The Drawing Designing Tattoo Art Creating Masterful Tattoo Art from Start to Finish by Fip Buchanan, Marc Balanky

STEP 1:Create a Rough Sketch Inthiscase,theclientwantedthedesignonhalfofhis chest.ThedesignwasalsotoincludeBenkei,thewarrior mon ...

STEP 2:Add a Border, Texture and Patterns Inthefinishedtattoo,youcanseethatawatersplashwas usedaroundthenipple.Flowingwaterwasal ...

Forthefish,acalicopatternwasusedalongwithredand orange to create texture and add interest. The Finished Tattoo, Detail Side View ...

Black and Gray Tattoos HEARTS AND FLAMES Both hearts and flames are very common themes in tattooing,androsesarethemostfrequently ...

STEP 1:Create a Rough Sketch Thisisthefirstsketchwithjustthebasicshapesmapped out,butit’sstillprettyclearwhatitis.Atthispointthe ...

STEP 2:Refine the Composition Atraditionalstylerosewithleavesisroughedin.Begin with a small circle in the center and add the pet ...

Inthefinishedtattoo,youwillseethreewholerosesplus another partial rose on each end for a total of five. Remember odd numbers mak ...

STEP 4:Add Final Details Theroseswere kept muchlighter in colorto provide contrastto theheart. Theflamesthemselves were left uns ...

Unifying Design Elements DAY OF THE DEAD SKULLS The Day of the Dead, or Dia de los Muertos, is a Mexicanholiday but isalso celeb ...

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STEP 1:Establish Patterns and Create a 3-D Effect Theclient wanteda tattoo of Dayof the Dead sugar skullsextendingfromherinnerth ...

placed behind the skulls to help push them forward, givinga3-Deffectandmakingtheskullstheprimary focus of the design. ...

STEP 2:Unify Design Elements Theclienthadanaquaticthemeonherotherleg,sothe elementofwaterwasusedtotietheskullsandrosesin ...

theDayoftheDeadtattootogether,aswellastounifyit with the aquatic tattoo on the opposite leg. STEP 3:Balance the Composition This ...

Adding to Existing Tattoos ROSES, ORCHIDS AND GRANDMA Thisparticularpiecestartedasasingleorchidonthetop oftheclient’sarm.Toherth ...

STEP 1:The Original Tattoo This picture shows the first orchid that started it all. Therewasnopreliminary sketchforthis three-qu ...

STEP 2:Add More Flowers and a Background Moreflowerswereaddedtotheinnerarmarea.Allof theflowerdesignsweretakenfrombooksonflowers ...

created bythe background, which is essential for the flow of the composition, tying it all together. STEP 3:Add Highlights with ...

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STEP 4:Finish with the Portrait Thegrandmother’sportraitwasdoneinacameoshape so that it would have a definite edge when the back ...