Home-Made Tattoo Thread

[poast-bortem!]

Inks
Spears
What to do
What not to do
Gun Schematics
Thoughts on Sanitation

[scovegner]

subscribed

[xxombie]

Yay I know how to do both.

INKS:
For ink I use Indian Ink I stole from school. Black. I've never tried any colourful colours but I'm sure they'd work fine. Indian Ink can be found in any art supply store. It's good to do a test dot if you're trying new ink to make sure you're not allergic or anything.

SPEARS:
In the past I've used a bent open safety pin as it's easier to hold. I wrapped some thread around it near the point (not covering the point retard, just above it) so it holds some of the ink when you dip it. Make sure the very end of the safety pin isn't kinda bent, it doesn't work and just hurts. It's probably good to use a clean needle.

WHAT TO DO:
*First go ahead and make sure you've got ink and a needle, durr, and have decided on a good design and placement. For the purposes of this demonstration, we'll assume we're doing a grinning unicorn wearing sunglasses.

*Disinfect the skin with some rubbing alcohol. In the past, I've used beer and spit.

*Draw on the design without the details, just the basic shapes.

*Dip the needle into the ink.

*Stab at the skin a bit.

*Repeat as nessisary. You'll get a feel for how deep to go and how often to dip.

WHAT NOT TO DO:
*Don't fuck it up.

*You'll find you'll need to wipe the excess ink off pretty often, and this'll wipe the design off, so be careful. Yeah.

*Don't go to deep, especially around boney areas.

*There really aren't a lot of ways to fuck this up.

GUNS:
I once made a tattoo gun out of an old electric toothbrush. You can learn how to do it on the internet. The one I made didn't made very solid lines because I suck a soldering, but I'm sure you could do better. They save a lot of time when it comes to shading large areas.

SANITATION:
I once gave my friend a tattoo out in the middle of some dirty train tracks with an old safety pin and beer and spit to clean shit off. It healed fine. Just don't get AIDS okay?

[Marijuanasaurus]

^^I used the same electric toothbrush gun and wrote my name on my knee. The ink bled out though and its only a couple of dots now. I also have an unfinished saturn on my ass. Ima get a friend to finish that up for me one day.

[Butcher]

You're aiming for the second layer of skin so the needle should go in no less than 0.5 mm and no more than 3 mm, tattoos tend to fade if you miss that layer.

[PuttinOnTheRitz]

This isn't really needed unless...
A. You are in prison
B. Underage
C. Dumb ass who wants a self done tattoo that they will regret based on how bad they fucked up

[xxombie]

I used the same electric toothbrush gun and wrote my name on my knee. The ink bled out though and its only a couple of dots now. I also have an unfinished saturn on my ass. Ima get a friend to finish that up for me one day.

I did a star and a random line on my leg with it and it's still there. Unfortunately.

[poast-bortem!]

Xxombie:
Very informational. :thumbsup:

Marijuanasaurus:
1. Any ideas on methods to get your ink to hold?
2. What kind of ink were you using?
3. Why did you quote a lenghthly post directly above you instead of ^

I hate that. :hrmph:

[Marijuanasaurus]

Xxombie:
Very informational. :thumbsup:

Marijuanasaurus:
1. Any ideas on methods to get your ink to hold?
2. What kind of ink were you using?
3. Why did you quote a lenghthly post directly above you instead of ^

I hate that. :hrmph:

1. either the string was not the right length or twas the fact that i didnt bandage it.
2. India ink
3. idk my bad. ill keep that in mind next time.

[poast-bortem!]

1. The former. You probably weren't working with enough needle.
2. Cool. That's actually the only thing I've heard that you're supposed to use
3. Thanks alot. It's just a minor annoyance, though.

Anybody know how unsafe it is to use pen ink?
Or how likely you are to contract ink poisoning?

Not that I'm considering it. Just wondering.

[scovegner]

Tip: if it doesn't hurt you aren't doing it right ...

[Marijuanasaurus]

I did a star and a random line on my leg with it and it's still there. Unfortunately.

pics?

1. The former. You probably weren't working with enough needle.
2. Cool. That's actually the only thing I've heard that you're supposed to use
3. Thanks alot. It's just a minor annoyance, though.

