9545 Reseda Blvd. unit 2, Northridge, CA (818) 700-2818

Pig Skin

Ok so ive just got myself a stigma hyper eikon ems 300 and everyything i need to start tattooing. Basically all the shops in my area are below standard tattooists after showing them all my portfolio they all wanted me as a apprentice. i apprenticed for 3 months and realised the hygeine was poor no machine bags or clipcords bagged etc and the techniques/tattoos they where producing wasnt going to help me much. so i quit got all my own stuff have learned all about bloodborne pathogens etc. heres my graffiti/art site to show my potential www.flickr.com/chisksof.
so i got some pigskin today i would like some tips on using it please.
i know im going to get called a scratcher and i dont care im 20 have good artistic abilty and has spent a long time researching on forums such as mikes nick baxters etc. watched plenty of Dvds and most of all focussed on hygeine, anyway any tips would be helppfull on how to prepare the pig skin.
Thanks


Replies:

RE:Pig Skin

you arent going to get a positive response from people on forums if you come on with a cocky attitude, had a look at your site and the artwork is quite gd but that doesnt mean that it will transfer into the medium of tattoo at all, a bit of humility goes a long way when asking for help.
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RE:Pig Skin

sorry didnt mean to sound cocky. but if i just said about the pig skin everyone would just say get a apprenticeship.. which i want but from a good tattooist, there are none near me and i do not drive. Anyway i had a go today got some clean lines with the hyper and some alright shades using the silverback graywash set.
Thanks for saying u like my art, have u had any experience with pig skin?
Thanks
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RE:Pig Skin

never experienced the pig skin always had to use the squares of rubber shit, and i fully understand about finding a good teacher and thinking it better to go it alone been there done that but i have got into a shop with a great tattoo artist and have progressed alot more in 6 mnths here than i did from 3 years on my own so keep trying to get in somewhere with some good artists and you will excell.

nice to see you are starting off with good tools too and not a cheap kit from ebay
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RE:Pig Skin

yh i done alot of research before buying my equipment and had to sell a few paintings to get it as im not working at the moment. i know a hyper aint going to make me do good tattoos straight away but im just going to keep practicing on pig skin then maybe do my upper leg. in the mean time ill be looking for a apprentice and am willing to move somehwere else to do it.

So if anyone in the Uk is looking for a apprentice please reply here and i can show you some more artwork which aint in my site. My main style is biomech and graffiti styled designs but love all types of styles.

just to add my favourite artists are mike devries colour and victor portugal black and grey :)
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RE:Pig Skin

You gettin your cart before your horse man. All the greatest tools in the world won't make a damn. You just spent all the money on that shit and you don't even know the repercussions . First off you have to start somewhere even if it is a shitty apprenticeship at least you got your foot in the door. Secondly it's not just about tattooing it's the business itself . This isn't television other tattoo artists are out to get your money and screw you and if you waltz around with your fancy equip they will take advantage and steal your shit. You should get some cheap stuff to learn with and keep your fancy equipment for when you are a lil more savy and respected . Respect is something you have to earn and nobody will take you seriously unless you have you priorities straight.
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RE:Pig Skin

i agree with getting the foot in the door part which i did, but didnt see myself getting much benefit getting taught by someone who just copys flash and does tribal. i dont see how ive wasted money on getting good equipment though and what are you on about other artists stealing my stuff? thats not going to happen lol
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RE:Pig Skin

you got ambition, thats cool. however don't let the industry frustrate you. if you try and do things on your own, your going to develop alot of bad habits. there is so much you can learn from a good apprentiship. when I did my apprentiship, i started on pig skin. however you can hamburger the hell out of pig skin to get the image you want. but without proper guidence, you'll never know when real skin is getting over worked. the pig skin is not going to tell you that your going too deep, or not enough. if you really want to do this as a career, be patient. I saw your art, pretty cool. if you can keep a great portfolio, then more and more artist may be inclined to take you on. when I started, i had no intensions of becoming a tattoo artist, but I've been drawing realism and portraits for 20 years. one day when I was gett my sleeve worked on, I showed my tattooer my work. he offered me a free apprenticeship immediatly. he told me if I can do on skin what I do with pencil, id be famous. that felt pretty cool. however once I started my apprentiship, my master showed me alot of stuff and got me progressed very quickly, only because I have the aptitude of drawing. he can see my strength and weeknesses and help me fly through the learning process. now that i've drilled into your head how important an apprentiship is. let me share some of my experience with pig skin.
1 pig skin has a short shelf life. pick tattoos that are going to take you less than 5 hours to complete. because the skin dries out fairly quickly
2. stencil stick to pig skin like cement, very hard to wipe off.
3. pig skin is more porus than real skin the ink goes in quite differently. also the stencil tends to bleed out alot more, which blurrs your image.
4.start tattooing on pig skin on a flat surface first, then after your comfortable start wraping it around cylinders and placing it on other round shapes. put different things under the skin to help replicate working on softer and harder surfaces.
5. try to keep your needle depth at 1/16 or about a millimeter for now just to help with your dexterity. however when you tattoo real skin, everyone has different types of skin and you will need to learn the feel how the ink is being put in.your actually needle depth will change depending on the persons skin type and where they art getting the tattoo done.
6. spend alot of time using the palms of your hands as well as your fingers to stretch the skin to help build your strength.
(however by teaching your self, you will not know when to stretch the skin and when not to stretch the skin to achieve a certain shade or tone). if your new the common thought is to always stretch the skin no matter what. but if you watch a black grey artist. they adjust what to stretch and what not to to get the desired effect. play with this concept on the pig skin.
7. all though you have a great machine,I own one too. it will help your ability to use others. coils ect. the weight of the machine will also help with your dexterity.

