I finally did my first tattoo, and it may not be perfect, but I'm pretty happy with it! I've been learning about tattooing for a little over 8 months now, and my husband has patiently waited to be my guinea pig. I decided it was time to give it a shot, and he bravely put a big smile on his face and said, "Ink me".
My original plan was to do the first tattoo in a very "hidden" place where no one would see it if I totally messed it up. But, he decided he wanted a tribal scorpion (his zodiac sign) and after much deliberation, I decided that the best place for the tattoo would be his forearm. Needless to say, this scared the hell out of me. If it turned out like crap, or if it turned out great - either way, everyone would know.
I cleaned him up, got my machine together somehow with my hands shaking like a chilly Chihuahua. The transfer already on his skin, I was ready to go. Dipped the needle in the ink, and bzzzzzzzzzzzzz. If my husband was nervous, he never showed it. I touched the tip to his skin and traced down the first line. Not too bad. A little shaky, and a little light, but not bad. I continued, still nervous, one line after another. As I went on, got a little more used to the machine, and a little more bold, the lines became darker and smoother. That made me realize that the first lines I did were too light, and I had to go over them again. Eventually, after a couple short breaks to catch my breath, the outline was done.
Then it was time to color it in. I wasn't brave enough to pull out a mag (shader) needle. So, I used the liner for all the coloring, too, which actually made the job a lot harder than it should have been. (I'll know better next time) Slowly but surely, the entire tattoo was filled in solid. I even got brave enough to fix a couple spots freehand. All in all, not counting the breaks, this 6" by 3" tattoo took about 5 hours. Whew! And my brave, sweet husband endured it all like a trooper.
I learned a lot from my first experience. What I did right, what I did wrong. I'm looking forward to learning more and practicing more. Anyone up for being a guinea pig? *wink*
