In the foreground I started off with three victims being zapped and vaporized with the aliens in the background laying waste. These pics were taken a week after the tattoo was done so they may seem dry. I used this tattoo to try the new Alla Prima Tattoo Ink system.

The Alla Prima set I used was the new flesh tone set made specifically for doing full color portraits or renderings. I have to say that so far it’s unbeatable and teh color tones are looking amazing. I’m going to finish the tattoo at the Body Art Expo in San Francisco at the Cow Palace March 19th-21st

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Their were too many hard lines, things that should have been red were outlined in black and the eyes were going in two different directions. The only saving grace was the right cheek outline was good so I didn’t need to thicken it making it heavier even though it shouldn’t have been outlined in black.

I was able to fix the eyes and reshape some of the facial features and make it look like she was wearing makeup. One thing I couldn’t do was change the position to give her more of the leaned back pose like in the painting ( I don’t know who the artists was or I would have given them credit) I was able to add some red to break up the hard line next to her face.

The roses were kept flat like in the painting focusing more on the portrait. I hope to get a healed pic to see how everything healed.

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I have tattooed people on massage tables, salon chairs, folding chairs but never anything dedicated for the actual purpose of tattooing. The furniture has always been meant for something else.

Later on down the line I was able to tattoo someone in the ultimate tattoo chair that retailed for a thousand dollars and looked like someone converted a shampoo chair to raise it’s legs. A year ago I worked in a studio that had a similar version that looked like a big black square hospital bed that used click lock extensions for the arms and feet and had a bulky headrest. The table was constructed of chrome plated steel square bar. It was very heavy and awkward and was hard to change the bed into different positions. Along with bulk it wasn’t compact.

I had been looking for years for a client chair or table that would work and I stumbled across TatSoul. Tatsoul just happened to supply the client chairs to Miami Ink. I looked at the features and was impressed. It seemed it was a compact chair that could do everything needed for a tattoo without having to go between a salon chair and a massage table. Saving time and space which is important in a busy crowded shop.

I contacted their service dept and was pleased with their fast response. They answered all my questions and quickly sent out brochures containing info on ALL their products. I then made the decision that as soon as I had found a place I would be using their products for my clients.

Once the lease was signed and I had done my renovations I ordered my first chair. In San Francisco most shops are very compact due to high rents so the Tatsoul 370 was the obvious choice. It takes up very little room but can set up for any position imaginable. Great for quick position changes mid-tattoo.

Some people I have showed the chair to say it’s not necessary because most of the positions can be obtained through using office chairs and a folding massage table. I feel that if the client is comfortable the tattoo can go easier and longer.

As I have used the chair for the past several months my theory is correct. A comfortable customer is an easier one to work on. Less fatigue for the artist and client when less time is spent adjusting trying to get in a good working position for both of us.

Finally tattoos aren’t cheap and when a customer comes into a shop that carries premium equipment it makes them feel like the shop cares. It’s the difference between going into an upscale salon versus Supercuts. They feel taken care of.

The Chair- Tatsoul 370

The Tatsoul 370 is their top of the line model that can do anything needed for a tattoo. The chair changes from table to upright position in a matter of seconds with out having to pull pins or disconnect anything. The spring tension handle lets you adjust the back from prone to upright as fast as adjusting your car seat.

Each leg piece is always independently adjustable; just hold the tension lever back and the legs raise and lower as smooth as can be and they come with extenders for taller clients.

The chair has a self contained chrome alloy hydraulic pump the raises and lowers the chair with ease and locks in place so as not to have the client move unexpectedly during a tattoo. The chair is strong enough for heavier clients that would probably cause other massage tables to fail under less weight.

As always the arm rests detach for easier access to client and allow for the optional wing attachments that add width to the chair for more client support

The new 2010 370 models come with several upgrades. It now has a retractable foot bar for different lower back position

Adding in the versatility of the chair in smaller shops or close stations a new base with retractable wheels has been added. Giving the chair easy maneuverability but doesn’t change the over all height dimensions.

