af,theart outlined Joe will turn his attentions to the flcial details next.

Lavish eyelashes will hi,ghlight the larg-eeyes of the geisha.

The tiniest of details are addressed first so as not to

get lost in the flow ,of,ink later.

Moving aw.ay.from the ,eyes,[or a moment. sam«

addi,t:ional details are addedto the
SU?

rounding

Meill

Joe again uses a hint. of color bifo.refi:nishing up'

with the blacckwork.

Wip'ing down the suiface with moisturizer h:rfort wiping the tattoo cleanfor a quick review.

With the excess .ink cleaned off we can see the tattoo
coming to lifl~

fiiftzg a larger 7 mag needle allous joe' to begin ihliding.in the area around the flce. By adding .the shaded areas to ,thepiece, we can see
~liSt work at home. It seems that "buyer beware"

.theface become form,or;e prominent.

3Wu1d apply 'when choosing '[he man behind the

nee·d1es.

.,

In the early stages of creating the sketch for a mti~oo" begins to see the colors that will be joe apPlied in the final piece'. This level of vision is (\),[1e the traits that sets his work on the top of

.helf among purveyors of tattoo arr, Small hrtprovements are always added as a piece progresses,~ ut his vision of the overall balance and b hues that will be employed help' make the actual
'process a thing of beauty. Being artistic by nature makes the application process seem easy to the untrained eye, bur anyonewho knows what goes into the creation of a. rarroo will be stunned by

Jols efforts,

Moving to the hail; Joe begins to add large sections of ink to create shape-and' ,dime,nsi(J,n.

95

Using black a.r.ound the roses in her hair w.il-J later allow the red petals to stand out.

Larger arees of the jl(twing' kimono are now shaded to add contours arld shadow.

Another cleanup reveals the wl)rk done with the wider needle.

With' the ,black work nearing complaion; we can tit the le.velof intensity that lies ahead.

Every step taken sbou» us more deta'u' and emotion

I1S

.thefoce of the geisha ... ampire receives attension. v

By placing areas of black outside the lines of the' ki.rn:{)no, its shapt and color .wltl stand out uit'h
greaterintemity.

9'6

With the black work now Cl)mplet.ed_. Joe can prt:ptlre

t$ J~in

tbeap_plicationo/colo1'S ..

Now the red i» the ~es and' bloo.t(y ()verjlaw flas.t are added to the.foce ..

of the

1lJwtratt~l1g a oampir« right aftttr.a big meal, b'righ t redink Mused toftll in th.e a/fell' around the mouth ..

Afow strlU'lds of red hair will help to bring liflt()' .th.e

othtrwisc raven locks.

n()wfilled in, JOlt .adrls a bit of color to the decoratio ns in th.e hair:

U7lth the

1:1)$(1

97

Being a vampire~ we expected a high level of red to be used ,and/or has-n,~t disappointed us.

Wiped clean again" we can set! the resuLts tif the first bloody steps: in the piece.

,Using an ashen graycnlor will give th.e living-dead

geisha just' the right shade in he.r skin tones.

98

§moil tcti()nsof yellow and green are nota added to ~ big/ili:bt the eyes.

Cleansing the ink aW'tl:fi we' 'nOW see the efforts taken on thefocial region of the tattoo, hut a few more fin-

ishing touches will be added later:

lad} ~tlSeo/&olor and shading are ,bringi.ng the dead to

lift·

Euen the flesh qf her heaving breast witlbe d()n:ein the deathl~graycolon

Th,eyellow £nk in the yes will ,bring a level of eerie beau.tyto .th'etoomans flue ..

Afew bright highlights are now added to the hair to create a sense of dimension.

With blue as the primary color; large areas are cou-

ered in a short amount of time'.

Tbe sash of the k.imo-no will b,e done in a dark lavender to' t)ffiet the' bttt£ silk,.

Workingfrom dar~ ,toligp,t) di.ffore.n.t shades of blue will be used" as well as additional hues.

After a ,p-ar.ticularly heavy meal th,(}bwo,d ht1j .. 'down onto the'folds of her kimono ..

.A hrigh.t:yellow section, witt soon reuealcentour: before seen in thisp'£e~'£.

not

Additio n.al shades ()fyellow will help to "w'i~if'R'if(JlJTC shape to the jltJwing robe.

1.00

,Even the simplest: of'shepes requires the 'use of a vari.tty of shades to ,bring the needed detail to' the fi'nished tattoo.

