The art of tattooing has been around for centuries with every major culture doing the process. In today's world tattooing is most of the time left to experts, resulting in very beautiful works. But what if you want to do your own? this instructable will cover the art of "Stick 'n' poke" tattoos that will enable you to safely add your own dermal embellishments.
WARNING: These tattoos, although light, are PERMANENT! Think about what you want on your body before you go through with it. ALSO it does hurt, and depending on your pain level it may hurt too much. Test without ink first to see if you want to spend 30 minutes poking your skin to get some cool stuff.
Lets get on with it.
WARNING: These tattoos, although light, are PERMANENT! Think about what you want on your body before you go through with it. ALSO it does hurt, and depending on your pain level it may hurt too much. Test without ink first to see if you want to spend 30 minutes poking your skin to get some cool stuff.
Lets get on with it.
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Signing UpStep 1: Suppiles
You don't need much for this instructable but here is the suppy list:
1 Pencil
1 sewing needle of medium size
1 jar lid
A bottle of black ink, this instructable uses higgins waterproof ink
string
A stove or other fire producing device.
Rubbing alcohol
Anti bacterial soap
unscented lotion
1 Pencil
1 sewing needle of medium size
1 jar lid
A bottle of black ink, this instructable uses higgins waterproof ink
string
A stove or other fire producing device.
Rubbing alcohol
Anti bacterial soap
unscented lotion
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i have had great results with just the calligraphy ink used here. i highly recommend it.
Hand stuck tattooing is a skill unto itself, and with the right practitioner, can be every bit as beautiful as an electric tattoo. Japanese tebori being a great example. Oscillating relay machines haven't been around that long, and in many parts of the world, hand application is still regularly practiced. Plus, I wouldn't get tattooed at 70 % of the studios I've visited. Too many blowhards who lack the skills to apply proper work who pretend they can. Everybody starts somewhere, and I have yet to meet an artist who doesn't have a raft of terrible work from their old days which haunts them. Even the mighty Ed Hardy, a giant in his day, spent a few years tattooing under an alias in Vancouver Canada before returning to the US. One can only assume it was to grind out the duds as far away from home as possible.
Me and a friend have been doing this for a long time; approx. 4 years. In fact we have gotten very good at it to the point where we are doing more detailed things with just "pricking"(i.e. octopus, cartoony dog faces, etc) and recieve well review, I was even praised by a professional artist when showing him some of my work (we both are certified med. asst. and phlebotomy techs. furthering our studies to become professional tattoo artist ourselves.). It's all about how well and cautiously you are at doing it.
Then of course there are risks, no matter how you look at it ther is always a risk with the prick method and a needle gun. Don't let someone tell you one is greater than the other. They both boil down to nothing but skill, concentration and hard work.
Not to mention, I have did my homework, there are loads of cultures that still use the prick method to this day, also a few "famous" celebs have recieved such. All in all, what I am trying to say is if you want to do it, go for it, just do it safely and practice first on some type of skin-like canvas. Go nuts. :)
I got started on my own skin - never used citrus or pig or fake skin.
it is very, very dangerous for your health. I am a professional tattoo artist for many years and corrects work to make homemade equipment. Not always can be corrected. See photo at my web tattoo gallery
Is it bad for you to tattoo yourself with pen ink?
I wouldnt suggest using a ball point pen to draw on your skin and then use a needle afterwards to ink over it for the tatt. ball point pen ink is not something you want in your skin or blood.
Also these type of tatts end up looking terrible and fade wicked over time. I have a few on my leg that I would love gone but after removing one on my hand I will never burn another tatt of myself again. I wold much sooner attempt to build my own laser removal system. I have a nice scar on my hand from a tatt I burned off that a buddy convinced me to do.
After a while more than likely you will want your jailhouse tattoo removed or covered. I now have professional tatts on my body and will never do another myself with this method. An actual tattoo needle is made of several tiny needles and does a much better job at filling in your design. The ink looks much darker and stays that way as well. None of my tattoos have begun to fade yet aside form the self done ones.
This stuff is just a dumb idea unless you are 14 and stoned. Some day you wont be high and you wont like the tatts so much anymore.
Oh and once I used non toxic glow in the dark paint to make a tatt. Its invisible and only shows under a black light or in the dark but it only glows for a few seconds. Its been there since I was 20.
Not to give anyone any ideas, just thought I would share that.
Also, will this method work with different colours if you keep changing the needles and thread for different colours?
As long as you can find the different ink, you could do it.
Use a few sterile hypodermic needles instead of the pin. You can get them online for under a dollar a needle, or at some drug stores. A candle isn't actually hot enough to actually sterilize a needle, so this will reduce your chances of infection.
You might want to use more than one needle. Your skin is quite tough, and after about fifteen pokes the needle will get noticeably duller and more painful.
Don't use rubbing alcohol to clean the skin. Alcohol doesn't kill anything, it just moves the dirt around. Pick up an antimicrobial viruscide from the drug store, and read the instructions. Remember to wait a couple of minutes after cleaning the skin to allow the antibiotic to work before getting started.
GLOVES. For the love of God, wear some gloves while doing this. They don't even need to be sterile. Otherwise you might end up with blood everywhere.
Be careful where you choose to pierce, and make sure you don't go too deep over tendons, blood vessels, your spine, or joints. I would suggest staying away from your face, neck, armpits, inner arms, and inner thighs until you are more comfy doing this.
Be aware that there is a chance that something will go horribly wrong. Just be calm, take a deep breath, and then deal with it. Seconds don't count... minutes count.
It sounds dumb, but the most common disaster I've seen is people poking themselves with the needle. Needle sticks can be serious, so be careful.
You also might want to draw your design out first on a stencil, and then transfer the image to the skin before you start. Just google "tattoo speed stick" for instructions.
<CYA>I am not a medical professional. Don't take my word for anything. Do your own research before trying anything like this. Yada yada yada</CYA>
L
I started like this in 2006 with friends , moved onto making machines from electric motors. and now I own 3 professional machines : )