My First Tattoo

Jane bought me a tattoo kit for my birthday :) It came with everything I need to start practicing tattoo art, including 4 machines, 40 different inks, a variety of outline and shading needles, and all the bits and bobs required to set up the machine. It only came with one practice skin, but I've bought a few more synthetic skins to practice on. 

I read a warning not to use Chinese inks on your skin, because they can contain all sorts of harmful additives like lead and arsenic. So I haven't been tempted to try it out on myself at all. Once I'm happy with my level of talent, I'll pick up a better quality machine with professional inks and needles, etc, to have a go on myself and anyone else who's game.

                           So here I go...

 

I haven't finished the dragon yet. I outlined it once with a thin needle (3R), but then re-outlined it with thicker lines (7R). I have also begun shading, and begun the scales. I started doing some free-hand designs on the back, just to get a feel for the machine...

And had a go at shading, using a single needle (which proved trickier than I thought it would be)...

After an hour or so, my hand was pretty sore. Need to develop some more muscles to hold the machine in the right position and get the lines more accurate. But I think this is going to be a fun journey :)