Tattoo Art: How To Draw Tattoos To Sell
96Tribal Flash Sheet Example
Drawing Tattoos To Be Tattooed
For awhile now I have been drawing tattoos for some local tattooist aswell as selling them through ebay and this has proved quite a learning curve for my own art and how I create it.
First of all drawing your own tattoo could give you a discount if you hand over the tattoo with a few other related designs on what is called a tattoo flash sheet, a full sheet of A4 or A3 with anything from 3 to 8 or more tattoo designs, but remember you want to make it easier for the tattooist to actually apply the tattoos, so you have to supply the line work, aswell as the coloured tattoo artwork and I find it best to laminate the sheets to not only protect the art, but it makes it look professional.
Really though with any tattoo art you draw and create, you need to make your art in sets, so that you can sell them in sets, as this is what the tattooists and tattoo collectors look for, aswell as original and professional tattoos they cannot get anywhere else, so the customized tattoo is the best way of achieving this, if you can draw yourself, then why not try and make some money out of it.
When approaching a local tattooist, it is best to ask more questions about what tattoos sell? and what they are after, you'll find that they are more open to tell you as they have that knowledge through their weekly dealings with tattoo requests from clients, when you irst approach a tattoo artist you may nervous at first, but this usually disappears after a few meetings with them, after all you are trying to get your art out there and some of these will help spread your name if they like your work.
I've often got £30 to £40 for each set and I usually do them in no more than sets of five and some tattooists will tell you if the same tattoo sets appear down the road in another tattoo shop, then they won't buy any of your work again, so try to do two types of tattoo art, one that will be strictly one offs for your local tattooist and the other made to order limited editions that you can sell on ebay, you may need to print these all out or save them on disk and go and print a set when someone orders, my experience is that you need to provide a clear photo of what people will get when they buy and a description to back up your photo as in the beginning I did a couple of vague photos that people questioned with some feedback and this resulted in my art not selling, so I bought a better digital camera and did some better photos.
So How To Draw A Tattoo
First things first, starting out with an idea helps and your idea has to be spread out as a theme for your full set, so as to make a well remembered set, you have to start to sketch and build a good series of tattoos.
Often times, I have drawn one tattoo, then cut it out and placed three large designs on one sheet of A3 and I'd probably do 2 of these and the other 3 in the set of 5 will be smaller tattoos, the mistake though is to rty and put lots of detail on your art, when in reality the designs need to be simplified, some tattooists will simplify a drawing down anyway, but if you make it easier for them, then they will be more likely to buy your artwork.
Once these sketches have been roughed out on paper, you need to black ink the designs to make them more clearer and to trace later on as you need to have the line work and the coloured work separate.
When it comes to colouring your flash sheets I colour them with felt tips and other coloured pencils like cheap Crayolas and clean them up on the computer an some effects to them if appropriate, although I don't have anything flash like photoshop yet, I do use other free software to add some basic effects, I use gimp, although I need to explore more of this free art software program(something for another hubpage perhaps) as it looks really good especially from what the professionals do with it, if you take a look at IDrawGirls.com which has some really good examples of Gimp produced art combined with other art software he uses...it's simple fantastic.
Then when done I number, sign and put a link to either my blog or some other web destination that shows some of my art at least, then I laminate the finished pieces and place them in my art folder until I sell them.
See how I drew a demonic tattoo idea on this hubpage - Drawing a Demonic Tattoo
I'll probably come back and do a full tutorial on how to draw what I explained here, but my scanner has gone to heaven and I'll have to get another one, although I could do a video!!
Where To Find A Great Tattoo Online
- Chopper Tattoo Gallery
Sign up for one of the best tattoo archives online, to see or get inspred to get a tattoo design.
The Great Book Of Tattoo Designs On Amazon To Buy
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Great Book of Tattoo Designs: More than 500 Body Art Designs
Price: $9.26
List Price: $16.95 |
Some Great Tattoo Hubpages
- Tattooing and Piercing Supplies
Resources for tattoo and body piercing supplies. Tattoo machines, ink, piercing kits, body jewelry and more. Wholesale and retail. - Tattoo Care and Advice
Taking care of your new tattoo is essential for beautiful skin art for the rest of your life. Here is advice for getting tattooed along with healing your tattoo afterwards. - Tattooing and Body Piercing
Learn more about tattooing and body piercing, including koi tattoos, celebrity tattooing, different types of body piercings and more. - Japanese Koi Tattoos
See the beautiful Japanese tattoo designs known as koi, the sacred carp. Learn about these colorful fish tattoos and their meanings. - Hawaiian Tattoos
Hawaiian tattoos were a tribal tradition that is making a comeback on the islands. The geometric and petroglyph-derived designs are popular with locals and tourists alike.