Anybody know how unsafe it is to use pen ink?
Or how likely you are to contract ink poisoning?

Not that I'm considering it. Just wondering.

Im pretty sure its not good to use pen ink, seeing as how most inks are oil based.

[xxombie]

pics?


I don't have anyy. The star was only a test spot, it's only like a cm big. I also have an anarchy sign (cause I'm so badass) on my right ankle which isn't very big either, like the size of a loonie probably. And I also have a random ass line on my hand from when I was gonna do a peace sign then stopped cause it wasn't working, but actually it was working so now I have a line. :thumbsup:

[poast-bortem!]

I also have an anarchy sign (cause I'm so badass)

lol, I'm even more badass cause my anarchy sign is a brand. :mad:

[Death Snuggle]

lol, I'm even more badass cause my anarchy sign is a brand. :mad:

We need a thread about branding. It is very unique and not that many people even consider it.

As for tattooing from homemade shit, I played around with it a little bit when I was younger. I used pen ink(black, red, and blue). I pulled the ball point piece out of the ink tube and drew the design with it. I went over it with a few straight pins I tied together and hit it with a piece of wood. All of the test patches I did faded. The red faded the quickest, the blue was okay but I noticed it would reject more than the black, and the black test I did just faded over about 2-3 years. I'm pretty sure I pushed the ink too deep and I'm kind of glad I did now.

[sexual assault]

I've done one homemade tattoo on my ankle, and I used a regular BIC pen for the ink. The needle I used was a sewing needle that had thread wrapped around the tip, exposing just enough of the point to get the ink to stay in the skin without going too deep. Like this:

<((((((-------O

I would just dip the needle in the ink, position the needle where a new dot was needed and then I would tap the top of the needle with something solid.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/dominussatanas/126_1217.jpg

Here's what it looks like nearly six years later, and the ink out of an average ballpoint pen held up pretty good. This picture also shows how shitty homemade tattoos can be, so I wouldn't try anything too difficult or putting anything on your hands.

If you're really dying for a tattoo right now, then by all means go for it. But there are massive amounts of really cheap tattoo kits on eBay for $100 or less. They're not the best quality, but even with basic knowledge of tattooing you can do some pretty rad work, and they'll do a tattoo 10 times better than some sewing needle. Charge a few people $20 for tattoos and you'll make your money back in no time at all.

Good luck!

[k8e]

lol, i did mine with a needle and thread.


the ink was made of cigarette ash and water.

[xxombie]

lol, i did mine with a needle and thread.


the ink was made of cigarette ash and water.

Woah, really? Pics of how it turned out?

[k8e]

Woah, really? Pics of how it turned out?

chyeah if i can find one. or i'll take one. but i'm really tired. i promise i'll put one up eventually.

[Hood Ornament]

This is how I did mine.

I went out and bought some sewing needles, thread, and Indian ink. Didn't total more than $5 at a craft store.

I then grabbed a pen and wrapped the needle tightly to the back side of the pen with the thread, and brought the thread down to about 2mm from the top of the needle. To be sure it would stay I wrapped tape over the thread where it was on the pen, just to make everything extra strong. I wiped the areas I was going to tattoo down and shaved the hair.

I had some wet paper towels around to constantly wipe off excess ink to check as I was going.

I was completely hammered when I did mine so instead of using the pen end and drawing an outline I just went for it. I did them VERY thick too.

here is what turned out.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p185/hoodornament/0103090217.jpg

largest one... yeah...

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p185/hoodornament/3a03d3a7.jpg

everybody always loves this one though.

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p185/hoodornament/eca4bdf1.jpg

didn't get to finish this because I spilled ink and had to clean it all off my carpet. I was going to do a geometric pattern across the whole top of my foot, but then decided to turn it into a kids drawing. It's going to be like a simplistic space shuttle with stars and a moon all across my foot... eventually.


and if you really want to get prison style, I got this recipe for ink from someone who was in prison.

I took their notes and wrote this from it.

Making home made tattoo ink
(prison style)

1) Get hair oil such as Blue Magic.

2) Take toilet paper and twist it into a wick,
cover it in hair oil and put a clip on it
so that it doesn't fall over.

