Q&A: Beginner Fineline Artist Questions

Summary

In this video script, a young tattoo artist named Weak Tattoos reaches out to Jason for guidance on overcoming the challenges of his early career. Feeling frustrated with his slow progress and unsure of his style, Jason advises him to stay disciplined, passionate, and to prioritize building a portfolio over money. He also suggests taking a leap of faith by investing full time in tattooing or balancing it with a day job. The script covers technical advice on stencil maintenance and the use of gray wash, emphasizing the importance of practice and finding one's unique style. Jason's encouragement and willingness to help serve as a motivational backdrop for aspiring artists.

Takeaways

• 😔 Feelings of frustration and uncertainty are common early in a tattoo artist's career.
• 🔄 It's important to balance passion with practical considerations like maintaining a day job while pursuing tattooing.
• 💪 Confidence, discipline, and faith in one's end goal are essential for overcoming challenges in tattooing.
• 🕊️ Taking a leap of faith and going all-in on a passion project requires a strong belief in one's abilities and the willingness to sacrifice.
• 💼 The decision to continue a day job or focus solely on tattooing should be based on passion, discipline, and financial stability.
• 📈 Building a portfolio and reputation should come before financial concerns, especially for new tattoo artists.
• 🎨 Exploring different styles and practicing extensively can help an artist find their niche and improve their skills.
• 🖌️ Fine line tattoos are challenging and should be approached with ample practice and caution.
• 🛠️ Techniques such as using ointment and dabbing gently can help maintain stencil integrity during tattooing.
• 🔄 Gray wash tattoos heal lighter than straight black, and understanding this difference is crucial for achieving desired results.

Q & A

What is the main concern expressed by 'Weak Tattoos' in his question?

Weak Tattoos is concerned about feeling frustrated in his early tattoo career, not seeing improvement in his work, and not knowing what style he is good at or could be good at.

How did Jason suggest dealing with the feeling of not knowing if the tattoo career is working out?

Jason suggests being confident, smart, making changes, being faithful to the end goal, and drawing on the passion that initiated the career in the first place.

What advice does Jason give regarding balancing a main job with pursuing tattoo artistry?

Jason suggests two ways: either work the main job and work on the passion on the side, which may result in less time and energy, or take a leap of faith, use savings, and go all in on the passion project.

What does Jason recommend for someone who is just starting in the tattoo industry and not charging full price?

Jason recommends building a portfolio first, with money being secondary. He suggests doing a couple of free tattoos or charging very low to gain experience and reputation.

How did the lockdown situation affect the person asking the question?

The lockdown forced him to use his savings to buy a tattoo machine, learn the basics from YouTube, and start tattooing, which led to him being happier and more passionate about his work.

What is the importance of maintaining the stencil while tattooing according to the script?

Maintaining the stencil is crucial for ensuring the tattoo's accuracy and design. Reapplying the stencil multiple times if needed is recommended to avoid mistakes during the tattooing process.

What are some habits Jason suggests to maintain the stencil while tattooing?

Applying a thin layer of ointment before tattooing to prevent ink from bleeding into the skin, and dabbing instead of wiping to remove excess ink without taking away the stencil.

What does Jason recommend for someone who is unsure about what kind of tattoos to practice?

Jason recommends exploring different styles and practicing a lot. Starting with bolder lines and then working down to finer lines can help build the necessary skills for fine line work.

What is Jason's opinion on using gray wash in tattoos?

Jason believes gray wash is less reliable than straight black and can fade more. It requires the artist to understand its behavior and the consequences of its healing process.

What advice does Jason give about the importance of discipline in pursuing a career in tattoo artistry?

Jason emphasizes the need for discipline, suggesting that it might be the missing element for the person asking the question. He encourages getting out of the comfort zone and putting more energy into the craft.

How does Jason feel about using the conversation as a potential source of help for others?

Jason is open to the idea and appreciates the opportunity to help others, as he enjoys assisting and providing guidance based on his experiences.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Struggling with Tattoo Artistry and Balancing Jobs

In this paragraph, the tattoo artist expresses frustration with their progress and uncertainty about their career path. They discuss the challenges of balancing a full-time job as a copywriter with their passion for tattooing. The artist seeks advice on dealing with these struggles, especially the lack of time to practice on fake skin. The response emphasizes the importance of confidence, smart decision-making, and discipline. It suggests two approaches to balancing a job with a passion project: working the job while pursuing the passion on the side or taking a leap of faith and focusing solely on the passion project, using savings if necessary.

