September 2nd, 2008
*Warning-this is not an endorsement for self taught tattooing or should this be seen as an Online Apprenticeship I have been doing this for 8 years and thought I would document the process of tattooing pigskin with a friend who is just starting out.
Don’t read this and then start tattooing people without knowing the proper precautions, understanding of tattooing tools, getting a certificate for Blood Borne pathogens and studying under a professional tattoo artist. *
My friend Val came over the other day so I could help her with somethings she was having trouble with tattooing. She wants to get things right before even trying on people she did one on herself and one on her boyfriend but those don’t count as people more as self mutilation. She has tattooed pigskin and fruit but said she still has trouble and of course like all people starting out; it was with the lining not so much the fill or shading.
Tattooing fruit is easy; if you have tattooed people before, fruit is exactly how you wish ink went in every time, sometimes a little too easy. Now pig is different, it’s very much like real skin and like people it has different skin textures and qualities.This is my first experience tattooing pig skin, when I started out I did one on myself and then went right to friends. The owner of the shop I learned at told me to get people who wanted free tattoos to bring in their ID and go to town.
Kind of the Old Skool way, which looking back on it was kind of jackass on my part. People really weren’t using pigskin, fruit or that horrible plastic practice skin (don’t waste you time too hard to use) you just went for it.
Here is a list of what we used and what you would need to try this on pig:
Pig Skin-Ears and feet (non-pickled) are good but Fat back with non-perforated skin is going to be easiest when first starting out it has skin and fat with a little meat for cushion. All these can be purchased from any good quality Meat Cutter or Mexican Carneceria
*Any Vegans or vegetarians worried about cruelty to animals don’t worry. The pig in this feature died do to an automotive related death caused from alcohol.*
7 round Liner
7 Mag
Green soap in spray bottle
Rubbing alcohol in spray bottle (Lots of it like the quart bottle from Walgreen’s)
Paper towels
Petroleum Jelly
Aluminum Foil
Metal tray or cookie sheet
House fan optional (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!)
Set up like you would for any tattoo but your work area needs to have extra protection. Fatback like it is named for has a lot of fat on it and it will slide around. If you don’t protect your work area you will have pork grease and Juice (Pork Soda) on everything.
I recommend a foil wrapped cookie tray or pizza dish and a couple paper towels under the pig flesh for absorbency and fluid control. Val had some sheets of fatback that were frozen and needed to be thawed.
DON’T MICROWAVE FROZEN PIG TO THAW. Keep in a plastic bag and thaw in a pot of cold water that has running water pouring into it from the tap. It takes a little longer but won’t half cook the pig flesh on accident making a world of nasty smells that might convert you to vegetarian.
Val brought some of her original artwork and we decided on a design she plans on doing on someone when she feels confident enough. We first cleaned the pig skin with Rubbing alcohol. Pigskin is very greasy and the alcohol cleans off all the dirt and oil. It will take longer then human skin to clean but needs to be done so the stencil will stick properly.
There was enough space on there for two stencils. One for me to do and one for Val to follow with. I wanted to see how it looked when I did it because from my trial with practice skin it came out horrible. It was hard to tattoo and the ink wouldn’t go in or clean off.
* Even though you can’t get or a pass a Blood Born Pathogen to Pig Skin. Treat it like an actual person and glove up anytime you are using your machines. It’s a good habit.*
Tattooing pigskin is slightly different then human it has some of the same texture and variances but it is slightly tougher in general. If you have ever touched a live pig you know what I’m saying. Since the flesh is dead it’s still a little stiffer then that.
The flesh on the back of the skin gives a good feel and cushions the needle a bit unlike practice skin. Pressing to hard will bog the machine down and you feel resistance coming back you don’t get with a person. They would also scream if you applied as much pressure as I was sometimes.
I feel the hardest part technically in tattooing is getting smooth consistent lines. I noticed that the needle didn’t want to follow the lines of the stencil and I had to force it a little. The needle wanted to follow the texture more of the skin and that on top of it being tough was making me wrestle with the line work.
This can be discouraging for someone just starting out. They have no idea what’s wrong thinking because they are a novice that the line work sucks. In reality it’s just the tough pigskin. This was one of Vals problems she had when she tried this before by herself that along with her machine and needle set up and rubber band tension. This is still great practice. All the screw ups none of the regret.
