Portraits

[Anonymous]

So Im going to try a portrait piece , anyone got any suggestions as to how I might aproach this . Like should I use all grey tones or do u do a strait black outline , And how should I make the stencil , just photo copy a picture , I was thinking of using photoshop to change the image to a black and gray , thought it might be a little easier to clean it up , copy machine gets kinda too dark in some spots ...any other ideas ?

[Jillsta]

I did a portrait of my sister on myself and what I did was trace her photo on tracing paper and practiced shading it on paper a couple times before I attempted to do it on my skin. This gave me a good reference to look at also. I also outlined in a gray wash, so it wouldn't have a dark black outline.

[vernon]

I don't have the balls to even attempt this idea. Post some pics and show us how it turns out.

[blankwave]

i don't know much as far as tattooing but i've taken some art classes and when just drawing people to be realistic there are no real lines to make the outline of the body. it is really a technique of shading to create a line without distinct line. as bruce lee might say....the art of lining without lining.

[Anonymous]

So Im going to try a portrait piece , anyone got any suggestions as to how I might aproach this ?

Yes. I have probably the best advise you will ever get.
If you have to ask a bunch of people in an internet forum, I recommend you NOT aproach it.
If you make someone's kid or wife look like a gorilla, you could get a good and well deserved ass whoopin'...or worse.
Knowing your limitations will keep you from making a horrible mess on someone.

[Anonymous]

WELL THANKS FOR THE GOOD ADVISE , ASSHOLE .

[Anonymous]

Assjole? I just gave you valid advise. Far better than anyone else here did. KNOW YOUR LIMITATIONS.
How would you feel if you went to get a portrait of your daughter and ended up with some cross-eyed ape, instead, that looked NOTHING like your kid? Well, guess what, Chum...I've seen a million of those. Some done by artists with many years of experience, so you can imagine that if you don't even know whether to use a hard black line or to use a wash, maybe you should invest some time into getting advise from someone who specializes in portrait work instead of a bunch of beginners in an internet forum. Any professional would know that. You calling me an asshole goes against your concept of free exchange. Perhaps what you mean is that you want advise that makes you feel good inside, instead of actual advise from someone who knows.

[Anonymous]

Here is a good example.
http://www.bearsdentattoo.com/highband/gallery/albums/userpics/10001/normal_MVC-257S.JPG

If I took in that picture, and ended up with that horrible mess, I'd actually shoot that hack in the face. That looks NOTHING like the kid in the picture. It is an amateur blob that this person is scarred with forever. And that guy is PROUD of that work!
He doesn't know his limitations. No one was ever nice enough to tell him he sucked, and that he should never attempt to do something as difficult as a portrait.
Starting to see what I'm saying?

[Anonymous]

I see your point , u are just coming across very blunt and quite rude to people ...I would still one day like to aork on portraits , I know not everybody can do them . But I just didnt really care to hear "Dont do it you'll mess it up and get an ass woopin " I know my limitations , and I am working on expanding them all the time, that is the purpose of my question . You dont know what kinda work Im capable of ....Yes that picture isnt very good , I see what u mean , so maybe give a little positive feed back on how to help me plan this out ?

[Anonymous]

I got a few books on drwing portraits from pictures , I have also been tryign to get better graduations with my black n grey work too . I dont get to do many black n grey pieces to often , So I sometimes try to talk customers into getting at least a little grey shade here and there when nessicary .
I didnt mean to make it sound like I was just goona go out and start doing portraits today for somthing to do , I was just looking for advice on how to get started in planning the process . I do apreciate your advice .

[GettingWiser]

I understand you have to push your limits. But some limits are better pushed on paper for many years before you attempt them on skin. I recommend that and learning how to airbrush VERY WELL. And learn to use every needle configuration you can think of efficiently, including flat shaders.
I was tattooing for 8 years (after being trained) had an intimate understanding of airbrushing, and went through about 1000 sets of Derwent pencils before I started getting into portrait work, and even then, I traveled to every convention I could and had a million conversations with a million people who did great portraits before I dove in to it.
You fuck up some dude's Mickey mouse tattoo, he might even laugh it off. But you make his daughter look like Spok, and he may in fact decide to wound you severely. It is about as intimate a thing as you can do in this profession, and they will take it extremely personally. I don't know how I can put that in a much nicer way. If I am blunt, it is because I care very much about the artform I have devoted most of my lifetime to.

[olboys]

i agree with getting wiser ,as much as i hate it.just stick with what your comfortable with and go back to practicing.grape fruit ,practice skin what ever.protraits are kool and you have to be top of your game to do them.if you enjoy the art work ,you will not mind the wait.