3) Place inside a glass jar, then pack hair grease
around it like a candle.

4) Make like a little hut to place over the "candle"
and collect the soot produced by it.

Make sure it is big enough not to catch fire or you
will lose all of your soot.

5) Let the candle burn out and then flip the box over
to collect all the soot and put it in a bag.

6) Find a small cap that can hold the ink and add some
shampoo, maybe even a little water to thin it out.

[Curb Stomp]

My ex used a bunch of copper wire wrapped together tightly and a magnet so the needle would bounce with any random lamp wire attached all wrapped together with duct tape and using a staple as a needle.

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs036.snc1/2665_152353760012_803585012_6337244_3907229_n.jpg

He was in prison when he figured out how to make it lol so he had a lot of time on his hands. He uses pretty much any ink that you can find at an art supply store.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/SerialKiller1230/DT3.jpg?t=1239188439
This is one he did with a pick while he was in prison.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/SerialKiller1230/DT5.jpg?t=1239188589
This was done a bit after he got out.

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs036.snc1/2665_152353765012_803585012_6337245_744096_n.jpg
And this was the last one i saw him do. It says Texas Made.

Most of his work is done with a lot of shading so unless you can shade properly then don't do DIY tats. I've seen other people use his gun and it always results badly. I had a friend get a tattoo of a teardrop under his eye by someone else using that gun and it came out looking horrible. He had to fill it in because it was so badly misshapen since the gun vibrates.

[xxombie]

My ex used a bunch of copper wire wrapped together tightly and a magnet so the needle would bounce with any random lamp wire attached all wrapped together with duct tape and using a staple as a needle.

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs036.snc1/2665_152353760012_803585012_6337244_3907229_n.jpg

He was in prison when he figured out how to make it lol so he had a lot of time on his hands. He uses pretty much any ink that you can find at an art supply store.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/SerialKiller1230/DT3.jpg?t=1239188439
This is one he did with a pick while he was in prison.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f163/SerialKiller1230/DT5.jpg?t=1239188589
This was done a bit after he got out.

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc1/hs036.snc1/2665_152353765012_803585012_6337245_744096_n.jpg
And this was the last one i saw him do. It says Texas Made.

Most of his work is done with a lot of shading so unless you can shade properly then don't do DIY tats. I've seen other people use his gun and it always results badly. I had a friend get a tattoo of a teardrop under his eye by someone else using that gun and it came out looking horrible. He had to fill it in because it was so badly misshapen since the gun vibrates.

Props to that fucking artist, that's the best work I've seen with a home done gun. Shading is not bad at all.

[minor69ner]

I've done one homemade tattoo on my ankle, and I used a regular BIC pen for the ink. The needle I used was a sewing needle that had thread wrapped around the tip, exposing just enough of the point to get the ink to stay in the skin without going too deep. Like this:

<((((((-------O

I would just dip the needle in the ink, position the needle where a new dot was needed and then I would tap the top of the needle with something solid.

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b234/dominussatanas/126_1217.jpg

Here's what it looks like nearly six years later, and the ink out of an average ballpoint pen held up pretty good. This picture also shows how shitty homemade tattoos can be, so I wouldn't try anything too difficult or putting anything on your hands.

If you're really dying for a tattoo right now, then by all means go for it. But there are massive amounts of really cheap tattoo kits on eBay for $100 or less. They're not the best quality, but even with basic knowledge of tattooing you can do some pretty rad work, and they'll do a tattoo 10 times better than some sewing needle. Charge a few people $20 for tattoos and you'll make your money back in no time at all.

Good luck!

I did this except for ink I used melted shoe polish. It worked but it looks like shit and I am going to get a real one over it next month.

[PuttinOnTheRitz]

I'm about to get a tattoo of Kevin Love.

[God Like]

Cheapthrill your boyfriend is a good tattooist.

i got a homejob, i might post pics later

[Afromonk]

I started a homejob yesterday.
SO far its only a few dots because the ink wont seem to stay.
I'm using bic ink and im pushing the needle far enough in (its bleeding wuite a bit).
Any tips on how to do this?

