Portrait and Realism Tattoos

Portrait and Realism Tattoos

The term portrait work does not always apply to people. Any tattoo
that is photo realistic is considered as being portrait work. If you tattoo a
soda can as realistic as possible then you have done a portrait tattoo. As time
progresses, more and more clients are wanting photo realism tattoos. It use to
be only the best could pull it off but know it’s a necessity of the industry. The
problem with portrait work is that even the best artist in the world can only
work with what they have. If you use a bad picture then you will have a bad
tattoo. The picture needs to be clear and close enough to see the detail in
the face or of the object. You can only tattoo what you see. If someone brings
you a instant Polaroid, then they will have a tattoo of a Polaroid. Old and torn
up pictures just will not work. The best to use is any picture taken from a
professional photographer. Family portraits only work if you are tattooing the
entire family. If you have to enlarge the picture to see the face then it’s no
good. Several artist do portraits in color, they look nice when they are done
but after a few years the color pigments blend together making the portrait
blurry. I strongly recommend only doing portraits in black and grey. If you
have ever seen the old black and white movies that they add color to later,
then you know they don’t look natural. Most color portraits come out the
same way.
Photo realism is different than just high detailed tattooing. With
realism you need to have a picture to go by. High detail is simply adding some
shading here and there to make a tattoo look more detailed where in realism
you need to pay attention to the true lighting of the subject. Realism tattoos
need to be at least three inches high for the main object so you will have
plenty of room to apply the detail. The rule of thumb with a persons portrait
is that the three inches should be measured from the chin to the begging in of
the hair line. To achieve realism you are all but required to use mag for
smooth shading and a five or a three for the finer details. You cannot black
outline any realism tattoo. Nothing in life has a black outline around it. Only
tattoo solid black where you see it in the picture. I strongly suggest blood
lining the entire piece. You can grey line if you wish , but most of the time
you will be able to see the gray line after the tattoo is healed. If your subject
is lighter, or say has grey hair, then you might want to consider applying some
kind of back round that’s slightly darker then the image it’s self. A shadowing
around certain sections of the object will do the trick. Make sure to practice
the back round on paper before you tattoo it, you have to see what works and
what doesn’t for each individual tattoo.
To making the pattern you can use a copy machine, but I prefer using a
computer scanner, you loose less detail this way. Scan the image in and crop
out around the main image only getting what you plan to tattoo in the
picture. While you are editing the image in the computer is the time to add
any names or dates that the client may want along with it. Size it accordingly
and print the image on the highest resolution you can. Print several copies
incase you make a mistake, and so you have at least one extra to have for
comparison while you are tattooing. Never take an original picture back with
you while you tattoo, you will get blood and pigment on the image every time
and some pictures your client can’t replace. Lay the printed picture down on
the stencil paper and trace every line you can leaving only the shading not on
the pattern. With a portrait you might want to stencil any solid black areas
filled in solid as a reference. If you have a stencil machine, I suggest doing the
pattern by hand anyway so you have already drawn in before hand to get a
better feel for the image. The biggest trick to tattooing portraits is the
making of the pattern. When you are done it should look like a topographical
map of the image. You will need to mark the separations or the various hues
to function as reference points. Many artist work top to bottom and do the
tattoo in a whole going that direction. This means that you would fully shade
the tattoo as you move up, instead of blood lining the entire piece and doing
the eyes, then mouth or what ever the case may be.
When you have any realism tattoo with solid black words such as dates
or names then you need to tattoo them first. Do the blood line work on the
main image, then rinse and dry your needle to outline the words. With any
tattoo, the outline is first, but in a portrait that may be the only outline.
When you do a realism piece, you need to think of your self like a human copy
machine, everything you see needs to be in the tattoo. You may want to set
an appointment for these tattoos so you have time to work and play with the
image before the tattooing. Portrait work is revered as the most difficult act
of tattooing, just take your time and don’t do them if you are not ready.
Using White
The use of white high light can add definition to any tattoo but in a
portrait it will bring the subject to life. White is one of the fourteen shades of
grey the human eye can distinguish, and should be used, but only if used
properly. Too many artists are using white highlighting during black and grey
like it’s going out of style. Too much white will take away from the tattoo and
make it look not nearly as real. White should only go where you see it in the
picture. One of the best examples I can tell you is to go for a drive at night.
While traveling in traffic, you can see the lights reflecting on the nearby car.
Look for a white car, you can see the white paint of the car, then you can see
the bright white where the light is reflecting on the paint. This is the same
idea. There is white area in a tattoo which should be considered skin tone,
but then there are areas that need to be the color white. If you are tattooing
a metal object then only apply white where you see it in the picture. If your
tattoo is the white car in traffic, then you only want to shade the paint job,
and use white where the light reflection is. With use in a portrait, you only
want to put white on what would naturally be wet or metal such as body
jewelry and the frame of eye glasses. This is how white does its job. In a face
you should only have white in the eyes where you see the glare and on the
teeth if they are smiling. Anywhere else will just make it look like its glowing
in the dark. Realism is based on what is real, not where you think you want
the real to be.
You hear everyone say “My skin won’t take white”. That is wrong.
When an artist tells the client that their skin didn’t take the white then they
are using a crappy white or they don’t know how to apply it properly. The
down side of white is that being white it has a tendency to take the color of
the skin above it after it heals. On an African American you will not be able
to see white pigment as well as say a pale Irish completion. I have some
American Indian in me so when I put white in myself it looks sort of cream due
to the darker tone of my skin. This is the only problem with white. There is no
excuse for it to just not show up at all. Artist think that white pigment is a
color and should be applied like a color, but it is a shade of grey, or the
absence of. To properly apply white when using as a color you need to go a
little slower than you would with regular color pigment. If you are highlighting
with white then you need to use it as if you were lining with black. Slow and
steady. You cannot apply white quickly and expect it to stay. Because white
will take on the form of any other color it comes into contact with, it should
be the last color you use no matter what colors you’re using. Before you dip
into the white you should also rinse the machine out more cautiously than any
other time. If you have just a small bit of red, then the entire ink cap will be
pink the first time you touch the needle in there. Take your time, and watch
for color change, I have seen artist use white but tattoo pink without knowing
more times then I can count.