[tatu01]

I ALSO AGREE IF YOU HAVE NEVER DONE A PORTRIAT PLEASE DONT
ATTEMPT UNTIL WATCHING OR STUDY A VERY GOOD TATTOOIST
PERFORM MORE THAN ONE POTRAITS ARE VERY VERY DETAILED IF YOU LOVE WHAT YOU DO AND CARE ABOUT YOUR NAME AND THE PERSON YOUR TATTOOING NOT JUST THE ALLMIGHTY $ YOULL GIVE IT SOME TIME AND SERIOUS THUGHT.. PEACE

[Anonymous]

28 years old, wanted to be an artist since i could hold a crayon, went to the art institute of pittsburgh for 2 years, majored in visual communications and computer animation, finding noooo work in these fields i found myself drawing PORTRAITS..........i sell these portraits for about $150 and i sink about 12 hours into each, i recently got into tattooing after a friend opened a shop in town and offered to teach me, stuck around for about 6 months until i realized he was a total idiot, his shop lasted about 1 1/2 years, then dissapeared. Not sure what happened. I then decided to buy my own equipment and start on my own, have been tattooing now for about 2 months and have done about 45 pieces, i agree with GettingWiser about being careful and understanding your limitations, but NEVER stop trying, i WILL soon attempt a portrait wether he or any other tattooist out there likes it or not. And i think you should do the same. And if all goes wrong, at least you made some other tattooist some money to cover it up lmfao. But here are some portraits i have done, the angel is actually a boris vellejo painting i reproduced in pencil, the others are also done in pencil
http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/jodrellbank/tiptree/115/warangelbig.jpg
http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/jodrellbank/tiptree/115/venabig.jpg
http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/jodrellbank/tiptree/115/friendbig.jpg

[Anonymous]

Your work looks really good . i was so defensive of the others comments , cause at the time , those guys were spamming our forum with insults and just general garbage , they wernt happy with the info that was being told here ...I still havent done a portrait yet , not on skin anyways . I dont get to do enough black n grey work to feel comfortable to get all the right shades . But one day I will get there . I have a few books , and I am trying to reproduce what I see with pencil ,I have never used anything else but pencil ...

So stick around , and leave some advice if ya want . I would like to know what kinda pencils u use . I know theres diferent #s and all that , but I just use the .05 mechanical pencils ...

[framey]

:evil:

[KnightRum]

Thanx :lol:

[Anonymous]

my advise would be try it u can't learn if u don't try,screw that clint eastwood bull sh*t!"man gots to know his limitions".I say go and try it u made it this far with out a "ass whoopn''and there was alot of good advise comin from this forum,and your right they could be mad,but that gos to show that they might not be that creative and r scared of compitionthose are the people that worship the$$$ late

[Madd Chef]

my old boss has been tattooing for over 13 years, and while i was his apprentice I've seen a few portraits done up close, watching every stroke and fade of the hand. The only advise I can give when your ready DO IT, but do it with Confidense. Also another good tip I was tought is to start off light, you can always darken, but never lighten. Hope this may help you out :!:

[DOPPLENHAKEN]

MADD CHEF IS RIGHT ON!!!IF I WERE TO DO ONE THAT EXACTLY WHAT I WOULD DO ,CAUSE EVEN IF ITS JACKED UP THEY CAN STILL COVER IT.BUT IF ITS DARK,THEYRE SCREWED. :wink:

[no9to5guy]

I had the wise words from one of the most respected portrait artists in the UK, try to get your faces of woman, indians, wizards,... as realistic as possible first before you start on portraits. If you make a tattoo of a squaw and you would want her to be your girlfriend, then you're ready to try a portrait, but do it soft, so you can make it darker later if needed.. good luck, I'm still working on my squaws ......

[MedusaQueen]

Ahhhh, I'd say go for it. You're never gonna learn if you don't try; portraits are very tricky, I know. If you can't make it realistic on paper, it certainly won't be that way on skin, and I would suggest drawing over and over and over on paper until you know every nose hair and shadow by heart. If your blak and grey on skin is nice and smooth, and you can accomplish the light grey with no set backs, then you should be able to do a portrait. Otherwise, I would wait on portaits until you can accomplish that. To start the portrait, you should stencil the peice with the features hardlined, and in the darker shadows I would put hatch marks on my stencil to denote shadow. When you apply the stencil, though, you do NOT want a thick black outline on the tattoo, so just barely etch in the eyes, mouth, nostrils and hairline. If you lined the features on the stencil from a tracing of the photo, you know the proportions are correct. Then start your shading from the darkest areas of the photo (where the hatchmarks would be on your stencil), but remember, it's always better to go too light than too dark. So what if you have to touch it up later. The tattoo portrait posted earlier is a bad example, first of all, the hair looks way too lined, secondly, the face doesn't really look like her to begin with. You can tell the nose is too turned up as the eyebrow is. Remember, the shading is what gives it shape, so if you don't mimic the picture exactly, you will end up re-shaping the face into something different. A trick is to use the needle as a pencil, and shade in the direction the shadows flow. For example, if you shade the cheeks straight up and down, they will look flat. If you shade the cheeks too round, the face will look like a chipmunk. Also, placement is important as where you put it will determine how warped the face will be. Give it shot----AFTER you have drawn and shaded it several times and you are confident you can make it look just like the picture, and AFTER you have successfully accomplished smooth grey shading. The more portraits you do the better you will get.

