How to begin your shadow work

• When you dip your machine tip into the ink you should let the ink flow all the way down to the bottom of the shader needles.
• Begin with the area of tattoo that will be blackest and then move the areas that will be lighter.
• Make sure that you are moving the tips of the needles in a circular motion when shadowing.
• Make sure that you don’t work too much on some areas because this can make everything become messy as ink begins oozing out everywhere. You must remember that if your skin has too many holes it won’t be able to hold ink.
• Never press down on the tattoo gun you are doing your shading; this will be even more vital when you are aiming at a light color.

You are going to get a lot more blood when shadowing in black; this is due to the fact that there are many more holes in the skin. If the blood becomes too much then you will need to reduce the power of your tattoo gun.