DIY / Traditional Tattoos

[40 Hands]

dude thats fuckin awesome!!!!

Agreed

 

[Vonuist]

Thanks.
Next time I have a session I'll see if I can video it and post it, then anyone who's interested can see how it's done.
If anyone seriously wants to learn how to tattoo by hand I'm only too happy to help.

 

[trash diver]

Native americans used charcoal and also ,Otzi,''the ice man'' had several charcoal tatoos.Does anyone do scarification?

 

[Sydney]

-I have a tombstone on my arm with home on it.

nice.

 

[Teaandcigarettes]

I have all my toes done with stick n poke that I did myself and they turned out well. I also did some for some friends of mine and they like them a lot.

 

[train in vain]

All black is is carbon and water and may e some vlycerin or something else to kind of hold it all together. Lots of drawing ink will have other stuff aded to make it waterproof or glossy you dont really want to use that shit for a tattoo. Unless you feel like you need some good old shellac in your body. So the whole can i use charcoal thing would be yes you can no problem addind anything other than some DISTILLED water like oj or whatever else some suggested seems pretty pointless. I rarely do stick n pokes these days but on the rare occasion i just use a tattoo needle and tattoo pigments. I was pretty good with three sewing needles though. I thnk about the stick n pokes i did in the past and im glad i dont have fuckin hep now. Usually a bad idea. Did a hand poke job a couple weeks back drinking wih friends and dude was flipping out when i busted out gloves green soap the works haha. Fuck your diseased bloods!

 

[KittyFlipper]

My first tattoo was done at a shop with a machine and it's a piece of shit. I got ripped off and the artwork is wrong. Basically I drew up a magpie for myself and the guy traced it wrong and totally fucked it up. It overscabbed, scarred and yeah I hate it.

The rest I have done myself stick and poke.
I have an anchor on my thumb and a diamond on my wrist done with a sewing needle and india ink. They faded and went blueish but I like them. I also have an apple I did on my left thigh using a piercing needle (I find these are great because of the hollow centre, they hold your ink!) and tattoo ink. It's my favourite tattoo.

I definately want more , both pro and stick and poke but I am nervous to go back to a shop and recieve another shitty tatto that I will hate for the rest of my life..

 

[suntines]

I've had stick'n'pokes with sewing needles and a stick'n'poke with tattooing needles. My boyfriend did this one on himself, his technique is not half bad. [The extreme close-up doesn't really do it justice though.]

 

[Born into this]

- Vonuist; wow that's amazing o,o

 

[TheHawk]

i have 1 shop tattoo i got at 17- however i only went and paid bc 1.i was in fl and i knew the artist from md - 2.i got high as shit and watched simpsons the whole time.
everything since then has been self tattoos/barters i have about 30 or so now i lose count because i keep adding more...on that subject, yes i do my own tattoos, and i'll do yours too. so private message me about said things if you need to.

**** don't expect some fucking koi fish flash bullshit tho my ink only ranges from haggard ass shit, to punk as fuckin fuck! ******

a little about my views of tattoo- To me, tattoos are an expression of myself, they are not meant to be perfect portraits or works of "traditional art"...
what art is to me- is whatever the fuck i want it to be. and that's what it should be for everyone... however so many people worry about what's gonna look cool or what they are trying to portray in the work that it's not really their true style. i guess what i am trying to explain is better described through pictures.. since actions speak louder.

check it....

first one's for kat haha- this thread inspired me to finally drag up the pic of my forearm gonzo- a little modified, lots of bats, and it's sheathed "in my skin" and through the words "metal" ..... bc i bleed metal mother fuckers!!!

2nd an 3rd is me chiefin a blunt doin some work on myself (dk) and tank- then the 4th is some tim burton type shit my friend wanted me to draw her it says "live happily" on one side "ever now" on the other. the next one i walked my friend through doing his first tat on my leg- shit came out fuckin great and just wanted to show it off!

I'm proud of each and every one of my tattoos i regret none. they all represent me, my life, the pain it takes to earn each meaning to myself, and whatever the fuck else i want em to mean! some are haggard as fuck, some look clean- the point is,

D.I.Y. FUCKERS!!!

 

[plagueship]

vonuist - that's beautiful and very inspiring! not just the result or the time but the creativity of the method.

what do people use for other colors? i've only ever used india ink, which seems to come in only black. how does colored acrylic ink work?

another question i have has to do with getting the design on the skin. i'm pretty good at following designs, not great at drawing them out on skin unless they're pretty simple. what about some kind of bootleg version of the transfer paper they use in shops? the only other idea i have is making stencils, which can be pretty difficult to make and might not work too well for some spots..

oh yeah there's also this, might provide some inspiration, or just lols:
http://fuckyeahsticknpoke.tumblr.com

 

[Rainbow Warrior]

ive used red india ink before, just made a little star on my ankle. the red ink rejected tho and it's just a red scar now lmao

 

[Cardboard]

vonuist - that's beautiful and very inspiring! not just the result or the time but the creativity of the method.

what do people use for other colors? i've only ever used india ink, which seems to come in only black. how does colored acrylic ink work?

another question i have has to do with getting the design on the skin. i'm pretty good at following designs, not great at drawing them out on skin unless they're pretty simple. what about some kind of bootleg version of the transfer paper they use in shops? the only other idea i have is making stencils, which can be pretty difficult to make and might not work too well for some spots..

oh yeah there's also this, might provide some inspiration, or just lols:
http://fuckyeahsticknpoke.tumblr.com

You dont really need transfer paper at all, a hand drawing, quickly covered in ink (as in, take your time to draw what you want, then redo it quickly with a pen so that the ink is fresh enough), or a fresh page printed out from and ink printer, and some speed stick should transfer ink to flesh.