05:02

💡 Pursuing Passion Over Comfort: Lessons from Lockdown

The artist shares their experience of being forced to rely on savings during a lockdown, which pushed them to fully commit to their passion for tattooing. They reflect on the importance of prioritizing passion over financial concerns, especially in the early stages of building a portfolio. The artist also touches on the idea that comfort can stifle dreams and creativity, urging the questioner to be disciplined and make sacrifices for their dream. The response highlights the need for dedication and the potential benefits of fully immersing oneself in their passion.

10:04

🎨 Technical Tips for Tattooing and Exploring Artistic Styles

This paragraph delves into technical aspects of tattooing, such as maintaining stencils during the process and the importance of proper application to avoid smudging. The artist suggests using ointment to prevent ink from settling into the skin's cracks and recommends dabbing instead of wiping to preserve the stencil. They also advise outlining the tattoo lightly first to maintain structure. Furthermore, the artist encourages exploring different styles to find the right fit, starting with bolder lines before moving to finer ones, and emphasizes the need for practice to master fine line work.

15:05

🔲 The Pros and Cons of Gray Wash in Tattooing

The final paragraph addresses the use of gray wash in tattoos, comparing it to straight black ink. It explains that gray wash tends to heal lighter, while black ink heals darker, and the artist's choice between the two should be informed by their understanding of these healing properties. The artist shares personal experience, moving away from gray wash due to its unreliability and the need for touch-ups, opting for straight black ink for better control over the final appearance of the tattoo. The conversation concludes with an offer to help others by sharing the advice on YouTube and a note of encouragement for the aspiring tattoo artist.

Keywords

💡Tattooing

Tattooing refers to the practice of creating permanent designs on the skin by inserting ink under the skin's surface using a needle. In the video, the theme revolves around the struggles and growth of a tattoo artist, highlighting the challenges of tattooing as a career and the artist's journey to improve their craft.

💡Passion

Passion is a strong and barely controllable emotion or feeling that drives an individual towards their interests or pursuits. In the context of the video, passion is a key motivator for the tattoo artist to continue their work despite the difficulties they face, such as balancing a day job and the desire to tattoo.

💡Discipline

Discipline is the practice of training oneself to follow rules or a code of behavior, often to achieve a particular goal. The video emphasizes the importance of discipline in the tattoo artist's journey, suggesting that it is crucial for improving skills and managing the demands of pursuing a career in tattooing.

💡Portfolio

A portfolio is a collection of an artist's work that showcases their skills and style. In the video, building a portfolio is mentioned as a critical step for a new tattoo artist to establish their reputation and attract clients, even if it means doing initial work at a lower cost.

💡Fine Line

Fine line refers to a style of tattooing characterized by thin, detailed lines. It requires precision and skill. The video discusses the challenges of mastering fine line work and suggests that new artists should practice with bolder lines before attempting fine line tattoos.

💡Stress

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. The video script mentions the artist's stress and frustration due to the feeling that their tattooing skills are not improving and the struggle to find their niche in the industry.

💡Style

Style in tattooing refers to the distinctive way an artist approaches their work, including the choice of design elements and techniques. The video script discusses the artist's quest to discover their own style and the importance of experimenting with different tattoo styles to find what suits them best.

💡Practice

Practice is the action of repeatedly performing an activity or exercise to improve or maintain one's skill in it. The video emphasizes the need for the tattoo artist to practice, suggesting that dedicating more time to practice, such as taking a week off to tattoo every day, can significantly improve their skills.

💡Comfort Zone

Comfort zone refers to a state of minimal stress and risk where one feels at ease. The video script talks about the importance of stepping out of one's comfort zone to grow as a tattoo artist, suggesting that staying in a comfort zone can hinder progress and fulfillment of one's dreams.

💡Gray Wash

Gray wash in tattooing is a technique that uses diluted ink to create shades of gray in a tattoo. The video discusses the challenges associated with gray wash, such as its tendency to fade and require touch-ups, and the artist's consideration of using straight black ink instead for more reliability.

