So you finally worked up the courage to submit an idea for your custom tattoo, and now you have an appointment—congrats! Now it’s up to your tattoo artist to bring your idea to life. Your artist has hundreds of things to consider before the stencil even touches your skin, and it’s their expertise and trained eye that make it all come together. From anatomy to the composition’s flow, your artist carefully weighs various techniques when creating something specific to your body and true to your vision.
Even if you want your tattoo to heavily resemble your reference photo, it’s never just a simple copy-paste onto your skin. We talked with Logan Square Tattoo’s resident artists Jeremy Golden @jeremygoldentattoo and Pablo Miranda Reyes @mire.tattoo to demystify the process of how tattoo artists create custom designs—and some steps might surprise you!
The Consultation
Your artist may not always request a consultation for your tattoo, but if they do, it’s because they want to understand the scope of the project a little better. If you have other tattoos to work around, a nearby scar, or if you want a large-scale piece, your artist might ask to see you in person to chat through what they’re considering.
Jeremy Golden likes to use the consultation time to sit down with his client and have a dialogue about how to achieve the best design for the client’s anatomy and their personal needs. This is the best time to look at examples together with the client, and solidify a plan for the design.
Next, they’ll move onto a loose sketch. “I like to use markers and draw directly to the skin,” he says. “Then I use press-and-seal or plastic wrap and draw over the design to make a sketch at-size that I can work from and refine on my own.”
This step is critical for large-scale pieces like sleeves. If you’ve ever wondered how a tattoo artist makes a huge drawing for someone’s exact measurements, they may be using this technique—the artist will wrap cling-wrap around the limb like a cast, draw on it with Sharpies, and finally cut it off to use in mapping out the drawing!
Research and Refinement
Tattoo artists are master illustrators, and they spend a lot of time with a pencil (or digital pen!) in hand. Whether or not the artist does a consultation, they’ll proceed to the next step in the process, which is refining the sketch from the loose drawing.
Some artists will use this time to dive into research—flipping through various photos and Audubon illustrations of birds; delving into traditional Japanese books to reference the many rules about drawing a dragon; or compiling portrait photography to correctly capture the contours of the human face.
In fact, Logan Square Tattoo houses at least 100 reference books for our artists to pull from, including butterfly field guides, traditional tattoo anthologies, and figure drawing anatomy guides.
Depending on the subject matter, this research phase can last hours, during which artists like Jeremy will create collages to look at while they draw—which, of course, takes even longer.
Every artist has their own methodology, but typically, the loose sketch will be refined with colored pencil, pens, and markers using tracing paper over a light box, or the artist will work digitally to compose and refine the image—or, oftentimes, a combination of both!
Mindful Placement
This is where a tattoo artist sets themselves apart from other illustrators. While they compose the image, they are looking for certain things. Does the image flow well with the client’s anatomy? Is the design composed so that the focal point is facing the correct way, on the most visible part of the client’s limb? Does the design account for the way that skin moves and stretches in places like the elbow, knee, or neck?
Elements like geometric shapes will morph and warp in various contours of the body. Portraits can also easily distort in areas with movement—the last thing that an artist wants after a painstakingly detailed design process is for grandma’s face to look like a totally different person because of a rib placement.
Finishing Touches
Once the artist is happy with the composition, that final drawing may become the template for line work, and for the stencil. Depending on the style of the tattoo, the stencil may be exactly what the final, rendered drawing is—like if your tattoo is a minimal, fine-line design.
But oftentimes, the stencil will look a bit different. It typically shows just the outline of the design, and artists will add in shading, stippling, or other elements that are not present on the stencil. For a photorealism tattoo, for example, a stencil may contain details and lines in a spot where the untrained eye might not even register there being a line.
Artists may also freehand elements (or the whole tattoo!) with a stencil marker on the day of your appointment. This gives the artist full control of where they place additional elements like leaves, stars, clouds, or other decorative accents.
Cover-Ups: A Vanishing Act
With over ten years of experience, Pablo Miranda Reyes is highly regarded as a master of cover-ups at Logan Square Tattoo.
Cover-up tattoos are incredibly complex, and they have countless variables and obstacles. A cover-up is not simply pasting a new tattoo over an old one—the quality, application, and age of the tattoo underneath will determine its design elements, color choices, and flow of the new tattoo.
When a client comes in for a cover-up tattoo, Pablo explains, “There is a misconception that the artist can make anything and put it on top. So my evaluation of the skin and the old tattoo is everything.”
When evaluating a tattoo during a consultation or by looking at clear, well-lit photos, Pablo can tell what the best style, method, and technique should be to trick the eye into believing the old tattoo was never there, which is the ultimate goal of a coverup.
A great tattoo artist will explain the challenges of the coverup, and will work with the client to reach a place where they will both be happy. And a great client listens and is understanding of any speedbumps or compromises—your coverup artist is not a tattoo removal service, and tattooed skin does not behave the same way as untattooed skin! Even though there are more challenges throughout the coverup process, your new tattoo will be well worth the wait.
Let’s Get Started!
There’s a massive amount of work that goes on behind the scenes to create your custom piece, and tattoo artists love to embark on the process for every individual tattoo that they create. Your unique design ideas and skin present so many variables and pathways to your new ink—and it’s your artist’s skill that produces the perfect tattoo that you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life!
Thanks for your trust every step of the way! Ready to get started on this journey? Send us a booking form here—if you don’t have an artist in mind, we’ll happily match you with the right artist for your project.
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