Shading problems

[snooplotty]

Hi all!

Bought the course and found it really helpful but I am still having problems with shading.
Had the tattoo machine for a couple of months now and dived straight in and started practicing on myself. Tried doing a half sleeve on my left forearm, the shading is terrible (looks like Ive used an empty marker pen, lol) Obviously this is down to not being able to stretch the skin properly so just got to persevere and top it up every few weeks.

The main problem is the few ive done on other people. I use a 7RL (9 volts) followed by a 14RS (8 Volts) I stretch the skin pretty well but i still get patches and I dont want to overwork the skin should i change to the magnums for a better result?
I have a 5M2 in my pack, i know this is really small and will take ages to fill but should i give this a go to see if I get better results

When I got tats done by a pro I did used to bleed but I dont when I do it myself - Is this good or bad?

Cheers for any advice

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[Starbuck42]

Firstly, hello Simon.

Although i am no expert, i would like to think that i know quite enough to help you out here.
Firstly, tattooing your own arms is a complete no, no as you have already found out.
The best way to rectify this once and for all, is to get someone else to assist you in stretching the skin, but maybe the skin has already had too much of a pounding, and has now formed a quite thick layer of scarr tissue.

Machine setup is key to getting a good shade. If you cab post an image of your machine, firstly sideways on, then another image with your armature bar pulled down, so we can see the gap between your spring and contact screw.

% Mag for shading is a total no no! Your i lmost certainly rag the skin to bits, and if you stretch too much, it will be like cutting someone with a razor blade.

Hope this helps.

Ps, a member on here called Supertatz has needles for sale on ebay very cheap, as this is where i buy from in packs of 25. You will have to search the members list.

 

[snooplotty]

Cheers for that, I'll post some pics a bit later

Its actually filling solid colours not shading I'm having the problems with. Did one on my knee earlier today using the 14RS and it took forever trying to fill. So would magnums or flats be better for this.

 

[snooplotty]

Used a 5Mag and it did the job perfectly and really quick.