💡Tattoo Machine

A tattoo machine is a device used to insert ink into the skin, creating a tattoo. The video mentions the artist's first-time tattooing experience, which involved buying a tattoo machine and learning the basics, illustrating the initial steps an aspiring tattoo artist takes to start their career.

Highlights

Balancing a full-time job with a passion for tattooing can be challenging, requiring discipline and time management.

Feeling frustrated in the early stages of a tattoo career is common and can be addressed by focusing on passion and discipline.

The importance of being confident and making necessary changes in the face of career doubts and challenges.

The dilemma of choosing between working a full-time job and pursuing a passion for tattooing, with two suggested approaches.

The benefits of taking a leap of faith and dedicating oneself fully to a passion project, even if it means financial uncertainty.

The value of building a portfolio over making money in the early stages of a tattoo career, emphasizing the importance of reputation.

The impact of the lockdown on accelerating the decision to pursue tattooing full-time and the subsequent happiness derived from it.

The potential downsides of returning to a previous job out of comfort or financial necessity, which can hinder following one's dream.

The necessity of sacrifice and hard work to achieve one's dreams, with the reminder that comfort can stifle ambition.

Technical advice on maintaining stencils during tattooing by using ointment and proper wiping techniques.

The suggestion to practice tattooing on fake skin and offering free tattoos to gain experience and build a portfolio.

The exploration of different tattoo styles to find the one that resonates most with the artist's skill and passion.

The recommendation to start with bolder lines before moving to fine lines in tattooing to build up skill and precision.

The comparison between the use of gray wash and straight black ink in tattooing, highlighting the healing process and artist's choice.

The personal experience of transitioning from using gray wash to straight black ink due to its reliability and predictability.

The importance of understanding the behavior of tattoo inks and their healing process to achieve desired results.

The offer to share the conversation on YouTube to help others facing similar struggles in their tattoo careers.

The closing thoughts on the value of persistence, practice, and passion in developing as a tattoo artist.