You can see my lines are a little shaky from the struggle and some of them aren’t touching where they are supposed to. I cleaned up the pork with the soap and alcohol and then went and fixed my lines before letting Val have a crack at it.
If you look at the top you can see her lines aren’t that bad. They are much better after giving her tips on the skin, what speed to line at and angle of attack. The top of the pigskin had a deeper wrinkly texture and I should have done that area and let her have the smoother part. You can’t stretch the wrinkles out of dead pigskin they are in there. That also adds to the Illusion of bad line work.
The art she brought was very clean with strong line work. She didn’t bring in a color version leaving that to be made up and experiment with in the skin. When designing tattoos you should have complete line work and color composition done when working on a real person though.
I took a more New Skool approach and did a color outline for the cheese where as Val wanted to make it more traditional and use black all around.
I shaded the letters with Gray Wash and added orange for the shading to match the line work. This is where I turned on The house fan. It was a warm day and the pig was starting to warm up and slide around. My hand was kind of sliding on pig grease from the exposed fat by the heel of my palm. The odor of warm pork isn’t that appealing and I had to put the fan on to waft it away from my nose.
I finished off the coloring with a cartoony golden yellow and some white. Here is where pigskin becomes more optimistic but can let you down in a real tattoo. Line work is hard but coloring is easy. The skin takes the ink with relative ease and all the colors show up bright and saturated.
There is no bleeding and white looks like paint on the skin. This can be a total let down when you go to ink a person because blood changes the darkness and color of the tattoo and sometimes washes the colors right back out of the skin making fill hard. So this should be taken into consideration.
One good thing though without bleeding you can see if you have solid lines or if they trail off and are too light. I did intentionally try to make a blow out by drawing a line in at an angle and pressing too hard, but the dead skin just holds and won’t do it so that still needs to be watched for.
Vals completed piece came out really well for a beginner. She has a sharp learning curve and when told how to adjust she did and remedied that problem. As she progressed her line work got better and easier and after a few tips in shading the gradients are pretty smooth and the fill is rather solid considering the canvas.
It helps that she is a good artist and that aids with problem solving and composition, which is important. Anybody can learn how to tattoo technically but after you learn how to apply ink the only thing that sets you apart from other artists is artistic ability, subject matter and attitude.
Finally make sure to clean up your area and use a good strong cleaner to get any grease or juice and throw everything away and take outside. Don’t try and keep pig just take pics. By the end of this the pig was warm and getting a little ripe. I think freak summer heat and humidity in San Francisco didn’t help at all
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May 28th, 2008
Warning: do not do or try this unless you own an autoclave
Alot of if not most most tattoo artists buy their needles pre-made and sterilized. I myself buy loose needles and group and solder them myself. There are some drawbacks and advantages.
An advantage is you make them yourself. The draw back is you make them yourself. I like doing it because I can make a set of liners and shaders, package them together and have them ready for a tattoo. I don’t need to buy in bulk and I can make any combination I want for any given tattoo.
The first initial cost in getting all the equipment which is expensive; it cost me about $250 to get the needle making gear but after that, cost is about 10-15 cents per needle on bar with grommet and sterilization bag.
Another drawback is you need to spend some time making the needles and when you get into a busy time it can be a pain in the ass. It’s great when you need to make a large grouping and don’t want to buy 50 of them to get the price break.
I like it so I can make my shaders and liners to my own preference instead of the super tight liners, shaders and mags that tend to come pre-made. I’m going to show how to make them to your own preference. Even though this is how I make them you can make them this way or to how ever you like.
Supply list:
-Needle Jig- Best if Teflon plastic type, it cuts down on corrosion from soldering flux
Needle Jig heads-You’ll need jig heads for every type of grouping, these can’t do double duty. If you want a 11 mag you need to buy the jig head for it. You will need 3,5,7 round and 5 and 7 mag jig heads for starting out
Grouping Jig-This is a jig with pre-drilled holes for grouping liner combinations together
Needles- I buy packages of the number 12 standard needles, you can use bullet or long taper depending on preference or what you’re doing. 12 standard is a good multiuse. Bullet are for heavey punching fills like American traditional. Long taper for teh latin black and gray or powdery shading like in fine portraits. Then there are textured and carbon steal and so on. You can buy them in packs of 100,250 or 1000 count needles it varies from company. I get mine from world wide tattoo supply in packs of 1000.