One Of My Tattoo Drawings In Progress On Video
Drawing A Demonic Tattoo Design Video
Tattoo Drawing Advice
- Tattoo Drawing Advice on Tattoo Creation
Learn a bit about drawing custom tattoos and designing them for your friends, if you have any!
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Drawing A Tattoo
I know I could make a bit more money if I actively sold them through Ebay every week, but time is the issue.
Drawing them in sets really help the themes come together, especially if you plan on drawing variants of your work, I drew and sold a flaming skull set which multiple designs of flaming skulls in a set of 6, so it really helps if you target one type of design to draw in different ways.
Cheers Robert!
I have not tried tattoos, but now that I know you can sell them I might.
Thanks for the info.
It is somehing great to get into, just for the learning experience of supplying what others are requesting in tattoos.
Cheers artguy!
Nice creative Hub!!
Thanks.
Interesting hub. Can you explain a little more about flash sheets? Do you buy them blank and then trace the designs on them? Do you use a light box to do this?
Hi there PJ!
Flash sheets is only the technical term, you can use any piece of paper, so long as you can colour the tattoo designs with some good coloured pencils or felt tips, as to create a strong tattoo design.
I however use A4 and A3 sheets of cartridge paper and I do find a lightbox very helpful in the tracing process of designs, so yes a lightbox is needed, but not essential.
Cheers now!
Thanks so much for taking the time to answer Waynet. This helps a lot.
Your welcome PJ!
Cool post. I've been drawing those tribal art graphics for a while. Check out my site for more ideas http://opengraphicdesign.com/art/tribal-art-using-
Thanks Henry!
It's nice to have the person who designed thoses tattoos right at the top of this article come and comment and your website looks very interesting with more infinite variations of tattoo art, I have bookmarked it to return later!
Cheers there, I will be doing some of my own custom tattoo designs here and how to draw them type stuff, because I just love tattoo art!
Thanks now!
ecellent tatoos and great design , i hope i can put that on my hand and impress as many as i can
Interesting Hub!!
Thanks.
A very nice hub, with so much info...My sis does a lot of abstract drawing. She might be interested in tatoo designing as well...so i sent her the link. I am sure she would find your hub impressive.Your designs are awsome. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Mattn78 and TicksProfessional!
While I would like to take credit for the tattoos above, they are not mine, I just selected some good tribal designs from a site called Opengraphicdesign.com, although I may upload some of my tattoo examples at a later date.
Cheers there!
Nice creative article..
Thanks!!
Great article! I myself love to draw tattoo art but I don't know how to tattoo. You've given me some great ideas.
Thanks :)
Give it a good go Kalley86!
Drawing tattoos is the easy part, selling them does take some work, but if you plan things out and try and organize your tattoos into themes and categories, then you'll have more chance selling something.
Remember there are many different people all wanting different tattoos, try and cater to each and every one, I've been diversifying with drawing dolphins and roses (something that I would never ever thought I'd draw!!)
Good luck tat designing!!
Brilliant post, thanks for sharing.
Gosh what happens if you make a mistake I tattoo pets with I.D. numbers and sometimes they jump and it makes it difficult to get the letters and numbers on perfect, so far so good but it is still a worry.
Then you would have to get it corrected or inked over if possible, shaky hands are a bad idea, if you see a tattooist who has shaky hands, they may have been doing the five knuckle shuffle too long!! lol!
Fascinating hub. I had no idea a person could sell tattoo art. It's amazing to me what a person with creativity can do to make money! Hope lots of tattoo artists buy your work!
Yes Nelle, tattoos are sold over ebay and through designers websites and blogs and there are some great tattoos being designed out there, there is a great artist called Jenny Clarke who sells tattoos directly from her website http://www.jennyclarkedesign.com and her designs are highly sought after by collectors and existing tattooists.
Awesome article.