[Curby]

Personally, I always pass up on portraits. First, I'm know my skill set is not even close to being able to go there. Second, I've seen so many bad portraits, no way am I gonna do THAT to someone. Third, in my eye, the portrait never looks like the person...

But that's just me.

[tat2tim20]

bloodline everything on a portrait start with just a light wash, let it heal see how you done?then add darker tones do this on yourself or a freind

[gooey.uk1]

i agree with tat2tim do it in a few stages and do it on some one who knows what stage your at and if you make a mess offer to pay to have a good artist sort it out
i'm about to do an indian head on a freinds chest and i'm gonna take it nice and slow i told him it could take up to 12 months to finish as i'm also not to a pro with black and grey as i also don't get asked to do them very often
so yes go for it but don't think about doing it in one hit

[skullman]

I'm her to tell you practice on anything but the real skin first! I'm going on this because I reciently got a portrait done on my forearm of my father. The artist has been in the buisness for fifteen years, (?) he gave the work for my part in a car swap he scord big so he wanted to thank me. Cool I guess I arranged for my dads portrait he said in confedence yeah shuer. Well the session went well, But as I was watching his style just didn't look right , but every thing was looking right, but the coloration of the trauma skill he lost alot of detail in the shading area. When I got home I got it under the light after some of the redness went away and I was looking at another person other than my fater. :evil:
Yes there's more, after the dullness started to peal I noticed that the mouth look awfully red and some pain started. When the redness went down and the mouth pealed, lonbehold no more mouth just a big cut and faded lines. So he had the needle going to fast with a #3 liner (vibrating razor).
So now I have this mouth less alien on my forearm that everyone can see. Yes everyone asks can I see it and I show them and explain don't trust anyone. Ask if you can see a before heeled picks amd after to make sure they now what there doing.
Now i'm left to design a cover up. So heed the warnings practice and practice again . The irritation on the skin, swelling , needle and the streching can cause irriversible damage :cry:

[Capt. Calzone]

I've done portraits on paper numerous times with very good outcome but will not attempt it on skin anytime soon. Why? because half the time actually spent drawing Im also erasing and there ain't no erasing on skin. The day I'll attempt a portrait on skin is maybe after a year of being able to draw up a portrait on paper w/o having to erase... I can tell ya now, that ain't gonna be anytime soon... Back to work.. ROCK!

[el tatuaje]

hey cap
you are a wise professional, and the reason i say that is, you know when to use good and smart judgement and that's what distinguishes a pro from a beginner.
most of you beginners need to understand and make wise decisions in this field, take notes.
el

[Psyclone]

That sucks Skullman :cry: Iv been checking out different studios cuz I want to get my sons potrait on my arm & hopefully that doesnt happen to me. Some shop had a portait in there porfolio & the kid looked crosseyed. The other kid had a fat head & he had these pics shown in different sizes & views like he was proud :shock: Id be freakin pissed if some1 messed up my sons face. I dont think you should be able to practice on skin if you dont know what your doing. I think Ill wait awhile on an important piece like this.

[Essex Boy]

i just look a Bob Tyrrells website for portraits and think to myself wow
now if i could get anywhere like that id be pleased shit then i wake up and think what a dream
i know my limits and portraits are years away one thing puttin it on paper but skin not for a long time

[gooey.uk1]

just looked at bob tyrells site and it almost makes me feel like packing it in

that man is somthing else

[MedusaQueen]

It is packed in. Just very diluted in most areas.

[skullman]

NOw you shouldn't feel like you need to pack it up, but more like strive to be that. practice on the fake or pig skin. Just keep looking forward nad trying new things thats what make us artitist. Not just a rubber stamp tattoo machine.

[gooey.uk1]

I know but the road is so long to be confident enough to even contenplate attempting a portrate

but keep at is as they say and someday we'll get there

[theprofessor]

Another tough thing about portraits, without even the ink too skin area, is the perception of the client. If it looks good to the artist that is one thing but too make it look the way the client sees the person that is another step. To capture the essence of the subject is a level further up then me, but that is what time will hopfully bring.