YOUR FIRST TATTOO: Idea To Ink

FIND YOUR TATTOO The first step is obviously finding the perfect tattoo design.  Choose a design that you absolutely love or a design that has a special meaning or symbolism to you.  A true professional tattooist will appreciate you bringing them a quality tattoo design with the proper line art stencil.  BullseyeTattoos.com is a great place to seach through tattoo designs from the comfort of your own home in a pressure free environment.  Once you have purchased and downloaded the design with it's matching stencil, simply bring the printout to a good professional tattoo artis.

WHY DO I NEED A LINE ART STENCIL? Line Art is what the tattoo artist will use to transfer the outlines of the design to your skin. If you bring tattoo designs into a studio without lines, the tattoo artist will add the time it takes to re-draw the design and create line art into the price of the tattoo. Having the line art will ensure an accurate and quick transfer of the tattoo design you want to have inked on your body. Don't take chances and hope that the tattoo artist draws the design the way you want it. At the end, buying tattoo designs on BullseyeTattoos.com can actually save you money on the price of your tattoo.

I FOUND MY PERFECT TATTOO ...NOW WHAT? When you bring the design to your tattooist, it's a good idea to discuss the work you're looking to get done before hand. Don't be afraid to get involved in the design phase of the tattoo. Not only is your input invaluable, it's essential since you're going to be wearing the tattoo for the rest of your life. A big misconception that first-time tattoo people have is that their tattoo has to look exactly like the design they purchased, which is just plain silly. It's your tattoo. You can make any alterations to it that you want.

WHAT DOES THE TATTOIST DO WITH THE LINE ART STENCIL?  The line art stencil (which is the basic outline of your design) is placed between a layer of thermofax paper and run through a stencil-making machine called a Liner. Once the design has gone through the Liner and has been properly transferred to the thermofax paper, it is cut out, and now the tattooist can begin the process of tattooing. The stencil is then applied to the part of the body where the final tattoo will end up. Sometimes depending on where the design is being placed, it may need to be incorporated into an existing tattoo. It's not uncommon for the tattooist to hand-draw with a pen or marker the connecting art directly onto your skin. As is the case with any alteration to your original design, make sure the changes are to your liking.

TATTOING THE DESIGN The nwxt step is for the artist to tattoo the line art in black ink directly into the skin. Once the outline is finished, the tattooist will begin the task of shading the design according to your color specifications.