Videos & Livestreams

Make Your Tattoo Machine Work For You
“I see too many people that draw a certain way then end up having to tattoo a different way… if your machine isn’t operating the way you naturally make marks, then correct the machine and not your marks.”
- Jake Meeks
Another thing to keep in mind is that your machine should be a natural extension of you and your natural mark making. If you are having to change the way you make a mark to suit how your machine is running, you need to correct the machine so that it is working for you. You’ll save a lot of time down the road with a properly running tattoo machine.
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Improvised Tattoo Shading-To Define Shapes And Edges
The best part of keeping the tattoo loose in these stages is that it allows you to iterate and test ideas. Working from broad, general shapes to more specific details is a great way to troubleshoot and make adjustments throughout the tattoo process.
You can see how I’m defining just a few smaller details to help guide myself later. Bumping up some edges to push contrast and help define different shapes apart from each other. Even though I’m adding these small adjustments now I’ll still come in at the very end with a liner to give it that final boost.
Check. out the full episode