{fit)tllsteps in any tattoo involve the. :useoj' white inles ~,ddath,e last measure q/,C()rtt()'ur to the pr:evio'Usly

flPPli~dinks;

Final touches of yellow 'Will complete the kimono and the' entire piece of'art.

Ou,:;rall>the tattoo screams of reality l1.:nd melees a gr.eat showcase for foes abilities ,artd talent. 101

Kevin Harden
Kunin Tattoo
Wid] his well known history in the tartan world, along withhis obvious ability in creating detailed illusrrationa.Brian gave Kevin fret: reigr1 when it carnierime to get his next tattoo. Using a book on.

microscopic images of insects :as his inspiratlon,

While nor quire cartoon-like, nor a mockery of the insect, Kevinmerely h~ew the:sbg:~ out of proportion while retaining a fairly high ]evW of accuracy inthe dep~ction.Having no background

roT B.ri~Ul~S· arm,

Kevin decided to create an ex;agge;Jrated bot[ weevil

Brian Q~tUhfJt'has hadmor:e than one tattoo done .in the past~ some of which were ofKevins: doing., i!lr hOJ It chest p,ieee being completed in several stages" but for the book ,agreed to hav,e an entirely diffor.tJzt ttltf(Ja done, Til(
exaggerated boll weevil wtlShnJZ'gh.t to lift with bright' hu,er and Kevin} active imagi.nation. 102

enl~~m:!!.llogy ysd£: 1 have no 'way of knowing m

whacn~il(dl.seC[ion f the weevil is actl1aUy called, but o ~ecmdtttD;gpiece:wasamazing nonetheless"
ilrEe Kevin had chosen rhe subject matter for dt~ ~utOOl he set out lei draw what he envisioned ~~ ~na1-antc be. I[ required about eight hours of work@verhe space of three days to capture the t im!f(! Yle'set here, His goal was to create at bon weeyn lba:tW,llsdt just a "flat tatroo" ~ but one that exciteJIlCJ](, ,depth and contour for at dose of realism. Not JD easy task to achieve, but weD within Kevinsabili1I,f'S.

fut ofthe

t'lI €'OJ.o,rs or 'the bug. In life) bon weevils are &irly f

in usion was 'to be: based on the select-

Before he can .begin ,OO'tattoo pt"f)tess~ Kevin applies t

some final touches tv the illustration ,that will bt used

da:r~in their shading, without much fun involved, \l7hh plans tocreate anuber-weevil, Kevin his (l!Ir:n~, the wide on the palette and incl uded a up W~a€array of greens" blues and yeUow:s to bring his bug[0 [ife. The mild disroetion and seemingly readyrojlQuucestance of the crearure only adds to the &ri:ooa. Considering the fuel: rhar an actual bon wee~'mfasllres less rhan a quarter of an inch in Length, :~Jjruls version of the bug is almost 3,0 times larger rbrol Hfe. Likeall rartoos we have seen so fall~Kevin begins
~. ourlining the illustration. One variation onthis be was the use of the blue nadine on the ~o:wer ~t'ion of the insect. The end result of this etion \¥ouldgive a more mysterious fil1,ishwith!CHlt the dis[11lC!! bhlCk lines we usually see, His use of a IS. lOOse/roundneedle set allows him both conrrol and theability to cover larger sections at once. This ~riliangement: permitsthe needles DO. float and move n«>r( ill their mounting which delivers the wider pathwhUe retaining control 'of the ink. A#S needle ~ used to "calligraphy" some of the lines, making &em lucre apparen( as they seem to g~ab more am~ntion. Overall, his selected weapons illnthis piece were4~), and 7 ma.g needles, providing him with the 5 lVeIsadlity I'eq uired to nlap the colorful hug. With the arrworktransferred onto Brians skin, Kevin works quicklyas the outline takes shape, By pre-loading different machines with the required

as his guide.

./' .',' .. s. .'. .. t.,~. '.,. .Cj'tJr. nec~tngp()s'ttz(}n].ng an ·d' stse one UfJtt1.me h~';:"f! applying the outiine to Brian} arm, ,COI:',I_:

needles sets h.e avoids the delay of having to sw,ap

needles into machines, By simply cleansing the chosen. machineof the current color and rc..loading with me next hue, Kevin can move fluid~y from one area
roanother,

Kevin

WClStl!S

no ,time in beginning the black outline

of the boll we,ev.ilart.

m03

The t(J'tversl}cti(}noj'the weevils h(),d, will be O,U,tlined using blue ink for It diffir.etu '!Ifoct in th,(!final
p,icr:e.

