Rockabilly's first sling

[Rockabillytattoo]

I did it guys, after months of practice skin and grapefruits, I decided to give it a go on my leg. It isn't finished yet, I intend on thickening the outline around the coi to help it stand out from the scales.
This took me about an hour and a half to complete, everything was going great until the 40 minute mark. My current gun got really hot and starting sparking harder and pulsating. I let it cool off for 10 minutes, I'm wondering if it had something to do with the duty cycle. When I started it back up again, at which I had to re-tune, it was running fine but after about 20 more minutes, it began going weird again. I didn't have to go over any lines until this point, I found I couldn't get the machine to sing like it had at the start. I've got some new parts on the way, coils, springs and a cap including a new power supply. My current supply's voltage meter doesn't work, so I'm not even sure what I was running. I trusted my ear instead.
I used a 5rl for the outline, and intend on going over the main line of the coi with an 8 in the future. The ink was Kuro Sumi.
I think next time I would have done the scales first, since they were the most complicated, by the time I started on the scales the stencil was wearing out and I had to go over some lines with a marker to see the scales again.
Pain wasn't bad, except for the bubbles at the top and the far right, closest to my groin. Lord did it burn, very sensitive area I guess.
Hope you guys like it, I'm fairly happy with it. Any suggestions for future tweaking and shading would be appreciated.

Rock on!!!

[Rickyboy]

the piece looks good, i would probably stay with the 5rl tho-- the lines look thick enuff!! ( my opinion);) i wanna see when you are done,what colors are u going to use??

[Rockabillytattoo]

the piece looks good, i would probably stay with the 5rl tho-- the lines look thick enuff!! ( my opinion);) i wanna see when you are done,what colors are u going to use??

I'm not sure if I want color, I was thinking of going greywash, but now you got me thinking. I'll let it heal up good for the next few weeks, post when I'm done. Thanks for the advice!!!

[STARMedic]

Well laid, good work bud...

Bruce

[sac4life]

looks good from what i can tell the lines look solid did you work off the tip or off the needles on this one i would guess off the tip but i may be wrong

[Rockabillytattoo]

looks good from what i can tell the lines look solid did you work off the tip or off the needles on this one i would guess off the tip but i may be wrong

I was riding the tip, I don't think I'd ride the needle until I'm more comfortable with my technique.

[Rickyboy]

my suggestion would be a bright orange and white!! would look sweet - with some nice shading :D as well!!!

[lowshovel1]

I like it, is this your design?

[Rockabillytattoo]

Not my design, a flash that I have.

[EvilOfTheNeedle]

god im confused... wouldnt riding the needle be easier than riding the tube? like watching a pencils lead while drawing a picture?

[EvilOfTheNeedle]

oh and your Koi looks f**kin wicked man :D

[the colorist]

god im confused... wouldnt riding the needle be easier than riding the tube? like watching a pencils lead while drawing a picture?
its a personal peference,riding the needle takes practice and skill.you can do damage have inconsistancies in the line work etc.you will know when you are ready to ride the needle......BTW good job Rock.if you go gray try for a good range of values from light to dark

[ink_freak]

i started riding the tube until i got used to my machine many tattoos later then went to needle i feel its more accurate and easier to see what ur doing good job on the koi

[dooms]

I'm fairly new to the art, but i can say that your lines look great. It will look awesome when colored in.

[black raven]

i would color this one and add either some negatives or some iso bars around it, it doesn't look like a huge tattoo and it has allot of detail lines that are close together such as the scales, black and grey would make the overall tattoo too dark, you will loose the effect of all the scales and top fin and such, where's the tail?

[Rockabillytattoo]

i would color this one and add either some negatives or some iso bars around it, it doesn't look like a huge tattoo and it has allot of detail lines that are close together such as the scales, black and grey would make the overall tattoo too dark, you will loose the effect of all the scales and top fin and such, where's the tail?
Thanks for the advice black raven. I was thinking about the piece being too dark if I go b&g, I probably should have done the scales with a 3rl instead of a 5rl.
I didn't finish the tail part because my gun was cacking out. I've since got a new one from TTS that I tuned with shorter springs for a liner. Tested it out and got it humming pretty nice. Good power band too.
I'm thinking of oranges for the koi and blues and whites for water. I'm going start on it again this Friday night. Post when it's done.

Rock on

[Wierdy Beard]

Teal is nice on waves, why not try light shades of grey before you colour and finish with a strong white for shines over the scales?

