color not taking well

[qman309]

i have two questions #1- i colored a tattoo last week and it seemed blotchy and didnt take well , i used a 5 mag for coloring but my question is how should i set up my machine and what motion should i use this is referring to hand motion i have been told many different things by local tattoo artist but i tend not to trust there opinions cause most are not known to give out helpful and /or truthful information.
#2 is after a week on one tattoo i odne it started flaking bad is this something i done or is it the lack of tattoo after care.and one more thing do i need to go deeper when coloring ? i hope these questions dont sound too stupid but any help would be greatly appreciated...... :?

[Chopper Mike]

For the first part, technique and type of ink will make it or break it in shop. As for the secound, Aftercare, definatelly.

[oz tattoo]

I personally don't like using mags- haven't had good experience with them for coloring in, however I recently used a 4 flat & that worked well for coloring in- (that suggestion was given to me on this forum :) as for the flaking, maybe you over worked the skin- I found the same thing when I would use a mag to try & work the ink in- it healed differently & seemed very flaky- took longer to heal also. I still use small circular motion to color in, and I'd try experimenting with lower voltage, so you don't turn the skin into hamburger meat. Could also be the after care- what color is it that you're having trouble with? I have trouble with Millenium green....

[tat2rtist2]

#1 You should have known how to set it up before you attempted tattooing. There are many factors to your questions...volts, speed, depth, quality inks?..etc. Always take pictures of your tattoos..this way you can post them with your questions. You can get better answers if other artists can see the tattoo.

[Tat2Rtist]

I think one of the reasons a beginner has trouble putting color in is because of the tattoo supply companies that insist on selling beginner kits with no basic instructions in tattooing.
When the new tattoo artist gets his equipment the first thing they want to do is tattoo, I can't blame them, they just got their professional kit. Some seek out forums to find out the how to's which is great. But most only after tearing up someone!
The biggest problem I feel with a lot of starting tattoo artist is that the beginner kit that they buy has only one machine. If that machine comes only set up to line, how can they possibly color and shade with it if it is running fast for lining. All the experienced tattoo artist out there know as well as myself that you have to have the machine set up( springs, point gap, etc.) for shading and coloring to properly apply the color with out chewing someone up into hamburg.
So it is my belief that if the tattoo supply houses really sold supplies for the sake of the art and not the almighty dollar they would at least sell kits with two machines one liner and one shader and an instructional manual or videos.
Because everyone that has been tattooing for any amount of time knows that there is no way you can possibly use the same machine for lining and coloring without changing springs and point gap and stroke, unless it is a rotary machine and I haven't met to many artist that really like those.

[Preacher]

Hello,
Make sure and stay away from prism inks i have had major problem with them. Make sure and spend a little extra money on good inks. "MOM"'s ink are very good. I really have also had very bad luck with mag shaders.
Sudy your technic's :D

[qman309]

thanks everybody for the info everyone has been a great help i found some instructional video and literature and i have found the things that i have been doing wrong and things are going great now once again thanks to all :D

[Preacher]

Hello,
just ask the question someone can answere them. Thanks for asking :D

[leonard]

I just started using starbright colors and love them there really intense. i usually use a 14 shader to color with and for small peices it looks great but i've noticed that on the larger peices it takes way longer and it looks like i get an inconsistant area of color. i dont want to over work the skin so i just have them come back after it heals so i can check it out. I've used a 5 mag to color but i dont like the way the ink lays in the skin and i really have to stay away from going over the same area to much because i dont want to shred anybody up. Does anyone have any suggestions because its kinda frustrating because i fell like im not doing as much blending and mixing with the colors peices im doing because i dont want to damage the skin so im not very happy with the detail in certain peices. IM STUCK HELP!! :x

[voodoo]

i did a star on my wifes back saturday,using a 7mag for the first time!
i have to say it packs in the colors much better tham the rounds i was using!

[leonard]

:D Just got finished doing some praying hands on a freind i did the hands in greywash the cuffs of the sleeve in two tones of blue and some pretty cool flames outlined in red and colored them with oranges, reds & yellows i used a 7mag for most of the coloring and it worked pretty well but i still went back and forth to my 14 shader all together the peice probably took 3 hours because it was pretty large i wanted to really push myself & it came out pretty cool its a peice im really happy with. I think from now on im going to just slow it down because i really enjoyed it i made every stroke count no matter how long it took. Thanks for the help.. I'll post photos as soon as i can so you guys can tell me what you think. :D