Heavier lines of black' are now added to the mi» to define. certain shapcs of the £nsect.

Bright turquoise ink is used to continue .the outlining in .the lower' segrrunt ,of'.theart.

Cleaned of the stray :In.kwe' can nour see the darker ()u,tiines and .the effect they will baue on tht de:p'thoj the' tattoo.

,;

Returning to the .blac.k'W()rlf~some small details ,added in outline form,.

are

Black iFiJe' is runu ,appli:et:lto shade' in some small

areas of the bug.

m04,

Narvinrg taken three days to create t:he initial

. I~ couldalready see the finished piece in

mfnd: efore setting needle to action. The sketch B oonl.,pletedin nothing more than bffia,ckon white,
. f~r¥entimaginarion could envision the vivid

use of colors. ~~rrung ro Brian, today's tattoo recipient) K~it18'COuchis: fo;liidy even and gentle.There are, rome ~;Qtt:(w artists who acre better known for having

m~~~ rampant

andamwJng inks and where they'd be placed, His:studies of the actual insect gave no input inm\wl~.i,eholors would best suit this distortion of c realj~1 so we have only his: creative mind eo blame

ahtu¥yhand, which increases disoomfort by a large ma:rgjll. f the rwochcices, most people: WQuMI pre-' O fer.a. gentle touch, assuming the level of talent and 3ftWI}lI!k doesn't suffer in the process. Kevin has obvioUSlly been trained to combine both aspects: into his wor~~~eping the people flowj,ngrhrough his door. k hJS(,oodof working at a manic pace, whichwould i~~to a.·prematume burn-cur, he limits his time at UtiC: &air to seven ..hour days, numbering five per ~k This does not count the time he spends at nOim€ relaxing whiletaking :pen to piaper~ creating tI1.e: required illustradons for waiting clients. He plie&n doing the drawing at horne where the envimnment is bit morepeaceful. The walls of Kevins shop are beautifully decorate,d1rvirh variety of illustrations and paintings. Some a ~} 'Ghework is his own while others hai] from artiscs headmires. All manners of macabre and unusual jmagesawalil: your senses as you await your time in the boorh, Not only are the walls covered-with an amazing array' of art, but the surfaces themselves are coveredin bright hues we seldom see ina residential setting. Like his tattoo art, your eyes don'[ know ~v.he[e look first but hope to, catch every' nuance of to me images being: viewed. In his first 14 years ofraeroo art, Kevin has :a~t,eadycarved himself a 'tidy niche in the expanding wodd. of artists plying their trade in the skin ink Lucky for [hose who are able co secure a place in his agenda, their 'wait is rewar-ded with an original piece :of art every time: he sets his needles into action . .As with ,many of the tattoo. artisans we have met, their creativity appears to be limitless, but (hey are able to translate their talent into a visible form of art that
the world can share.

Aga.inclean.ed of the unused ink, we' can see the

clearly defined lines of the p'icce~

With the outlining complete, Kevin begins to.fill in some sh'aded ,areasof' the lines"

,£V,(1n the ,tiniest of details will result in a highly

detailed piece upon completion.

While a real ball toeeoi] is dark in: color; l(evin has chose» a b,igh.r array of greens and hlues to complete
thepiec«.

A large,. needle is ttSed

the weevil.

to fill in

some bigger areas df

The leg-like things can be seen in added dimrnlSion ,with the ji;rst ust'ofgreer2' ink' as shading;

D:arkel' green is now added to' a diffirent,p{Jl:tian oj

the bu.gs bor{y:,

Brighter green is used

the hues intensifY, adding more dimension tv the art.

lJS

The appendages and belly are th,efirst rectJiitnts ~

,rA'itcolor ink as the tattoo pr~tlYJsses.

106

lJiIi~n41~iSeof bright gre.en ink is used on the l1IiiJJ.)ftlMOn ()f the weevil.

OrU:8 swiped clean we can see how tJleprevious masses of ink are becoming more realistie.

"f}l~'UJtherdean vieto shows us tlut steps taken s()ftr '(t~jdthe results achieved.

A bright ,fJ'ra'nge hue is noio thrown into the mix, bringing another di11'lx!.nsi()'rJ, tv the tattoo.

Until the excess is wiped clean the ink appears so n()thingm(),'f,E? than e blobo/l:oto1r.

,tN!

Before Jwitr:hing to the nextcoio1;tn't orange inle is

applied to several t~gi()ns.

107