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hey bro,

These blurred lines you see are a result of a blow out. This is usually a consequence of going too deep. however there are other reasons for this ranging from, needle depth, speed, angle of entry, some inks, and usually the main cause is "experience". although needle depth should be common knowledge, some artist have a hard time being consistent with it when they begin to tattoo different areas of the body, like the neck , top of the foot or back ect. please understand that the ink needs to enter the second layer of skin, if you don't go deep enough the ink will not hold up, if you go too deep the bodies natural fluids will begin to spread and carry the ink, (result is a blow out). the reason the ink needs to stay in the second layer is because the body is able to create a scar tissue around the ink and hold it into place once it heals. this depth usually falls around 1mm to 1.3 mm depth, depending on what part of the body your tattooing. learning this would be "best understood" if you had a pro standing over your shoulder to help guide you better. getting the feel for this takes a lot of experience. for example the back would have a slightly different depth than the back of the hand, ( this also depends on the person as well). I could go into this for quite some time , but I hope you have a better understanding about needle depth. I really recommend that you try and find an apprenticeship. However I do realize that apprenticeships are very hard to come by in certain parts of the world, so with that said I would recommend that you sacrifice your own body to better your skill level before tattoo anyone else. learn as much as you can first before even attempting anything on yourself.
A tip that may help is :: hang your needle out of your tube more, this will help you see your needle better and perhaps help you to better control your depth. also stretching the skin is very important, a very common mistake artist make when tattooing is that when they are laying lines, they see that the ink is not going in, so to fix it they will go deeper, but what they didn't realize was the needle was bouncing off the skin and would not go in. if they stretched the skin properly they would have solved their problem and not end up with blow outs. I'd go on to talk about 4 point stretching but that's a whole other topic. anyway bro hope that helps, take care

stephen stacey.

Steve, you on facebook?

I found ya I think!

Superman, thank you very much, as always your advice help me a lot, Im now doing it on my body, on my legs, Im using the hawk, Im runing it at 130 rpm (12v) for lining, do you think is better slower?
As well I mixed kuro sumi 60% and triple black 40% cause I got the triple black by mistake and I ask here if I should use it and MD told me that I can mix it with another ink to do lines.
What do you think of that?

Thank you, for that excellent little tattoo class!

Eternal triple black is not for lining, or at least that's what the makers say. This might be a clue to the blowouts.

then for what is the triple black? cause I dont know what to do with it, and aswell kuro sumi the lines turn gray in some months, I want to buy talens ink, is the best no?

Triple black would probably be best for solid black fill.Personally, I think you get better results using all purpose black inks for everything. Dynamic and Silverback 11 are both excellent for solid fill, single pass and sculpted lines, and for greywash. I do also really like Silverback pre-mixed washes though.

Triple black would probably be best for solid black fill.Personally, I think you get better results using all purpose black inks for everything. Dynamic and Silverback 11 are both excellent for solid fill, single pass and sculpted lines, and for greywash. I do also really like Silverback pre-mixed washes though.

Sorry about the double post. By the way, in response to the Talens question; many artists have used it for years with great results but I think there are better products these days.

blow out,good question,blow out is very related with needle point and needle configuration,even more than needle deep.
rotarys isnt good for make lines,in fact rotarys is nor good for anything except this kind of work that some call realistic stuff
but never expected that a realistic tattoo take so long in the skin like a tattoo make by guy,aaron
realistic tattoo lost a lot after one or two years i see some tattoos make by famous people that make this stuff almost desapear after one year

Do you know that this whole going to deep is a myth. Just listen to this guy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwob2XB2VSc&feature=plcp&context=C2ed61UDOEgsToPDskIB-EYS8dKIDhHcyTHO-Dxc

Hey Butter Jay,

I'm going to give you some advice that my father has passed on to me, and I truly hope that you use this in everything you hope to achieve in the future.
"If you want to learn how to be a millionaire, you don't ask a homeless man sleeping on a park bench for advice, you ask another millionaire."
The same goes for tattooing, Just because some random guy on youtube, make a statement on "his theory" about going too deep, does not make it true. This is a prime example of why there are so many artist that have such a hard time learning how to tattoo properly.
Mr Jay, I promise you, If you take a long stroke neotat machine with a stroke length of 4.5mm, and bury it into the top of someones foot, or wrist. no matter how fast you go, you will have the most fu*ked up blown out lines, try it on yourself and let me know how your foot looks after 3 months.
The main reason I come to forums like mikes, is because he is by far, one of the best of the best in this field. most of my tips are not my own opinion. but that of advise and tip I have obtained from the best artist in this industry, why? because I want to learn how to be one of the best artist in this industry, and going to youtube for advise is the same as asking a homeless man on a park bench for advise on how to be a millionaire.
Jay/ and anyone else for that matter looking to learn more about this business should take the time and money to invest in the proper knowledge, by purchasing every thing they can afford on the topic, go to conventions and watch the "real pros", get tattooed by "real pros", go to seminars and pay for tips and advise from "real pros", I hope this doesn't discourage you from learning, but rather motivate you in the right direction to really open your eyes to what is really needed and how much you need to commit yourself to this industry to becoming a "respected" artist. I hope I've helped you in any way, stay humble, and always give your best.