Transcripts

okay so i got a question from

weak tattoos he's early on in his tattoo

career

and he asks

hi jason it's me again sorry to bother

but wanted to ask you if you ever felt

like

this isn't working i don't know i'm

feeling very frustrated lately

feeling my tattooing isn't improving and

that i still don't know what style i'm

good at or could be good at

i didn't even have the time to practice

on fake skin because of my main job as a

copywriter

how do you deal with it in your

beginning as a tattoo artist

so yeah i've experienced all that

with the exception of balancing another

another job so

i felt the uh

the uh situation where it's like oh i

don't

like am i am i going the right path is

this working out

what should i do different it's going to

come in different forms

it's going to hit you in ways you don't

expect you're going to have to

deal with it as you go and you have to

be confident

and smart about it you have to make a

lot of changes you have to

be faithful to your end goal you have to

draw on your passion to do it in the

first place

you have to be disciplined and

stick through the tough parts

so the time part and the job part i

for me i i only ever had one job

before tattooing so i worked at a retail

clothing company

and i left after three months i gave in

my two week notice

and i thought about my [ __ ] i'm gonna

go into

the last two weeks i hated it there i

loved it because of the

the co-workers but i hated it because of

the the pay and the managers

are just like they're [ __ ] they just

like

the little power that they have they

just abuse it it's it's sad

and it sucks it's like why are you like

that

you suck as a person

anyways um

but yeah i i understand um

so for the for the job part i would

suggest

that you know you just you there's one

of two ways you can do it

is you work the job and

work on your your passion on the side

but that the the the con to that

is you have less time and energy

whereas the other way you can do it is

just take the leap of faith

dip into your savings and just go all

the way

with the passion project

but you need the passion to do it you

need the faith and you need the

discipline

to go all in on that if you don't have

any one of these if you're missing a

couple

or one then it's going to be rough

because

you're going you're going you're betting

all

in on this one thing

and that's

that's that's all or nothing that's like

do or die

and if you don't if you're not prepared

then you can't go all in like that

so he so continuing on his question

it's hard here it's hard because here

the tattoo industry is very

underestimated

very few people pay the real value of

the work mostly

they expect a very cheap price for my

first my first time tattooing was last

year when i got fired because of

lockdown

took my savings bought a machine watched

some videos on youtube

to learn the basics and then i threw

myself to the wolves little by little

so the thing about early on

you're gonna you're not gonna charge

full price

all the time for what you're gonna do

this is the time where you build your

portfolio

money comes in second at this point

because

you're right at this at this moment

you're a nobody you need to

you need to put in work why would you

i mean unless you're like really

struggling for money why are you

thinking about money so much you can't

because you need

you need you need the proof

right now you need the proof and the

reputation

so forget about money just

just do a couple free tattoos uh

do uh charge very low for what you're

doing

and if if it's true that you're

this is your true passion then money

comes second

because money always comes second with

me even now

even now i will admit that i do think

about money a lot more than i did

in the beginning or maybe the same

um it always comes second to

the project if it's a good project my

customers would know i would get i would

put more work in

or charge less just so i can do it

so the lockdown

the lockdown forced him to dip into his

savings

and just go all in so that was

the second of the two ways i mentioned

just go all in right

instead of balancing both he said he's

never been happier that's a great sign

that means he's passionate he wants

he this is this is what he loves when

you love to do your work it doesn't feel

like work

so why did he didn't mention why he

went back to his copywriting job

i don't know maybe he needed more money

or maybe this is

this is another thing people fall back

to what they're used to

they get lazy or they get comfortable in

where they're at

even though it eats away at their soul

but it's more comfortable you can't you

can't be comfortable this

this kills dreams this kills your soul

you have to put in you have to

constantly get out and

and put in work and chase and

that's the price for for your dream you

have to sacrifice

there was this [ __ ] just a lot of

instagram quotes out right now but this

is irrelevant

if you don't sacrifice for your dream

your dream becomes a sacrifice

i'm going to stop doing inspirational

quotes now

that's relevant though so

so yeah what else did he say uh in this

segment of the question

it's frustrating because i believe that

i have a desire to be a great artist and

also the talents or perseverance

to practice and improve a lot day by day

so he has a passion

he has the faith that's important

what was the third one i said the

discipline so the discipline i feel like

he's lacking

because he went back to his day job

i think that's what i think this is the

takeaway here

is you need to discipline yourself more

you have the two that's great that's

that's

that's big you already have two of the

three just

discipline part now it's gonna suck

because you gotta get out of the comfort

zone and start making changes and

put an energy more energy into this than

what you are doing before

but it's going to pay off because now

you have all three

of what you need to do what you

this is your one life you have to do it

right

so

yeah but yeah i think i need more time

to practice learn

try to tattoo longer so he's aware of

this he's he's already aware of

everything

i think he's just asking me for

confirmation

and here i am i want to give it to you

this is your confirmation go

[ __ ] do it

i'm gonna keep reading his question

okay so this okay so this is a good cut

off

whatever i just read about his dm now

this is the contemplating part then i

read this already the next part

is the technical part of the question

so let me read it i think i'm rushing my

tattoos

i don't know why maybe i'm afraid the

stencil may wipe out

i don't know i'm thinking of taking a