[minor69ner]

I started a homejob yesterday.
SO far its only a few dots because the ink wont seem to stay.
I'm using bic ink and im pushing the needle far enough in (its bleeding wuite a bit).
Any tips on how to do this?

Use melted shoe polish instead. I did one with bic ink and it didn't stay, then I did the same thing except with shoe polish and it worked.

[Afromonk]

I tried a bit more with India Ink instead and it seems to do much better.
However, i just might make a jailhouse machine and use that instead.
:)

[vehicularmanslaughter]

i use india ink, and it always works as well as it possibly can

i just finished putting together one of them jailhouse guns
it was probably a bad idea considering i'll have a new tattoo in the morning now
what the fuck should i tattoo on myself

[vehicularmanslaughter]

Write something cool on your knuckles. Or gang/prison tattoos. They're badass.

i'll write "hire me" on my knuckles

[Curb Stomp]

He's my ex now. And yes he is a very good artist. Just can't stay off of drugs long enough to get a good job at a shop. He had an offer for a chair as long as he got his own gun but didn't take it because he'd rather spend his money on drugs.

Sadly i don't have pictures of the most recent ones he's done on his leg. Those are a few years old so you can see that the ink doesn't fade that badly. He's been tattooing since he was 12.

Edit: he's now 21

[origamimavin]

sometime soon i plan to make a home tattoo on both myself and a friend of mine of the 'therefore' symbol (3 dots in a triangle). i've wanted it for a while, and when i mentioned it to her, she said she's wanted it for a while as well. it'd be stupid to go get it done professionally since it's only 3 dots, and especially since i'm an art major and have all the stuff for it. it was good to read through this a little and get some ideas on how to do it correctly. i'm thinking mine will be on the underside of my wrist, kinda near under that boney bump below my pinkey finger.

[minor69ner]

sometime soon i plan to make a home tattoo on both myself and a friend of mine of the 'therefore' symbol (3 dots in a triangle). i've wanted it for a while, and when i mentioned it to her, she said she's wanted it for a while as well. it'd be stupid to go get it done professionally since it's only 3 dots, and especially since i'm an art major and have all the stuff for it. it was good to read through this a little and get some ideas on how to do it correctly. i'm thinking mine will be on the underside of my wrist, kinda near under that boney bump below my pinkey finger.

Doesn't the three dots mean you're in a gang?

[Kwinnie Bogan]

The tip of making a home made rig at least half decent for accuracy and consistency is to spend a good while properly angling and calibrating the needle. I'll bust out mine and show you later.

EDIT: I'll do it now cos I've got to go out now, I'll upload some stuff I've done later.
Aside from getting the rig pretty decent, good ink, steady hands and their persistence has resulted in well defined borders with this rig, which is about as best you can get for something half arsed. P.S. The only pen ink I've used is that in black BIC Crystal Ms and it's a goddamn pain in the arse to work with so many ways it's not funny and many people's bodies will reject it or some of it which will make the results look even worse. Just use proper fucken ink.

Even with the good ink, steady hands, decently aligned rig, and a good patch of skin on a persistant cunt none of this is as good as you would see at any decent parlour, even the most basic of shit would and has been shown up by even half decent artists plainly because they've got much better equipment.


Notice the angle on that needle in the centre pic below and how straight it is in the far left:
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1101/dscn57431.jpghttp://img141.imageshack.us/img141/6019/dscn5740.jpghttp://img141.imageshack.us/img141/9759/dscn5742.jpg

[The English Gentleman]

ITT: A man aims for that 'spent ten years in jail' look.

[farmer john]

sometime soon i plan to make a home tattoo on both myself and a friend of mine of the 'therefore' symbol (3 dots in a triangle). i've wanted it for a while, and when i mentioned it to her, she said she's wanted it for a while as well. it'd be stupid to go get it done professionally since it's only 3 dots, and especially since i'm an art major and have all the stuff for it. it was good to read through this a little and get some ideas on how to do it correctly. i'm thinking mine will be on the underside of my wrist, kinda near under that boney bump below my pinkey finger.

i did this to me and half a dozen friends once i did it between the thumb and index finger it means alot more then therefore but i was kewl with all the otherstuff so i still did it