Adam McDade
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Freehand

9/4/2018

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In order to advance from previous practice skin, a technique known as ‘free-hand’ de- signs where applied. With free-hand work, the tattoo design is drawn directly onto the surface without the use of a stencil. Free-hand work is generally used for larger scale work that wraps around the shape of the area of the body that is to be tattooed, allowing for a more organic flow and structure to the design.
Despite the designs being tattooed onto the fake skin not demanding the use of freehand, it was opted over a stencil to gain practice in the technique. The designs drawn where based on Buddhist imagery, that had an aesthetic that i resonated with. Only small designs where created, with the understanding that they may be used as a part of a ‘flash sheet’ (pre-drawn designs) that may be offered as tattoo’s in the early stages of the tattooing career. 

Similarly to imagery shown in the previous post, the designs where then lined and shaded. With the designs being small, a large liner made up of 9 needles was chosen to create the shading. This allowed for more precision in the tighter areas of the design. The fake skin was taped onto a piece of MDF board rather than the pound of flesh, in order to investigate the difference in ease of application of the tattoo on a flat, rather than curved surface. This resulted in a vibration from the hard surface, requiring a tighter grip of the machine to reduce distortion in the line. The fake skin appeared to lift away from the board as a result of the heat generated from the tattooing process. 


Further practice in whip-shading was then undertaken from the line-work, which simultaneously informed how designs may be executed if taken into actual tattoos in the future.
The task was self-initiated and completed outside of studio opening hours, but within the studio. The purpose was to increase practical understanding, but also to practice tattooing that investigated how personal drawing style may adapt into tattooing practice.

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Biro drawn directly onto fake skin
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Outlined designs
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Lined and Shaded Design

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Adam McDade

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Apprentice Tattooist and PhD Research Student.

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Rose

12/3/2018

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The imagery shown depicts the production of my first full tattoo ever produced (though not on human skin). The task involved taking a piece of what is referred to as ‘flash’ (pre-drawn tattoo designs that traditionally hang on the walls of tattoo shops to be selected by clients) by Sailor Jerry - a central and seminal figure in traditional Western tattooing, and tattooing as a broader discipline.

Traditional tattooing can be considered simple and graphic in aesthetic, as designs where created in keeping with the capabilities of the available tools of the time (early 20th century). Contemporary tattoo machines are significantly more
sophisticated in their design, which has lead to new aesthetic possibilities within tattooing practice. Traditional tattooing remains as a timeless aesthetic however, and is considered relatively simple to execute (though more difficult to design).
The task was assigned in order to progress from the mark making stages of the previous fake skin explorations, into tattooing a design to be considered for its visual properties. The traditional Sailor Jerry rose was deemed appropriate for the early level of competence, and provided a strong foundation to practice lining, ‘whip-shading’ and colour packing.
Lining refers to the black line that is the basis of the tattoo design. Good linework is judged on consistency and ‘cleanness’ (i.e. no evidence of wobble in the line, a consistent width of line, etc.). 

‘Whip-Shading’ is the name given to the technique to produce gradated tone usinga tattoo machine. This is done by lowering the voltage of the tattoo machine from that which would be suitable for lining (a higher voltage), to allow the shape of the needles to create an aesthetic comparable to dots. The needle used to produce line- work may often be changed for what is referred to as a ‘magnum’ - a larger grouping of needles arranged in such a way that they cover a greater surface area of the skin. The term ‘whip’ refers to the motion of the hand to create a sense of gradation - the needle is inserted and pushed away from the surface at a fast pace, comparable to techniques used with a dry brush and ink on paper.

During the tattooing of the fake skin, the booth (the area in which the tattoo takes place) was set up as it would have been had the tattoo been on human skin.