[artandtattoo2]

Looks great!:)
Not easy to work on yourself..
Show a pic of the finished work later...

www.warodell.com

[papadurivage]

Thanks for the advice black raven. I was thinking about the piece being too dark if I go b&g, I probably should have done the scales with a 3rl instead of a 5rl.
I didn't finish the tail part because my gun was cacking out. I've since got a new one from TTS that I tuned with shorter springs for a liner. Tested it out and got it humming pretty nice. Good power band too.
I'm thinking of oranges for the koi and blues and whites for water. I'm going start on it again this Friday night. Post when it's done.

Rock on


What TTS machine did you pick up?

[Rockabillytattoo]

What TTS machine did you pick up?

I picked up their T dial iron. I changed the springs 20 front short/18 rear and rolled them instead of a bent angle.The A bar though, is not hitting the front coil completely flat. I tried filing the top a little but still not 100% flat. It was running pretty sweet at 8-9 volts. I've been playing with it tuned for shading, but can't seem to get as nice as a buzz. I just ordered The Primitive shader from Infinite Irons and I'll probably wait till I get it to finish my Koi.

[Rockabillytattoo]

Teal is nice on waves, why not try light shades of grey before you colour and finish with a strong white for shines over the scales?
I like your idea, but would I take a chance at overworking the areas that I shade first and then add color?

[Wierdy Beard]

No you wont over work the area, shade out with your grey then slightly overlap the edges of the shade with your colour giving it a colour blend, from shade to coloured shade to colour then highlight but dont overdo the highlights.
you could even throw the shades in and let it heal then add colour later if your worried about too much skin damage in one sitting

[Ripshado]

Hey ROCK.. KICK ASS! Sometimes I wish I didnt always ride the needle lol...cause while doin yurself up... and you get a lil muscle spasm....OOPS! .. welp... guess i can just shade that fkn blowout lol

Looks good brutha. My suggestion for color...if you havent already done it.. would be... SLIGHT color... in whatever color you choose... but a deep red would look bad ass... keeping the waves grey in shading... or colored GREEN waves....keeping the coi black and grey... either way.. nice job on the lines bro.


Rip...OUT...

[Rockabillytattoo]

Thanks Rip!!! I like your idea of the deep red with grey waves. If I do the red I'd highlight the koi with an orangy yellow. Hellish!!! Just waiting for my new shader/color gun from Infinite. My liner is set up sweet right now so I don't want to start flipping it around. Will post as soon as I do it. Can't wait!!!

Rock on!!

[sac4life]

which machine are you going to get

[Rockabillytattoo]

which machine are you going to get

Hey Sac

I bought the primitive iron set up as a shader. This guy seems like he knows his stuff, his book is awesome.

Rock on

[sac4life]

cool i checked out his site his machines do look solid i wouldent mind reading the book are you looking to get rid of it let me know

[psychosailor]

Hey Rockabilly how did the Primitive Man shader work for you? I almost bought that machine recently after also reading Joey's little book on machine set up and maintenance, he does seem to know his stuff about macines, i really wanna try some rolled springs. Anyway let me know how it worked for you. I bought a Pulse Solution Shader instead and the verdict is still out on it. I like my time machines, I have 3 the Nvader, Flatline, and Flashback. Was looking for something to do a better job with my B&G and after reading Josua Carltons book was looking for a faster machine, which the Pulse seems to be.

I see Joshua is selling some machines now setup specifically for that, but he used Pulse in the past.

What other machines do you use?

[Rockabillytattoo]

cool i checked out his site his machines do look solid i wouldent mind reading the book are you looking to get rid of it let me know
Not looking at selling the book anytime soon, but it's always for sale on his website. Well worth every friggin penny!!!!!!!!

Rock on!!

[Rockabillytattoo]

Hey Rockabilly how did the Primitive Man shader work for you? I almost bought that machine recently after also reading Joey's little book on machine set up and maintenance, he does seem to know his stuff about macines, i really wanna try some rolled springs. Anyway let me know how it worked for you. I bought a Pulse Solution Shader instead and the verdict is still out on it. I like my time machines, I have 3 the Nvader, Flatline, and Flashback. Was looking for something to do a better job with my B&G and after reading Josua Carltons book was looking for a faster machine, which the Pulse seems to be.

I see Joshua is selling some machines now setup specifically for that, but he used Pulse in the past.

What other machines do you use?

I haven't received it yet, ordered it lastweek. He does say it takes around 2 weeks. My only other gun is a TTS Iron Dial. After I got Joey's book, I added a shorter front spring(20) and an 18 rear. I bought flat ones so I could roll them. I also had to shim the coils to get the A bar to hit flat. Other than that, the machine has good hardware and runs smooth at 5-6 volts. I can crank it to 7 and it still runs smooth. I'm going to check out the Pulse machines.

Rock on!!