Needle bars- you can get round or mag bars. You can use either or, the mag bars are flat at the end so when you solder the mag on it it doesn’t wrap around and distort the needle grouping. You can use the flats for your liners too but they are really great for keeping your mags aligned.
Grommets- I prefer grommets, pre-mades come empty so rubber nipples work great. You need to open the eyelet on the bar with pliers to fit a grommet in then press it back. You don’t want to be messing with a pre-sterilized bar like that, that’s why you should stick to the nipple if you buy pre-made.
Drill Gauge- used to tighten needle groupings to solder.
Solder- it needs to be lead free, solid core wire solder. It’s the same thing for doing electrical soldering. It can’t contain rosin or flux
Liquid flux- Needs to be liquid flux so it can be rinsed off easily. pastes never come off all the way and you don’t want to get that on anybody.
* Low corrosive liquid fluxes don’t work well not allowing solder the flow around metal.
Baking soda- for neutralizing liquid flux and cleaning up equipment
Soldering Iron- A good small electric soldering iron with stand is really good. Not too big or you can’t maneuver it into small places and soldering guns take too long to constantly re-heat and they burn out quicker. Not to be confused with a wood-burning torch.
Styrofoam cups- This serves as a cup filled with water and baking soda for neutralizing flux and I use a turned over cup to stick my loose needles in while I work. You can use paper cups but you should have a Styrofoam block for sticking needles. Don’t use metal or glass containers. It can bend and barb the needles when you place them in it. You also run the risk of etching anything the flux comes into contact with.
Saran wrap- For making an acid proof barrier from your work service
Paper towels- For taping on top of saran wrap for liquid absorption, wiping hands and for placing finished bars on to dry
Eye Loop- for examining needles up close
Optional Items:
Q-tips and #12 Ink cap
First set up your area,
Work in a well ventilated area, liquid flux isn’t good to breathe once it goes airborne it’s an acid, if you smoke it might be ok…just kidding.
I use a table with a plastic top. This or a stainless steal counter is better don’t be using a wooden table or something pourous.I tape saran wrap over the table and then tape a paper towel down over the area I will work. I get my needles out and decide if I will make liners or Mags.
I’ll start with the liners; first I count out groups of what I want. Here I did 7 RL. I grabbed 7 needles and stuck them in the top of my Styrofoam so they are ready to go.
Then when I know how many I will make I load up my Grouping jig .
My jig is a multi-grouper so I can make 3’s, 5’s, 7’s, and 9’s here I’m doing 4 at a time except 9’s.
I place a drop of flux on the tops of all the needle groupings, then just dab the end with the soldering iron to set the groupings together. This is done so the needles can be held together in a round pattern.
Now I take my drill gauge and place the tips of the needles through the hole of the drill gauge. Find the hole the needles fit in and now you can make it as tight or as loose as you want. I place mine in the hole that allows the needles to go all the way through. If you want a tighter grouping place it in the hole where you just see the needles poking through.
Be careful not to force the needles through or you might barb them. Then put a dab of flux on the needle shaft and solder it together while it is being held in the drill gauge. Solder no more then 2/16 of an inch to the tip. You don’t want to have solder going into the skin and don’t solder your needles to the gauge.
Make sure your solder is smooth and you don’t have more then you need on there. Lumpy excess solder bogs the machine down, it rubs in the tube wrong and the ink flow can be hindered or cause unexplained splatter.
This is how I like my liners. I don’t like them too sharp. I just use 3rl if I want really sharp points.
After I group and solder all my liner heads I get the jig out and place the appropriate head on for the needles. I stick the needle in the jig head and the bar on the platform. I lock the front of the bar down and the needle goes on top of the bar. It doesn’t really matter here but it will when making Mags.
*Make sure that the needle is at the right distance so the needle will clear the tip of tube. Some frames and tube combos are different lengths. I switched to new tubes and the needles were to far back not clearing the tube tip. Certain companies who do premades do them at one length so you can buy a box of premades and all of them won’t fit your machine tube combo another advantage of making your own.
For some reason it has always been like this, but there has always been a gap between the bar and the needle with every jig I’ve used even other peoples.