This involves wearing gloves and using a medical grade cleaning product to wipe down all surfaces that may be touched by the tattooist or the client during the process. These may be the trolley (a metal unit that holds the filled ink caps, power supply, kitchen towels etc.), arm rest, and/or the massage bed.
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Once cleaned, the gloves are then binned and changed, before re-spraying the surfaces. This acts as an extra hygiene precaution, while also functioning as an adhesive for cling film that is then wrapped around each unit. Once the trolley is wrapped, a stack of kitchen paper and a packet of baby wipes are then placed on top of the trolley, which are used to wipe away ink/bodily secretions that occur in the tattooing process. A disposable cup filled with filtered water and often anti-bacterial soap/witch-hazel is also added, to rinse needles when changing co- lours of inks using the same needle. 

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A small amount of petroleum jelly is then applied to the station using a tongue dispenser, which acts as both a adhesive for ink caps and sometimes as a moisture agent that can be applied to the clients skin once an area of tattooing has been completed. Ink caps are placed onto the area where the petroleum jelly has been spread, which are filled with the inks that will be used for the tattoo. A disposable razor is also applied to the station, to shave any hair that is in the area of the tattoo, prior to the tattooing process beginning.
A yellow medical waste bag is secured to the trolley using either micro-pore tape or magnets, which is disposed of after each client in a medical waste bin (though only a regular bin bag was used for tattooing of fake skin). The machine power supply is then ‘bagged’ with a disposable plastic wrapping, in addition to the cables that are attached to the tattoo machine. Once wrapped, the machine is placed on the trolley. The tattoo machine is often also wrapped with cling film, and is cleaned with alcohol wipes after each use. The ‘tube’ for tattooing, which is the attachment to the machine that holds the needle and is gripped during the tattooing process, is either disposable or can be cleaned using an autoclave.
Tattooing a full design similar to that pictured, from outline to finish, may take many artists around 90 minutes, however due to my inexperience it took around 4 hours. What was learned in the initial exercises was implemented in regards to hold- ing the machine in such a way that the finger regulates the depth, working from the bottom left to top right of design to avoid rubbing off the stencil, and being sure to stretch the area with the non-tattooing hand so that the area being tattooed is taught, thus saturated. 

Adam McDade

Apprentice Tattooist and PhD Research Student

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Fake Skin 2 - Mark Making

27/2/2018

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The imagery shown here depicts both the output and the process taken for the second attempt at tattooing fake skin. The below image shows the marks to be tattooed being ‘free-handed’ by the founder, Bez, using a sharpie marker pen (a frequently used tool for work that is created without a stencil). The process of taping the fake skin described in previous posts was repeated, and the result can be seen in this image.

The symbols and marks drawn onto the fake skin where not chosen for aesthetic purposes, but for difficulty. Shapes such as the form of an ‘s’ and triangles/circles are thought to be difficult to tattoo perfectly. The purpose of inclusion of them on the fake skin was to learn how to approach such shapes and consider how the hand position may change, the positioning of the body while tattooing to adhere to a shape may adjust, and how to perform what looks like a continuous line of consistent depth without actually being executed in a single pass.

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Bez creating shapes on fake skin for me to practice on
The image of the cat on the bottom right of the skin was applied using a stencil of a design created by studio artist Stacey Green, and was applied as there was space remaining on the fake skin that hadn’t been utilised. Similar to the previous fake skin practice, the purpose was to gain control of holding the machine and gaining understanding of how to hold a machine, the depth of penetration, and become more comfortable and familiar with tattooing and the procedure.
As evident in the image, the pressure applied was too much in particular areas and has caused tears in the surface, however this is also due to the poor quality of the materials and not representative of actual skin. The image below shows the finished result of the exercise, with the fake skin being taken away from the ‘pound of flesh’ to reveal areas that had been accidentally made. 
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The end product of the second sheet of fake skin

​Adam McDade

Illustrator, Tattoo Apprentice, and PhD Research Student

​

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Colour Packing and Script

22/2/2018

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While tattooing Fake skin as explained in the previous post, other exercises where conducted also. The days as an apprentice at the studio tend to be organised so that Fridays involve drawing, and Saturdays tattooing. The following exercises have been conducted as part of the 'drawing days'.