week vacation and tattoo every day maybe

some fake skin and some maybe

some free tattoos to practice yep

exactly what i mentioned

the thing is i don't know where to start

i mean what kind of tattoo should i do

so there's already two questions before

i move on

the rushing the tattoos to maintain the

stencil part

and what kind of tattoos should i do

so yeah you typically

are battling with the stencil to stay on

so

what's important is you you have to

do a good stencil before you start

tattooing

and you have to adopt habits to maintain

this stencil while you're tattooing so

even if you have to reapply the stencil

five times

i would suggest you do it

apply the stencil correctly apply the

stencil correctly

so you have an easier time for the rest

of it which is

a much larger chunk of the time

than you spend on the stencil part

even if it means you do you reapply it

five six times

so some habits that you have to adapt to

maintain a stencil

is apply a thin layer of ointment

before you start hitting the needle into

the skin

because the ink won't bleed into the

cracks of the skin and stick on as much

than if you were to put that layer of

ointment

first because it'll just sit above the

ointment rather than the skin so when

you wipe it it wipes away a lot easier

also when you wipe dab it

don't wipe so much because

that'll take the stencil away much

faster

so the trick is to when you tattoo

usually i have appointment if you see my

videos i have an ointment

here so when i'm tattooing right

i usually take this finger i scoop some

ointment

apply the ointment tattoo

now the ink sits above the skin right i

take the

paper towel and i dab dab it

so so that's good so that's

that's a good way of doing it what other

tricks are there to maintain a stencil

you can always outline the entire tattoo

first in a very light

stroke so you

keep it you keep the structure

and then when you wipe there's still

that little mark

that very faint light mark that little

scratch on the skin that tells you

exactly where

the stencil was so when you you can do a

a whole layer of that first and then

darken everything and reapply

go over it again to

to finish the tattoo so those are some

tricks

what else

continuing on

oh yeah he says he's thinking on taking

a week a vacation to tattoo every day

maybe some fake skin and maybe some free

tattoos to practice

good because yeah yeah do it do that

do that that's good the thing is i don't

know where to start i mean what kind of

tattoo should i do

oh right what kind of tattoo should you

do

think back on what you love to do think

back

on what you're doing now i check his uh

i check his instagram page and he does

he's doing fine line

stuff stick to fine line or see fine

line is tricky so

you can you should do some bigger stuff

some bolder

lines maybe three line three round line

or five

or seven or nine and then work your way

down to single

or three because thicker

thicker lines are much easier to handle

than

thinner lines so maybe

that you could you could explore a bunch

of different styles and and see which

one clicks with you

um that's what happened with me i did a

lot of different styles i did bold line

i did

my i did macro realism

i did traditional i did

you know a bunch of stuff and then i

found out that

i kind of like fine line but because i

did all those other styles fine line

and all my drawing history and you know

practice and everything finally came in

really easy for me

so i was well prepared before i made the

jump to fine line

so maybe you should do that um

yeah that's that's the one that's a long

process so you should explore you should

practice a lot so fine line

fine line should be later because it's

so tricky to do

you need a lot of practice before you

should

attempt it because you're gonna screw up

a lot of

tattoos unfortunately if you if you rush

or if you make the jump too fast

so um

love your work love eva's work ali too

microwave

micro realism to the very detail yeah

that's what

our style is i recently found out that

you don't use gray wash that's cool

i've been using it but i'm starting to

note that it fades a lot and it needs

some touch-ups

maybe i should start to avoid it

yeah so gray wash so thankfully this is

the last

part of the question gray wash

is

is a lot

it's a lot it's a lot less reliable than

straight black

it can be done if the artist

knows how gray wash behaves and knows

what he's doing with grey wash

but if you're gonna use grey wash you

gotta know the consequences

same as if you're gonna use straight

black you're going to have to know what

the consequences are

and they are so

black is so if this is mid

a a same tone so this is grey wash this

is straight black right

if we're trying to achieve the same tone

on on tattooing the skin

the gray wash when it heals it heals

this much lighter when the straight

black heals

it heals this much darker so

the jump from here to here on gray wash

is this much the junk from here up here

on black

is this much so notice the difference

this heals

much this much lighter this feels this

much darker

and you're doing it on purpose and you

know that this

grey wash is going to heal to this tone

instead of this tone

and you're applying it knowing that it's

going to heal down here

good same as if you know that this uh

the black

straight black ink is going to heal

slightly darker up here and you

pre preemptively

apply it knowing this then okay

so that's anyways that's that's that's

grey wash that's why i use straight

black

because of that reason later i found out

this for that reason but in the

beginning i used it only because it was

simpler for me because i don't have to

set up extra cups

but turns out that's you know that's

that's the way it is so okay

okay so that was the

question he closes off with

sorry for using you as my therapist and

i reply

no no i don't mind i really enjoy

helping um

and that's when i asked him oh this is

this is great would you mind if i

recorded my answer

to to youtube he said yeah sure whatever

can help other people from this

conversation it is welcome

and i say awesome yeah so this is

this is all of it this is all this stuff

and this is his instagram so he's done

some work

with some guidance and some practice

it'll it'll improve a lot um

he's from lima peru so and i

i don't like he says there's not a lot

of fine line there so

if he manages to to get amazing at fine

line

he's he's set he's gonna his

he's gonna attract a lot of customers

because it's like no

final artist there so hopefully

hopefully

uh you know he can he's welcome to

always

dm me for further questions and and

concerns

so yeah finished