Hello! Great site, just wanting to sell my art, I have taken my portfolio to all the tat shops in Saginaw, MI and to a couple in N. Carolina, all stated my work is very good and original. Long story-short, auto accident 6/26/08 took away my job, my house, and my kid, I am at rock bottom but I am back drawing again while I continue to heal and just began my research with your site. Very cool and motivated me to pursue this career change (was a clinical social worker for 9 years prior...)(prior to that 12 years of Army service) I really want to do this. Any further help (like do not know how to use e-bay (lol Hey I am 44...hard to teach an ol dog new tricks) So I am going to check out the sites you recommend and would love any other feedback as well. I will try to get some of my pics so that you can see my work. Thanks
Dee
Thanks for your comments Dee!
First of all, Ebay is really easy to use when you are listing stuff, granted it does take a bit of trial and error to get things right and so long as you list detailed descriptions and titles, then you are on the right track with your Ebay listings.
Really though to get things kicked off, you need to have a load of your work in a portfolio offline and also online on a blog or other website and this will be your best work, there are various tattoo forums you can join and try and get your tattoo work out there too, just do a search for tattoo forums on Google!
Also you can try other sites where you put your designs on t-shirts and other gifts to sell like Zazzle and Cafepress, as these are extra revenue earners if you can market online and offline combined.
If you need any more help just ask some more questions and I'll be happy to help!
I've never thought about designing tattoos,I'm into manga,and cartooning,Pin-up,and childrens books,(trying to break in to comics)but I guess I will give this a try,see what I can come up with.
I'm trying to break into comics too, but not any comics company in particular, just publishing my own as and when I have the time, would love to see some of your work!
Tattoo drawing helps your design skills alot, as I have learnt alot about spacial design and awareness of designs to be used for many different tattoos, so it does help to practice this type of art form well.
Cheers Bill!
check out image they are a company made for creator owned properties,as long as you can do everything yourself (write draw letter color) Image will put you out there worldwide and you retain ownership and full control over your creative properties,Image also publishes all catergories,super-heros,horror,sci-fi,etc...but you have to be good no make that you have to be awesome!good luck on your journey into the realm of comics,maybe just maybe we might both be at comic-con a year a two from now signing autographs,and talking to fans,anythings possible!!good luck!!
I still have lots of old image comics from when I was obsessed about collecting them after leaving school, I would love to work for image, but then there may be more of a sense of achievement if I self publish my works and go that route, but anythings possible, good luck with your work too!
Are you a Tattoo Artist?
Yes I draw the tattoos but don't ink them on people, I much prefer to draw the designs and just create some fantastic tattoos from my head!
Great article, and very good tips.
thanks
This IS a great hub. I especially love the videos you add to your hubs. Very good!
What a cool hub!
This is interesting...I never really thought about the people that actually draw the designs...cool!
Very good ideas.
I've often been told that what I draw looks a lot like tattoos. I have thought about becoming a tattooist but I don't think I could stick people all day long(if people wince in pain, I feel it too). Perhaps this is an option for me.
Cheers Leslie!
I like doing those videos and there will be more videos uploaded soon!
What you are drawing is called in the tattoo world as flash and can be worth alot. Be careful that you have it copywrited so it can' be stolen, Beautiful artwork!!
dori
Thanks Profoundidiot!
If you think that's what you want to do then you can always try being a tattooist or a tattoo designer, I prefer the latter as I hate the sight of blood and would probably upchuck all over the person I was tattooing.
Cheers Fortunerep!
Yes I'm getting to a point were I do need to copyright my stuff, as my style is skulls and evil demons, so cheers for the reminder about copyright!!
I do sell flash sheets on ebay every chance I get and to some local tattooists or I set aside some special pieces if I visit out of town and I try my luck with other tattooists.
It's just about getting my name out there as a tattoo artist.
Thanks Ebower!
This is what I prefer, to draw the designs and let someone else worry about inking it on!
I got alot out of this one. I use all kinds of art to use as a base for painting on motorcycles.
Aha you paint on motorcycles, that is ace!
painting is fun wherever you paint!
Thanks for your comment!
nice example tattoo
I love your hub! It's just a great all around informative site.
Only problem I had was I can't hear you on your video very well - is it my computer, or does the volume need to be tweaked?
Cheers now!
Yeah I think the volume does need tweaking, I've been testing out different sound combinations through different microphones and so I won't be using that one again, thanks for your comments!
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robertsloan2 says:
3 months ago
Thank you! I've drawn tattoos for friends and had the fun of seeing the resulting tattoos, also done a few commissions for tattoo designs. I haven't tried to sell flash though. THis is very useful information.