CHAPTER 6 Lining, Shading, and Coloring

So here's the scoop. The needles are driven in an up and down motion, opening the top layer of skin enough to allow ink to be injected permanently into the skin. Two different kinds of machines are used to tattoo people. One is tuned as an outliner and set up to shade. Once a stencil or your freehand design's outline is decided and applied, it's time to work with the needles. The compassionate artist inspects needles for bends with an eye loupe or magnifying glass before using them. Always wash your hands. Inspect yourself for cuts. Put on gloves. 

OUTLINING 

Let me start by saying that if the outline isn't good, the rest of the tattoo will be mediocre. We steer the tattoo machine around an outline—a map—of the drawing's frame. You can almost compare it to a mountain bike being ridden down a  dynamic set of trails. Like anything in life, great work can only be done with extensive practice. Practice on substitute canvases is just not the same. We'll talk about this later. 

Outlines are always done from the bottom of the design because the body fluids (blood, sweat) go down. 

Getting the first few lines done puts you and your customer at ease with the entire process. Start your work on the secondary lines near the bottom of the design. The primary lines compose the main outline and vital characteristics of a piece. It's not a  good idea to go directly into them starting; stick to the less conspicuous secondary ones if you're a little rusty opening up. This will make you comfortable with the canvas you are working on and put the customer at ease. 

Once you get going, never let the ink tip run dry, or you'll end up with a line that's neither clean nor bold. Think about the line you're about to draw, and focus on making it one long motion. Hesitating on the lines can make them look like a monkey's butt. Restarting in the middle of a line usually creates a disconnect that might result in a visible inconsistency. 

To prevent this, constantly refill the ink tube. Keeping a good supply of ink in the tip is essential to good results. The ink doesn't last long— when the tip is full, you have about ten to fifteen seconds. Maintain a steady hand and angle, and let the machine do the rest. It's elementary: guide the machine along the steady path you generate. Always start at the beginning of a line. If you start in the middle and go up, then go back to the middle to start going down, your line could look slightly off. 

Take care not to inject the ink too deeply into the skin because the ink may migrate beyond the original line and result in a faded appearance.7 Don't press too hard at the beginning of a line because you could wind up with a big dot at the tip. Because you have nothing to go over it, the dot will stand out and be hard to conceal. 

Never start your machine when it is in contact with the skin. Once you start, focus on keeping your bridge solid and maintaining good control over the job. 

It'll be an almost pedantic description—so for now, interpret this from the surface. Meanwhile, I'll present some of the trials and tribulations you may encounter when outlining. 

If the needles are getting caught in the skin, you need to increase the speed of the needles. If the needle heads still tend to get caught up in the skin, you're probably dealing with something referred to as needle snags; you'll find your machine producing gapped lines. Another cause of this is a damaged needle point. This is why that inspection with the power eye loop or the magnifying glass before you begin comes in handy. 

Faint lines are usually caused by running the machine way too slowly or by going too fast. They can also happen when only a  little bit of ink is on the tip or when the needles are worn out. Also,  if the skin isn't stretched enough while tattooing, you'll experience plenty of faint lines. 

Got wobbly lines? The prime suspect is the combination of a  nervous artist and an insecure customer. If that's ruled out,  the problem would be the machine itself. You'll catch your needles bouncing all over the place when running with too much power. 

Be on the lookout for black edges in the outline; this is a sure shot indicator that your needles are going too far into the skin. Back them up, tiger. 

Here's the specific recipe for the choice of needles. Long taper needles are best used for outlining. Single needles are mainly used for very small, detailed work and are unforgiving. Don't start messing with them until you know your shit. Stick with 3s for that detail until you feel confident enough to progress further. The 4s are good for unorthodox calligraphic lines, and the 5 is the multipurpose needle that's good all the way around. You want to start with these and branch out from there. The 7s are ideal for solid bold lines, as evident in Asian and old-school designs. When outlining, use a  5 to 7 liner; they leave a crisp calligraphic line. You can bust out some dope tribal with them as well. (If it's a small piece, you can  even use them to color it in.) 

A note on tattooing portraits: understand that these should not be lined. In subtle parts of the clothing, you'd attack with a shader and then use a liner to sharpen any hard lines. It's a  good practice to switch back and forth. Make sure to shake the ink before pouring, and never let the tip of the ink cap touch the tip of the ink bottle. Use watered-down ink if you're only doing an outlining session for a large piece and need to mark the negative spaces for future sessions. Add a tiny drop of ink,  preferably Sumi, to your cap of distilled water. (Remember: never  use tap water.) Green soap will suffice. I've even seen some use witch hazel. This technique is also good for different colors in a face or picture with different textures. You want to use a product like Stencil Stuff because lines tend to take a beating when you're busting out this work. 

That's it for tips on outlining. Remember, straight lines up and down, full movement, and don't dot. 