You can see my finger on the right. I press down on the bar and it bends up To meet each other then I solder. I’m not bending it I’m just applying pressure so it meets the needle. If you fill the gap with solder it adds extra weight to the bar.
Here I have a completed liner on bar. I use just enough solder to keep it on with out breaking off easily or weighing done bar
Now place needle in water with baking soda to neutralize acid flux.
* you can use an ink cap like you would have ink and put flux in that. Apply flux with a Q-tip, this keeps drips down and prevents it from getting on your hands.
On to Mags, this was the biggest pain in the butt ever. Liners is nothing, I ruined so many needles and burned myself so many times when I first started. You think you’re good after you master liners then making Mags is a kick in the Junk.
Get your needles together like you did when you did the liners. Stick a bunch of needle sets into the Styrofoam so you can just grab them. Take the needles and line them up with length of your thumbnail or on a piece of glass. Then pinch the points in your fingers so they don’t move.
Dab some flux on the end then solder. It’s ok to have excess at this part it can be turned around and used to stick it to the bar. They should be flat and even. If eventually you get into making super mags like 11’s and 14s you’re going to need a mag jig. Once over 9 or 11 you can’t pinch them flat any more and they will be grouped in an arch or a spiral pattern.
Now the tricky part, you have to weave a needle in between the needles so that you have odd and even alternating.
Some people then use a razor, pinch the tips down, remove the needle and solder. I solder on the even number of needles side, the side that rides the tube. I don’t bother with the razor any more I just use the needle and pinch them together. YOu can make these as open or closed as you like teh more open teh more powdery a shade you get tighter is for filling.
I don’t solder as close to the front as the pre-mades are. I like to keep the needles springy for the fading I like to do.
The guy who taught me how to solder needles used Hemostats to bite the needles and they would separate odd and even without having to weave the needle. They were a weird pair and he didn’t know where to find them again. I have never been able to find the right size to make mags or I would use them again. Much easier then the Mag head jigs they have.
Now I take the bar and mag head to the jig. I place the bar above the head. Make sure the even number of needles is on the bottom. If you solder this on wrong, your needles are going to wobble and walk in the tube and you won’t know why.
Sorry for the angle of this I was trying to hold it and take the pic at the same time. They aren’t crooked on the bar it’s the angle but this is the complete Mag.
After I’m done and the needles have been neutralized in baking soda. I go rinse them in clean water. Use your eye loop to examine your needles make sure none of them are bent weird if so discard. It’s good to have a loop to check your pre-made needles too.
I then clean up my work area. I rinse all my equipment with baking soda and water to get rid of the acid then clean water.
Flux is nasty stuff if you miss any anything its on will brown, yellow or rust. If you get it on your hands you might not notice right away but you will start to feel a stinging or tingling sensation after awhile. Just put some water with baking soda on it and it will foam off and neutralize it. I suggest wearing gloves so you don’t mess yourself up. The baking soda dries your skin so don’t worry that you burned your flesh off.
I dry them off on a paper towel and package them in defend sterilization pouches. When you package them you can mark the date on them so you know how long they have been sitting. If you’re busy and going through them all the time you might not need to. You can also label what’s in them. It’s easy to accidentally grab a 5 and want a 7 liner on accident at a quick glance.
Check your sterilization pouch manufacturers recommendations for how long items will last before having to be re-processed.
I sterilize at 265 degrees for 45 minute at 30 psi. The dentist I got my autoclave from said as long as everything is in the green I’m cool. He had it for 25 years and wish he didn’t have to get rid of it but the law says he has to use electronic autoclaves with readouts from now on.
This is something that I learned when I started out and I had to make needles for everybody in the shop. I spent weeks doing it before I touched skin. Most shops reuse their bars and grommets, the law says you just need to clip the needles. I toss everything. My autoclave is to prevent from staph-infections or tetanus. I have eliminated AIDS/HEP contamination from poor needle practices.
I hope this helps and make sure to know what you are doing when it comes to soldering if you have never soldered before practice before doing delicate soldering like needle making. If you drop a needle,grouped head or finished bar on teh ground just discard there is no reason to try and use it consider it barbed and contaiminated.
Copywrite 2008 MarioDelgado.com Not to be copied or republished unless given expressed written consent.
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