Overall I think it looks great. And I agree about the background. I think it would have looked good to have it small enough that it kind of shimmers and doesn’t compete with the foreground.
Very nice work! I was admiring this on IG the other day. I haven’t tried my hand at bulino yet, but I did a bunch of pen and ink stippled drawings years ago, and I think the technique is probably similar. I’d do my dark edges and deep shadows first, and then the get the mid and light tones, I’d...
Yeah, I’ve heard and read a couple horror stories about that happening to other engravers. It’s definitely not something I plan on doing much. I have a pile of zippos that were sent to me by an old friend for practice. Once they’re done, I’ll stick to plane brass or silver.
Thanks. The style of scroll is actually a particular type of edge treatment and meant to be that way. It’s pretty traditional in American scroll. I’m still working on my shading. At that size it’s pretty tricky especially with only an opti-visor as magnification. I have a much easier time when...
Hi everyone, I finally have gotten to the point where I feel comfortable enough with my work to post it here. Any constructive criticism is welcome, and thanks for taking the time to take a look.
At first glance, that rifle does look “wrong”, but if you take a second look, the puma is stalking the deer and wouldn’t work facing the other direction. Also a longtime tattooer here(33yrs) and I agree with animals and people facing forward unless otherwise necessary.
I got the bench jewel kit last year. You’ll want the diamond sharpening set, the basic template set whic will give you templates for 96°, a combo flat/knife graver template, and one or two more I can’t think of offhand (at work, away from my bench) it also comes with a 116° template. Other than...
As Allen said above, your tones are not varied enough to be visually clear. Your composition is pleasing to the eye overall though. There is a general rule to design regarding balance and that is the 1/3 to 2/3rds rule. Your shading should be either 1/3 of the total design, or 2/3rds. There is...
Hi Bob, there’s really quite a lot to address there. I’ve been a tattooer for a little over 30 years, so I have some experience with what you’re asking for. I’ve also done side work over the years as a graphic artist, custom furniture builder, and tattoo machine builder.
The most important part...
I haven’t done any inlay work, but ai have done a lot of hand filing and finishing of metal, and I’d recommend to avoid that file. A double cut is pretty coarse and will leave a pretty rough finish. Emery paper attached to a small piece of steel would work just fine. And if the knife scale is...
I haven’t had any experience with steel practice plates yet, but have done a fair bit of fabrication over the years, particularly tattoo machines. In my experience, the best way to avoid the flash oxidation you’re getting after rinsing your plates is to spray them with WD40 while they are still...
I’ve been using this exact compressor for my setup, and it works well. It runs for about 30 seconds every few minutes, and is about as loud as somebody talking at a normal speaking level.
Fellow tattooer here, with about 20 years of chronic tendonitis. There are a couple things I’ve done that have made it possible for me to continue working. First thing I did was to get a compression band. They are made specifically for this issue. It’s a wide band with an air cushion in one...