BLACK AND GRAY SHADING 

Understanding the logic behind light and shadow is crucial to making your shading pop. Shading has two primary branches: coloring and black and gray. Black and gray shading—one of the most popular parts of tattooing—is where we incorporate different shades of black into the design. We use the entire spectrum from white to black to achieve the desired result. This doesn't refer to the spectrum of different inks but the spectrum of different intensities you get with just black ink. 

Starting, I would stick to black and gray. Not only can we fix all sorts of mistakes by being able to shade and shadow with black, but it also allows us to understand the relationship between needle, ink, and skin in a more profound way than we can use color alone. Since every line is much more visible, every discrepancy is evident. This allows you to measure your strengths and weaknesses. 

When it comes to the relationship between a piece's focal point and its background, they should be in opposite textures  (smooth, rough, rigid, etc.), complementary colors, or both, if possible. When thinking about the background, think of opposites. 

Use circles. I've seen some artists go from side to side with their machines. You can try shading sideways, but I'd stick to slow,  small, controlled, counterclockwise circles. I start my shading at the top of the tattoo or from the side, but it can be done from any area of the tattoo. Keep it gentle. Don't run the machine too fast or press down hard on your client's skin. You don't want someone's skin looking like hamburger meat. It's always better to take things slow. 

Dig this: the skin can only handle so many holes before it just won't hold the ink anymore. Don't overwork. I repeat: Don't overwork. If the bleeding is excessive or the flesh looks mangled, power down the machine so that holes aren't being put in the skin as often. 

Ensure your bridge is stable to execute a  proper sweeping and brushing motion. It's much like life: being stable is important, but having the mobility to execute specific tasks effectively is also important. Lubricant over the area allows for increased mobility. This might be a good place to remind you about the pinky in the A+D ointment. Remember, stick to tight counterclockwise circles. You can go clockwise if it's uncomfortable to move your wrists in such a way. It's the circles that matter. Just work the needles and the machine's tip-in circular motions in the area you want to shade. 

Never go circular motion with the larger shovel tips, though—with those, always use whip shading, a technique of pressing in and lightly lifting as you mark, which ushers in a fading effect. The same goes for those monster tips they have out there as well. You can apply this technique using the smaller tips as well. As you move forward, you work the wrist upward. As the needles move forward and up, less ink is deposited into the skin. This gives us a splendid fade. In the beginning, stick to small,  closed-tip (female) shaders with the spiral shading application we discussed. 

I don't recommend it, but you can try a round shader. They are mainly for a larger number of needles. You'll get a different effect from what you would get with a mag shader. Mag Shaders are essentially Flat Shaders stacked on top of each other. Experimenting with the mag shader will increase your skills as a tattoo artist, so why not. If the ink you inject goes too deep into the skin, the ink may migrate beyond the original lines.8 Black and gray work help us learn the right depth quickly. 

Everything shows up, and we humans often correct our flaws when we can no longer hide from them. Our peers and customers judge us based on how well we can funk a black and gray piece. 

To do black and gray, you could go dark to light, feather the edge, and overlap the edge with the next lighter tone. The best way to do it, though, is lighter to darker. First, shade out the area in the lightest tone. Then, feather (lightly shade) over the area that has to be darker with the next darker tone, and so forth. This brings forth a gradual blend as you go from tone to tone. However, be careful as it may chew up the skin. Turning down the machine helps with those light shades of gray. 

Again, constant flow and tight circles will improve your shading. "Superior tactics prevail," as Anubis of Unreal  Tournament 3 put it. A gray wash with white helps things get smoothed out a lot. You can either buy gray wash premade or do it yourself. Some use green soap or witch hazel for their black and grays; feel it out. You find what fits. Either mix a  little bit of white with black or dilute the black with distilled water,  depending on the effect you're trying to get. Coloring is a breeze once you get black and gray down. 

I might also add that we can use single needles and outliners to make thin, wispy shades. You can also get a dotted line by using a single liner. Play with it. I run my shader lower than my liner. Some artists run their machines at the same speed. I believe they shouldn't run at the same speed because they're doing two different jobs; setting them the same would mean the artist would have to operate his machine differently. 

But that's jumping ahead to the advanced stuff. Let's stay on a low-information diet until you grasp the core principles. I must restate that the skin is our most effective external shield on the physical plane. When you pierce it, you are essentially poking holes in someone's armor. Don't shade an area more than once or twice if you need to make corrections to the coloring. All that criss crossing over the same area shreds your subject's skin. When using your shader, let your needles stick out 1/32 in. from the tip; farther than that, they'll go too deep. 

SHADING AND COLORING 

In my analysis, carbon steel needles are best for color. The only problem is they rust easily. Short, tapered, stainless steel needles are the next best thing for putting in color. Although 7double stacks have never let me down, stick with nine flat or bug pin magnums when you're ready to blast in black and gray like the big boys. If you're shading a tattoo that's going to be finished in color, shade only with Pelican black. Make sure to take the time to wipe it away when there's excess because it tends to obscure the canvas. You should contain the outlined area when doing a large solid black tribal tattoo. Keep a cup of water set up to rinse the needles every so often before you dip back into the black. 