if you finally decide to do this on your own, your chances of success is much less. but my best advise is if you cant find a good teacher, then save your money and fly around the world and get tattooed by the best in the industry. ask them if they wouldn't mind giving you tips during your tattoo. if your tattoo cost $500 then give them an extra $500++ tip for their advise. perhaps if your lucky you might get a recomendation from one of these pros, and they may help steer you in the right direction to getting a proper apprentiship.
good luck. don't ever get full of yourself. no matter how good you think you are there is always someone better. respect the industry and the people that make it great. don't ever disrespect any artist even if they suck ass. keep your opinions to yourself and simply try to avoid these people.
hope this helps a little. ....take care
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RE:Pig Skin

Thanks alot for your great answer i appreciate it. i worked on pig skin all day today and it all went ok apart from one problem when i used a 13 magnum and the x1 graywash (lightest shade) it was still going in pretty dark but i could get really light shades with a 5rl :S. Dont know what the problem is but ill work on it again 2moro.

i agree about paying extra $ when getting tattooed to ask for tips, and im planning to get a biomech/girls face sleeve from victor portugal soon when i save the money for it and im going to fly to poland to get it. so i should learn alot there.

I do respect the industry and my first post made me sound a big head after reading it back. Is it also worth sending artists a online portfolio via email ? im sure it cant do no harm i think ill get that sorted within next few days and get my art out there. In the mean time il just keep practising i have a few ppl willing to let me practice on them ( my drunk auncle and his mates) but i dont want to yet untill im totally confident i could produce a ok tattoo and not chop them up.

anyway thanks for taking the time to reply
Chay
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RE:Pig Skin

Basically what I am saying is that I did the same exact thing you are doing now, except at that time I bought next generation and eikon ems 200 only to get it stolen later. I didn't know that the other dude was pissed because a novice got better equip than he did.. It's good to have top notch tools just make sure you don't got hater ass thieves around. Most tattooists around these parts are not trustworthy , and when I started out I constantly got taken advantage of. I didn't get taught about fishing or anything so at first they would act nice and pawn the cheap shit off on me and I would work my ass off all night and they would only do like two tattoos and still make more than me. Basically it's going to happen to you and the quicker you realize there is more to tattooing than just tattooing the better you will have it unless you find some honest folk to start out with. Just a tip ,,, watch for big egos with bad portfolios and you will see that I am right. Not everyone is out to get ya it's just hard starting out dealing with drama and bs but it gets better when you get better because then you have more places to choose to work that is more reputable and so forth. I wasn't trying to bust your balls just letting you in on the shitty side of things to come.
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RE:Pig Skin

Thanks for the advice il take it on board.
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RE:Pig Skin

nooo just got outbid at the last second on ebay for the animal style dvd. it went for £57 :( i wanted it.
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RE:Pig Skin

why don't you buy the dvd at "full price" on mikes website. why would you advertise that you are trying to give someone else the profit for this purchase. Im pretty sure mike has worked very hard to put this dvd together. doesn't he deserve to eat. that ebay dvd could have been a bootleg version. It is very disrespectful to mike and any other artist that work so hard to help people like us become better artist. especially when you mention your disapointment about missing this ebay deal on "mike devries forum". ????
it is things like this that upset other artist, and one of the reasons why artist get upset at other artist for giving away their secrets.

your still new to this industry, and you don't know the etiquette involved. so im not going to beat up on you too hard. just think before you act. ?;^P
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