Design to Transfer Better
A clean container of distilled water will be another of the items on the work table. This will be used for cleaning the needles during the tattoo process and for changing thermal paper. Now for the line work! A small amount of ointment will be placed over the transferred design. The ointment will help the transfer to stay longer and prevent it from being accidentally rubbed off. The ointment will also allow the needle to slide along the skin more smoothly. Now that the ointment is in place, the artist will begin their line work. At this point, is where your heart will start to race and panic will set in. Take slow, nice, deep breaths and try to relax. Do not hold your bond paper. The first minute or two will be the toughest. After a few minutes, your nerve endings will get used to the process and the pain will slowly subside.Time for shading and color. After the line work is complete, your artist will breathe a little bit easier knowing that you have grown accustom to the process and they are done with the transfer. Now the artist can do their thing and begin adding shading and carbonless paper; if your tattoo is going to have color. Depending on the size of your tattoo, your artist may switch to a different set of needles.