 

[train in vain]

i laugh at people who brag about not paying for tattoos. ive only seen a few that were any good and those were just friends of good tattooers. i havent paid for a tattoo since my first 2 but i trade tattoos for tattoos.

vonuist - that's beautiful and very inspiring! not just the result or the time but the creativity of the method.

what do people use for other colors? i've only ever used india ink, which seems to come in only black. how does colored acrylic ink work?

another question i have has to do with getting the design on the skin. i'm pretty good at following designs, not great at drawing them out on skin unless they're pretty simple. what about some kind of bootleg version of the transfer paper they use in shops? the only other idea i have is making stencils, which can be pretty difficult to make and might not work too well for some spots..

oh yeah there's also this, might provide some inspiration, or just lols:
http://fuckyeahsticknpoke.tumblr.com

go find a ghetto shop. theyll sell you some transfer paper. paper with ink drawing on it will work ok. use a ballpoint and it will transfer. kinda dab it with a paper towel and it will help it dry faster. let it set on there for awhle so it doesnt wipe off while youre working. id just go score a sheet or 2 of transfer paper though. it lasts forever.
using deodorant = cross contamination. if youre using the actual sitick. you shave the spot and and put the deodorant on. BAM. contaminated. just throwing that out there. you can use a tongue depressor for that though

 

[jelly]

I've done a bunch of stick n pokes and am learning all the time how to do them better. I have had a tattoo with a home-made tattoo gun before but it tore my skin up and mostly all faded away; I ended up stickin and pokin the scar tissue years later. I have a couple of small tattoos that I made when I was real young, by cutting with a razor and rubbing india ink in it, they've stayed really well and are still there 10 years later. I haven't tried using charcoal instead of ink yet but I know some people who do stick and poke with charcoal or ash mixed with vodka as their ink.
Stick and pokes are my favourite right now, when I think about the one 'professional' gun tattoo I have it just seems weird.. takes like 15 mins and the machine does all the work for you. Stick n poke can be just like that except your hand is the machine, that feels more personal to me or something and I dig it.

 

[Vonuist]

vonuist - that's beautiful and very inspiring! not just the result or the time but the creativity of the method.

what do people use for other colors? i've only ever used india ink, which seems to come in only black. how does colored acrylic ink work?

another question i have has to do with getting the design on the skin. i'm pretty good at following designs, not great at drawing them out on skin unless they're pretty simple. what about some kind of bootleg version of the transfer paper they use in shops? the only other idea i have is making stencils, which can be pretty difficult to make and might not work too well for some spots..

oh yeah there's also this, might provide some inspiration, or just lols:
http://fuckyeahsticknpoke.tumblr.com

India ink can be problematical because much of it contains shellac which can be toxic. The best idea is to go to an arts and crafts store and pick up some technical pen ink; Rotring comes in a range of colours and is ok, Pelican black drawing ink is fantastic, holds it's tone well and very popular among tattooists.
To be honest I've only used black technical ink myself and have no experience of coloured versions. I know that the tattoo inks that cause the greatest incidence of allergic reactions are red and green, so it might be best to steer clear of them.
There's always the option of buying tattoo inks online, you can get sample packs which aren't too expensive.

For the stencils use carbon paper and fine greaseproof paper from the supermarket. As a rule the thinner the paper the better as you will find that stiffer papers are more difficult to spread out over undereven places like the backs of hands. I use a spray with Dettol (a disinfectant solution) to fix the stencil to the skin,but I'm not sure if you have that brand in the US.

Vaseline is essential. Smear a very small amount on the skin, as little as possible, just to provide a slight barrier that prevents the ink from staining the skin, so you can see what you are doing.

Use a dampened piece of kitchen towel (wet it with a mild solution of antibacterial soap and warm water), wrapped around your little and ring fingers, as a wipe to keep the area clean and legible while you work, there's nothing worse than a dry wipe, it hurts like hell and makes the skin sore which, in turn, makes it more difficult to work.

Someone has promised to send me some shark's teeth from Australia, so I'm looking forward to seeing if I can do something with them.

 

[Bizarre Odor]

All you need is to know some dude that went to prison basically..ha. I'm definately interested in getting more tattoos but without the parlor bullshit.

 

[ayyyjayyy]

I'm definitely not interested in prison style tattoos and contracting HIV.(amongst other things)...haha

 

[jelly]

It's pretty easy to not contract HIV while giving tattoos, like, don't share your needles or have someone bleed on you while you're being tattooed and you're probs okay..

 

[BluExplorer]

Whenever I do stick n poke the ink bleeds out onto the skin after I poke covering what I'm tracing. Then when I wipe, the design I'm tracing wipes away with the ink. Any ideas how to avoid this?