The Art of Tattooing — Unique Styles and Techniques

A tattoo is a kind of a body alteration to produce a specific design on a client’s skin by inserting different inks, dyes, and pigments. These sketch works, either temporary or permanent, are inserted into the skin’s dermis layer to change the body’s colour. Tattoos are mainly of three types; decorative, symbolic, and pictorial. The history of tattooing goes back to the Neolithic time (the final stage of the stone age), verified by the remains found in different archaeological excavations.

The methods of tattooing vary as much as the human needs for bodily artistic expressions, which means there is a countless number of tattooing techniques out there which you can use. It has become so much common among the masses over the last few decades that people often casually enter the tattoo parlors and get their new tattoo-for-life. In many societies, it’s a part of their culture to get someone a new tattoo as part of their rituals to signify a particular milestone achieved by that person.

Before you conduct an online search for the best tattoo artists near you, here are some of the unique styles and techniques of tattooing that you should be aware of:

Tattoo Machine

The tattoo machine is the most utilized technique in the west and all around the world when it comes to producing different drawings on human skin. No matter what tattoo shop you walk in to, the only method of your next tattoo is via extremely sharp needles attached to the end of a tattoo gun powered by electricity.

After dipping the needles into an inkpot, the tattoo artist utilizes a foot pedal or through a push-button operates the device to insert the needle into the client’s skin hundreds of times per second. Different needles varying in size and number are used for outlining, shading, and colouring. Pressing the needles against the skin creates an in-and-out motion allowing needles to pierce the skin precisely and cleanly.

Although the tattoo machine is the quickest method to get the job done, it requires one to have a proper licence before operating.

Bamboo Handles

Using bamboo handles to insert ink into one’s skin is a vital part of the Japanese tattoo tradition that is executed by hands. There are about two dozen needles embedded in the handle. The artist has to stretch the client’s skin with one hand while pressing the needles against the skin with some force with the other side to produce a cohesive image. This mode of creating realistic tattoos may take weeks and months to complete full-body tattooing and need several sessions for a single person.

Rake and Striking Stick

Using striking sticks to make tattoos is one of the oldest practices of tattooing, which is still in use in the South Pacific countries like Samoa and Papua New Guinea. First, the client’s skin is stretched with the help of another person holding the client in most cases. It is then followed by hitting a sharpened rake connected with a long horizontal handle coupled with a thick solid stick to place the rake on to the stretched skin. The rake, which is produced from bone, is dipped into ink before placing it carefully over the part of the skin to be tattooed.

Metal tube

The metal tube technique has mainly been famous in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand. The western tattooing methods took inspiration from the very same way. A metal tube, often made of brass, contains a pointing rod at its center. The artist has to stretch the customer’s skin with one hand, dip the rod in ink, and pierce it through the skin in a downward motion frequently like a sewing machine.

These are some of the unique styles and techniques used globally for producing enchanting tattoos, which you must know about before visiting a tattoo and piercing shop near you. A quality Tattoo Shop like Doing Tattoo Edmonton will ensure you safe and quality body art and tattoo work. They offer offers premium tattoo and body art services, especially blackwork and Japanese Full body tattoos with the best quality inks.