fat is hard to tattoo!

[krow]

now ive worked on people who are kinda plump before but this peice i did the other day was a nitemare.it was a tribal peice on the small of this fat ladys back.i just could not seem to get her skin tight enough to tattoo it i actully had to have someone else stretch her fat out to pull a clean line.and on top of that her skin just would not take ink well at all.i was useing kuro sumi to line and fill with and i had to go over everything like 2-4 times in spots just to get it to look black,first pass looked like i was useing grey wash but i wasent.the peice was about 8 inches across and about 4 inches tall and took me every bit of 2 and half hours to get it filled in where it looked good. i got it done and she was happy with it but from now on im charging fat people more money.....lol

[Anonymous]

how was she positioned ?

[krow]

flat on her stomach.i tried to have her lay kinda on her side but that wasent happening........

[Papa Gee]

Man I know what you mean. Here in Georgia we have an abundance of large girls. So I've had many opportunities to do lower back tribals on a bunch of them.

The first lower back tribal I did I had the girl lay on her stomach and was sweating bulletts trying to get ink to take in her skin. You should have them sit in a chair turned backwards so that they are leaning over the back of the chair. You can place a pillow over the chair back to make them more comfortable. Use a chair that has a low back and no armrests.The farther they lean forward the better stretch you're gonna get in the lower back area. Also when you get out to the sides you can have them lean to the opposite side to help with the stretch. Still even with that much stretch on the skin it's gonna be hard to get the oblique area (love handles) to take ink.

I bought a short stool at WalMart the other day that really helps with doing lower back tats. It's about 20'' tall and folds up. They were only $6.00 each so I got two of them.

[MontanaPiercer]

we use salon chairs so we drop the back, jack up the chair and have them lean forward with elbows on knees. The position is good for them, but I have to drop my chair down a bit to get level with the area which can make for uncomfortable legs for me on a long piece

[MedusaQueen]

That is the best position for any backpeice; to have them straddle the chair. The further they put their butt out, the further they can lean forward, and the more it will stretch on it's own. Any lower back peice should be done this way; laying down may be comfortable for them, but not very practical for stretching peices. You will notice when they straddle and lean forward that the stencil doubles and even triples in size. That's a good thing, meaning they are doing most of the stretching for you, even though your workload looks like it just increased about hundred bucks. Also, for your comfort, the stool is a very good idea. You want to sit lower than the customer, or your back is going to kill you. One of the shops I worked in had regular office chairs from Walmart (black leather looking for wipeability with no arm rests) that swivel and raise/lower. Those are also a great investment, because you can raise their chair and lower yours. Also, the backs of the chairs lean back, so when your client leans forward, it allows her to lean further forward comfortably.

[DOPPLENHAKEN]

are you guys serious!fat people don't take ink well? :shock: ,wow i never knew that :?

[Papa Gee]

Actually even thinner to medium build people who have soft fat in the lower back region can be a real pain to get ink to take in those areas.

[krow]

i guess ill have to get me some kinda stool,i have and curently use an office chair to work out of and it does adjust height.but when i lower it all the way i feel like a grown man trying to ride a big wheel.........ill figure something out thanx for the advise.

[rosco1829]

Indeed, I did a lower back on a heavy girl and it was a nightmare. The tat turned out good but it was hard. She was stradled on an adjustable chair but even that was not even...not to mention she passed out. Her husband later told me that she gets nauseous (it that how you write it) in hospitals too because of the smell of everything and it wasn't me. As a matter of fact, she even told me it didn't hurt at all, she was just so anxious. Did the ouline and some color and had her come back to finish it...she passed out again then..but I knew what to expect from her so I was well prepared. At least she tells me when she's gonna go. Someone suggested that next time I get my partner to put on gloves and help me strech, I think that's what I'll do. It was way longer then it should have just because it was so hard to strech the skin..it was like Jell-O. But it is true than even thinner people do have blubbery skin on their back sides...even I do and I'm not fat so...it was a learning experience. Hope I don't have to do that everyday.

[diseblot]

Heres a little tip when tattooing fattys, get them in a position with a natural strech like mentioned before, then use a smaler needle grouping than you would have used for the piece, less gello to penetrate., just be care ful not to cause blowouts.

Regards
Diseblot

[undercover art]

I love fat grrls