Colour Packing
The imagery shown is part of a task set with the purpose of gaining understanding and technique with what is known in tattooing as ‘colour packing’. Colour packing is the term giving to the process of inserting pigment into the skin to saturate the surface area with ink so that there is no negative space showing through.


The task was to draw a few pages of small squares, and colour them in using a tight circular motion repeatedly until they became fully saturated. The purpose of the task was the process - the motion created with the coloured pencil is transferable to a tattoo machine. When saturating an area using colour pencil, the stroke may be back and forth, however when tattooing, this motion would cause damage to the skin. This could result in discomfort for the person being tattooed, and more damage than necessary to the surface, thus a lower quality tattoo as a result.

It was initially difficult to achieve much tone on the paper, due to the quality of the lead of the pencil. After changing to a higher quality pencil, the effectiveness was increased, and gradations where then able to be explored through repeating the cir- cular motion on some areas of the square more than others. Though the conventional method with traditional media would have been to pres harder to increase pigment, in tattooing gradation would be created by attempting to keep a consistent pressure but working faster for areas intended to be lighter.
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The reason less ink is inserted into the skin is because the machine is repeatedly moving the needle up and down in relation to amount of volts that are running through it (controllable by the power supply). A faster hand motion means that less ink is inserted into the skin, thus a gradation of tone may occur. This was considered and replicated when completing this exercise, with gradation created by a faster moving hand rather than applied pressure. 



Script

The imagery shown here is a sample of the practical research produced as part of a task set in order to gain knowledge on how to create script and lettering. Script and lettering is common subject matter within tattooing, however many tattooists will use a computer generated font and simply make a transfer from the printed word. This form of lettering tattoo is often completed by the most junior member of the team, as it is often understood as the least desirable to tattoo and least artistically challenging. Tattooing script is almost seen as a right of passage into a tattooing career.

As Triplesix Studios are an establishment with a range of artists with a variety of specialisms, a number of artists approach script with a sense of pride and importance comparable to that of a calligrapher or sign writer. As my position within the studio is that of an apprentice, it is understood that I will be executing many of the lettering tattoo’s in the early stages of my career. My mentors set me the task of drawing script manually is order to provide me with the tools needed to create script that adhered to the standards of design that is prominent within the studio.

The process was broken down into steps by one of the artists, Dan Hartley. Two parallel straight lines where drawn, with a gap of approximately 2 inches. 2 lines where then drawn above and below, with a gap around 50% of the size. The lines acted as structural frameworks for the lettering, with the original lines as the prima- ry guidelines. Small slanted ovals where then drawn within the primary lines, which would act as the basis for lower-case letters. Larger ovals that reached the top of the secondary line and bottom of the primary lines where drawn as the basis for capital letters. These guidelines could take whatever shape necessary to accommodate for the area that would be hypothetically tattooed upon.

It was advised to approach each letter as a shape, and ‘draw’ the script, rather than write it. It was suggested to begin with the stem of letters (such as ‘b’ and ‘p’) that fit within the guidelines, to keep the remainder of the letter shapes consistent in size, as they would be produced inside the ovals. Letters such as ‘y’ where kept consistent throughout the use of bottom guidelines, though it was pointed out that the guides should not dictate the visual, but inform. Once a word had been drawn, more decorative elements could be added and to strengthen the visual elements of piece and make it more conventionally interesting as a tattoo. The image included that depicts orange pencil is a scan of the demonstration produced by Dan, with the remaining images showing a number of my attempts. The larger image also depicts the beginning of my attempted adaptation of calligraphy into ‘tattoo-able’ lettering, referencing the work of Manny Ling as a basis of exploration. 

The task gave me an insight into the process of production of script, allowing for skills development that would make a traditionally undesirable task engaging as a designer. 



Adam McDade

Illustrator, Tattoo Apprentice, and PhD Research Student

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    Beyond the Epidermis

    ​Adam McDade

    A document of my experience working as a tattooist at Triplesix Studios, while also serving as a platform for my AHRC NPIF funded research as a PhD student in Design at the University of Sunderland.

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