take care bro

stephen stacey

the guy on youtube is rigth,he knows what he talk about

well Jason,

I guess in your case "Ignorance is bliss", but even so, Ill even give you a tip. hopefully it will open your eyes.

How to tell the difference between a true master tattoo artist, and an artist who claims to be one.

1. don't fall into the trap of seeing a tattoo as a "whole" to judge whether it is a good tattoo or not.
2.break down each tattoo you see from all the artist you are looking up.
3. pay close attention to each line in the tattoo, are they clean or shaky, are they consistent in thickness, or do they get thinner and thicker?
4. look closely at the shading, is the shading blended smoothly from dark to light, or can you see the transition between each shade.
5. are the color blends from dark to light or one color to another consistent and smooth, with out seeing where one color stops and another color picks up?
everything I mentioned can easily go unnoticed when you look at a tattoo as a "whole".
now with this new information, go check out this guys portfolio and let me know if you still feel the same way.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.100194140010041.185.100000583652054&type=1

my real reason for posting this comment is to educate those who are looking to get a tattoo from perhaps an artist in your local area. now that you have a little better insight on what to look for when deciding if an artist truly has the skills needed to give you a good tattoo..
be careful that you don't fall into the trap of seeing a tattoo portfolio with untrained eyes, now that you know what to look for when viewing someones work, you can now stop judging tattoos as a "whole". or with "blurred vision".

don't get me wrong, this guy is an "ok" artist, but he still has a long way to go to reach the level of talent on sites such as this one and many others. I truly wish him all the best, however I'm a little concerned with some of the advise I've looked at so far. but for now, I would not feel comfortable receiving a tattoo from this gentleman. however my opinion is my own, I don't speak for anyone else on this particular subject matter.
also, I'm definitely "not" here for a pissing contest with anyone, I just want to share the information I've obtained with anyone willing to listen.

hope this helps, take care bro.

Stephen Stacey.

i guive you something for you think about it
i saw works of shige with blow up lines
smooth transitions=confusion

if you someday understand this youre in the rigth track
take care

The guy on U tube talks about moving too slow or going over the same area too much. The fact is that moving too slow can be directly related to going too deep. Think of your machine as a mini jackhammer; each stroke in the same spot drives the point in deeper. Also, a machine running real fast or real hard can over drive a round needle group easily.I would also assume that a rotary with no give could do the same. That being said, Billy makes a good point that it is more difficult to go too deep than most people think; especially if you tune your machines to run soft and drive to the proper depth.

To Stephen Stacey:

I like that you give advice but your advice is only good as the work you do. So where's the link for your work? I know you can easily expose other peoples work but what about yours?

mr. Jay
im not here to expose anyone, like ive mentioned earlier, this guy is an ok artist, and i'm sure he's a great guy. my point was to address your statement that going too deep is a "myth". I believe you are misinterpreting what this gentleman was trying to say.

helmet Is absolutely correct because he is telling you that speed and overworking an area is also cause for "going too deep". this was one of the first things I mentioned earlier in this post that "needle depth, speed, angle of entry, some inks" are also causes for blow outs.helmet is also correct that it is more difficult to go too deep if your running a soft hitting machine.but no matter the set up, you can go too deep with any machine. the whole purpose of my comments was to let others know that you "can "go too deep, and that if you do, It will cause blow outs. if other people are reading this I just don't want them to think that you can just throw a needle into a machine and bury it into anyone and not get blow outs, your statement that going too deep is a "myth" is going to confuse other that are looking for advise on needle depth.

Also, I've never claimed to be a master artist, But I have taken the advise from the best in this business to learn as much as I can about this industry before exercising this knowledge. I've mentioned earlier that my tips and advise are from what I've learned from the best artist in this industry. I'm just trying to give back some of the information I've learned to others. your welcome to look me up on facebook to satisfy any curiosity about my artistic abilities if you like, I'm always open to make new friends.

take care,

stephen stacey

"you can go to deep with any machine"
tell this is mean that you dont understand the tattoo process ,and shouldnt talk as if you know ,because you gonna confuse people that want to learn more about tattooing