The final upgrade is a redesigned headrest that pivots with a softer foam core that cradles the head and face better.

The Tatsoul 370 also has available plastic chair protectors with elastic edges shaped to fit around the chair to keep it looking new and aid in easier clean up. The chair can also be ordered in white

As you can see from the picture my shop contains two Tatsoul 370’s and it makes working in a small space as effortless as possible. I recommend calling up Tatsoul and talking with a sales rep and they will be more then happy explain all the features their chairs have and about the other products they carry.

www.tatsoul.com

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I’m fortunate enough to tattoo in one of greatest tattoo city’s in the world, San Francisco, It is home to some of the best artists and biggest egos coming out of the Industry. It can be just as disappointing meeting your heroes as it is finding out their work ethics.

A lot of my business comes from people being told that their tattoo can’t be done or the artists won’t do it. Their ideas are just on the side of bizarre or just a little out of the ordinary. Nothing that would or should be deemed un-tattooable.

I guess the goal for every tattoo artists is to do work they love doing and nothing else. I myself don’t want to tattoo barbwire arm bands and baby names all day but I’m always up for a challenge.

The Idea:

This person wanted his arm to look like it was growing into a tree from his mid-forearm up his neck and then have his family members Initials carved into the bark.

He was told that it couldn’t be done and it would look weird. Another shop told him that you need to start it with some kind of symbol because a sleeve with to points going away from each other isn’t smart.

It is a little bizarre but I thought it would be a cool challenge to use black and gray to show texture and make the skin appear to look like weathered bark.

The most challenging part was that he needed both arms done in a month before he moved back to Southern California.

The Tattoo:

This is one of those tattoos that you can’t do a preliminary drawing for. It needs to be done free hand and just jump right into it. I compiled my photo reference of various trees and bark patterns and set to drawing right on him with a basic idea.

The basic drawing took an hour and half to refine and make sure was at the right distances to be covered with a shirt when working.

The first session was the hardest, this is his first tattoo. He went from nothing to wanting two full sleeves done in a short amount of time. We had to draw it on and make sure we set the look of the tattoo with the first session of shading.

The second arm was much easier. I knew how it was going to look and he knew what to expect pain and time wise, the pace had been set. We skipped some photos on the second arm to show more progress.

Every week we work on another arm so as to let the opposite heal. That way we can work every week instead of working on both and skipping two and this lets one completely heal in case I need to touch up any peeling.

As of now the right arm is complete and teh left will be done in a week and the final photos will then be added.

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After years of regret she came to me to see if I could fix it and make it look like what it was intended to be in the first place. I was able to rework the lines, add the colors she wanted and change the square into a cartoony frame and extend the hair out like she requested.

The other artists added these weird bubbles for some reason instead of putting the clouds she wanted, luckily it was an easy fix and it came out looking like a story book illustration.

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I could tell that the tattoo felt…lets just say it was emotional for him. We filmed the process and should have the video up soon.

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She wanted to make sure the tree was below any low back shirts so she could cover it and that the tattoo had no black outline for a soft story book look. So this whole piece was done in soft light grays so it’s super subtle and not harsh.

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These represent a milestone in his life along with the saying up top. The photo was taken on an arm rest thats why the lettering looks like it shrinks on the right just a weird angle I was more focused on showcasing the hands then the type.

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Tattooing is hard enough to do in optimum working conditions; I would never consider trying it upside down and backwards. He was having trouble getting the ink in so his fellow artists at the time said that they (two of them) would tattoo each side at the same time.

After the outline and some shading was complete he took a look and was unsatisfied with the results so he decided to have them stop till he could figure out what to do.

So fast forward and Noel ( who works with me at Moth and Dagger) is tattooing the owner of the shop he used to work for and one of the artists is with him the aforementioned tattoo owner. They semi-peer pressure him into having me try to salvage the tattoo. I find some realistic skull reference and do my first sitting on him with just a shader to fix the shading and form of the skulls.

First sitting with old work showing on right

We did this in less then two hours fixing shapes and proportions.

Second sitting

We’ll probably have it done in one or two more sittings

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