Thicking Inks/ Mixing Inks

[confused tattooed]

Now I've heard of thinning Inks, but never heard of thicking them up alittle. Is there such a thing? And if so, how would you go about doing something like this and what and why would you want to do this.


Also.......I was messing around with mixing some inks to see if I could come up with a different color. I mixed red and blue of the same brand inks. And in hopes that I would get purple, I got something that more or less looked brown in the ink cap. Now is this what purple inks look like or am I doing something wrong. Alittle advice would help. -Thanks-

[hydrophidian]

I have heard of people letting their ink sit for a while and then once it settles, skimming the thinner liquid off of the top. That seems to me to be the only way to do it without introducing any foreign matter into the ink.

As for mixing, I only recommend mixing black with water, or white with anycolor(for pastels). I have had little luck, personally, with mixing true colors. I remember when I first started dabbling with color I tried the same thing, same result. If you want a purple, buy purple.

Also, you can add black to most colors. Just be carefull. Just like when putting ink on skin, you can always go back and add more but, you can't take it away once it's there.

Hope this helps

-Rico

[the colorist]

when mixing colors you have to make sure that what you are mixing is its true color.red blue and yellow are the primary and base to all colors,from these three all other colors come,unless,like magenta the are man made pigments and not really found in nature,with that said,the reason why your red and blue mix didnt turn purple is because either the red wasnt a true red,or the blue.red is bordered on the color spectrum by yellow on the 1 side and blue on the other.so when you order ink,you might see several shades of red,some are closer to red orange and appear warmer in value.while others are mixed with blue and appear cooler in value.you would want to buy a true red to mix with.same goes for your blue,yellow on one side,making those blues have a slight green tint,and red on the other,giving you a blue purple ink.true blue is what you want. if a warm red is mixed with a true blue you will get a muddied looking purple,like the color of dried blood,is this making sense now?

[the colorist]

let me know and i'll clarify better

[the colorist]

as far as thickening,i hear glyerine helps,but i say buy a better brand of ink

[confused tattooed]

wow actually that made alot of sense. but how do you know if a ink color is a true color or not unless it basically says true blue or true red for example

[the colorist]

you would almost need a color wheel,or know your colors really well.most of the dark colors like blue purple and green are the true colors,reds and yellows youd have to see,light yellow or lemon yellow are true yellow.if they place where you order your inks lets you see them you can tell which is the true red,it sorta looks dull not warm like fire engine red,or cool like cherry red.tell me what brands you wanna use and i can tell you which is which

[confused tattooed]

well I got the inks from inkcraft and the brand is Vivid but i'm looking into going to a different brand. Not that the inks i use are bad but would like to explore other options.

[black raven]

vegetable glycerin will thicken your pigment . just because it is thin doesn't mean it is a crappy brand of ink, just how it is made. if your hand technic and how you run your machines does not match up to the pigment you are using you will have healing problems and problems putting it in the skin. when using thicker pigments like unique or intenze, use a slower , longer stroke machine with a textured needle.

[FORGIVEN]

he's right ~~
look at "starbrite canary yellow "
"intenze's Mario's blue ""
very thin inks , but very strong
we spoke of that on the chat last night

[tat2d2dope]

i do alot of color mixing.
what i do is put a few drops on waxed paper and mix them there to see what it will do.
if it works good there then i will mix in a 2oz bottle.
for thinning witch hazel
if you thin too much put a few drops of glycerin to thicken back up.