Compared to black and gray, I think colors are more visually appealing. Then again, I don't normally think for everyone else. In any case, your subconscious knows what colors to use. Just stare at the color you wish to match up, close your eyes, and blink them open a few times. Try it. 

Coloring and the black shading and shadowing have similar setups, except that you need to set the needles a  little farther out for color. Instead of having them at 1/32" as you would for black and gray, you should have them at 1/16". You don't want to set them too deep, hoping to inject the color further into the skin. Remember, if you want a tattoo to look bright and colorful, worry less about how many and more about what colors you put into it. Also, fully gray-washed pieces that get color added to them look fucking ridiculous. If someone asks you to do it for them, respectfully decline and opt for an alternative setting. 

You could get different shades of a color by dipping the needle into similar-colored or clear water. This goes for both black and gray and color work. I've observed a common characteristic among the best in our field: they're constantly adjusting the power supply during black and gray or coloring. They claim this is the key to those photorealistic subtle tones that account for their year-long waiting lists so that it might be legit. These tattoos probably also owe part of their success to the artist's paying so much attention to the power supply that they concentrate on the piece. 

Baby steps, kids. Listen, some of you will immediately pick up on this stuff and artistically blow me out of the water. That's precisely what I want. My purpose vibrates to the frequency of a coach, not an artist. I may not be the best, but I teach and  train those who have not only the potential but also the desire to be the best. I came to this conclusion by first accepting the fact that I will truly always be a student. 

Moving forward, I recommend mixing ink by putting all the colors you need for a given mix in individual ink caps. In other words, each basic color is in its cap. Then, dip the needle into each ink cap. Dip twice with the needle and apply straight to the skin to create the same consistent color. 

INK CAPS 

The only real way to assure your customers are getting exactly the color they want in a certain area is to clean all other colors off the shader bars from the needle tubes and the machine tips. Use white to tone down colors when shading. Start with the blackest areas, and work your way out to the lightest ones. Colors tend to bleed onto one another, which can produce undesired blends. If you get a bit of red in with yellow, there's a good chance that some hue of orange will end up on the skin. So when it's time to switch colors, the machine is in water for a good ten seconds and spun around, then up and down. Finally, drag the needle over the paper towel to remove any remaining ink. 

Professional coloring is vital to creating certain effects like muscle shapes, different textures, and highlights. Always color everything a half shade darker, as it'll heal lighter. One of the major differences between black shading and color shading is that color is done in smaller circular motions over a larger area. Again:  color is done in smaller circular motions over a larger area. When it comes to advice on putting on color, I have two words three times: tight circles, tight circles, tight circles. Unfortunately, this is also a quick route to wrist issues, which I'll explain later. Here's an idea to entertain: try keeping the machine straight up and down, and then go back and forth. Do the same thing reverse: go back over what you already did. Be swift and accurate,  and ensure you're not running your machine too high. 

Complete an area, wipe it, and then look at it to see if any touch-ups are needed. Don't half-ass it—inspect it properly, and wipe the area after you've completed shading. Then stretch the skin as though you were going to tattoo again to see if the color is consistent. 

Try using similar colors to get cool blends. You can put a darker color over the skin next to a lighter color if you put a thin layer of ointment on it (which you should be doing in the first place). You can also use the technique of sweep/ whip shading,  explained in the section on black and gray, to create the effect of diminishing color. 

Another more advanced technique is in-depth shading. Try shading it first with gray tones to add dimension to a color piece. Shade in all the shadow areas, then put the color right over the shading. Understanding that tattoo ink is semi-transparent can give you some cool results. To create depth with color, you need your base color, dark, and highlight. First, color with the base, then feather in the shadow areas, right over the base. Finally, add the highlight. You can even tone the highlight by dipping the base color and running the tube tip in the highlight for a few seconds. This will give the highlight a  tint of the base. 

To avoid things like clouding, dulling, and mixing of colors,  you must insert colors into the skin in the following order: 1. Dark purple 2. Blues 3. Greens 4. Light Purple 5. Browns 6. Reds 7. Orange 8. Yellow 9. White.9 

Here are a few tips to follow for deliberately mixing colors. To avoid sickly-looking gray colors, mix white with black rather than using distilled water with black. But also note that the more water you use in the mixture, the lighter the gray becomes, so it's safe to say both techniques should be in your repertoire. Also,  different shades of brown result from mixing orange, yellow, red,  and white. Do not mix purple with any color. If you mix white,  the color becomes very pale. If you mix something darker (or a  different color), your purple will become alien gray.

Meanwhile, red, yellow, and orange can be mixed and blended to any degree with one another. As we saw earlier, white is usually used to lighten other colors. The white pigment doesn't stay white for long, as it is especially vulnerable to the sun's ultraviolet rays. Plus, it's pretty much a wrap when the skin over white becomes tanned. 

After each color is injected into the skin, allow a few moments to pass before you begin the next color. This will allow the previous color to set, reducing the chance of dirty-looking work. Always stock the primary and a few secondary colors to offer many shades and vibrant hues.