Written By Steven Craig

ARTIST PROFILE

STEVEN CRAIG

DATA

Steven Craig is the owner and head painter of SKC CUSTOMZ in Lake Havasu City, AZ. In the past Steven has won the House of Kolor Prestigeous Painter Award and was a 1st Place winner of Dupont's Hot Hues Awards. He most  recently was awarded the Matrix System's FX Grand Prize Award for the second time. Steve paints a wide range of jobs from guitars to large off shore boats. Visit  his web site at

Airbrush : Iwata HP-BH, Custom Micron B, Iwata Eclipse CS, Iwata HP-BCS
Spray Guns: Iwata LPH400 ,Iwata LPH300, Iwata LPH-80
Paint Media: PPG, Xotic Colours and Matrix Systems, assorted AB Tattoo inks.
Surface Media: Everything I can get paint to stick to.
Masking : R-Tape and 3M Masking Tapes
Projector: Artograph
Lighting : Natural and Florescent. Spray-Line and Spray King Paint Booths

"Airbrushed Tattoos"

 Have the customer pick an area of their body that is comfortable for them to hold still and easy for you to work on. Airbrushed tattoos look the best on areas that do not have much body hair. Ink will stick to hair and produce a blurred and non realistic looking tattoo. When the ink sticks to the hair and not the skin it will reduce the amount of days a tattoo will last. Never apply tattoos over irritated or broken skin.  Apply 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to a cotton pad.

 Always use a clean disposable cotton pad for each customer. Start by wiping the area where the tattoo is going to be placed with Alcohol. This will remove any skin oils and contaminates. Clean the area slightly larger than stencil that will be applied. Wait for the alcohol to completely dry before applying the stencil. You could blow on the area to speed up the alcohol drying. Although, be careful because you may get an unfavorable reaction out of the client but, then again you might just get a date for the weekend. Just kidding! Don't blow on the client. You could always use the air from your airbrush to dry the alcohol faster if need be.

 Place the stencil firmly against the desired area of application. Try not to move the stencil during this process. If it moves around you will not produce a nice sharp edge. When a stencil shifts in position a soft edge is created. Soft edges will take away from the realistic look. It might seem a little difficult to keep the stencil from moving around at first, but after a little bit of practice it will become second nature.

 Sometimes you may need a little assistance in holding the stencil firmly in place. Attach a strip of Duct Tape to a leading edge. This will help control any movement. It also comes in handy for alignment when doing a multi-colored tattoo. If you are going to use Duct Tape, be careful when you remove it. Peel it off gently or you may once again end up with a unpleasant reaction from the client or possibly a date with a sado-masochist.

 One of the most popular stencil manufacturers makes them out of a flexible Vynalaser. This is a fantastic material for bending around body curvature, such as arms. The material is easy to clean and very durable. The only problem is they are not very rigid. The air pressure from the airbrush tends to raise the edges away from the skin. Use your fingers to help hold the edges down when applying the ink with the airbrush. Try to keep the airbrush pointed directly at the stencil and not at an angle. The air flow will help keep the stencil in place as the ink is being applied.

 The best stencils to use are the rigid type that are made out of 5 to 10 millimeter Mylar. These stencils will last forever. Hold the stencil firmly in place. It is recommended that 2 layers of ink are applied rather than one heavy coat. This will help in the longevity of the tattoo.

 Clean up is the key to a professional looking tattoo. Over-spray is bound to happen, especially when you are mass producing tattoos. After the stencil is removed, wet a clean cotton pad with Isopropyl Alcohol and wipe off any over-spray. Be careful not to touch the design with the alcohol, it would damage the tattoo and you would have to start completely over.

 When using large stencils such as armband's, start by airbrushing the ink at a leading edge. Gradually roll the stencil around the surface. Follow the rolling motion of the stencil with the airbrush and apply the ink when the stencil is in firm contact with the skin. Apply thin layers of ink instead of over saturating the surface. One thick layer of ink may smear the design as you continue walking the stencil over the surface.

 That's all there is to it. Recommend to the customer that they apply talcum powder several times throughout the day. The more they use talcum powder, the longer the tattoo will last. Recommend that they apply powder before showering and going to bed. With practice, this process should be able to be completed in 3 minutes.

 Let the ink dry for a few seconds before removing the stencil. A dual action airbrush with the trigger depressed to only release air will dry the ink faster. Most airbrush tattoo inks dry instantly but if the ink looks wet make sure it is dry or it may smear when the stencil is removed.

 For the tattoo to have longevity, the ink needs to be set. Apply setting powder directly to a blush brush or cotton pad and lightly dust the powder over the ink. Setting powder is nothing more than baby talcum powder.  Blow off any excess powder.  The talcum powder also gives the illusion of an older and more realistic tattoo.

 Olive Branch Skin Care makes a Tattoo Extender than can help maintain a longer lifespan for the tattoo. You can sell your customer small quantities that are available at Olive Branch. Apply the Tattoo Extender with a cotton swap. A few of the other ink manufacurers are working on an extender as well.

 To do multi-colored tattoos, follow the same procedures as the above steps. Apply a strip of Duct Tape on a leading edge of the stencil. This will help keep the stencils from moving around and will assist in registration for multiple colors. With the tape as an anchor the stencil can be lifted up and easily put back into alignment with the previous color. If it is a smaller stencil, tape can be put on two edges (top/bottom or side/side). This will hold the stencil in place and free up both hands to work with changing colors.

 Start by applying the lightest colors first. When doing multiple colors it is wise to have several airbrushes set up for quick color changes. If you don't want to invest in 6 to 8 airbrushes, the bottle system works just fine. The only difference is that it will take a few seconds longer changing bottles. On the plus side, you won't be spending an entire day cleaning a half dozen or so airbrushes. I would still recommend no less than two airbrushes for doing tattoos. One for black and darker colors and a second for light colors.

 Blend each color into the previous one. Pay attention to detail and spray pattern or you will turn a muti-color tattoo into a single color tattoo real quick. Some lighter colors and florescent require a white ink to be airbrushed first. This will intensify the color brightness and make translucent colors such a yellow more vibrant. Use your fingers to help hold the stencil flush against the skin. Gently remove the stencil and set the ink with powder.

 Make sure the ink is dry before adding each color. Most inks dry instantly or will be dry in the time it takes to pick up a different airbrush or change bottles. I find it helps in reducing blow-by (ink traveling under the stencil as it is lifted by air), if the air pressure is reduced down to 15 psi. That is with an Iwata Eclipse, the rest of you are on your own to figure out a what psi works best.

 I've seen people create many of their own stencils. A stencil can  easily be made by drawing a design on a piece of mylar and cut out with an xacto knife. Those who have access to a vinyl plotter/cutter have a definite advantage. Stencils can be created in vector format and cut on spray mask material. Vinyl spray mask material is very low tack and will produce the sharpest images possible when doing a airbrush tattoo. Click here for free download of this tattoo vector in eps format.

 The stencils should be cleaned after each use. If they are not cleaned regularly, excessive paint build up will create unsharp edges in the design. Simply, apply 70% Isopropyl Alcohol to a cotton pad and gently wipe over the stencil to remove the ink. Rigid stencils are easy to clean. When cleaning stencils similar to Airbrush Body Arts  "Vynalaser" stencils, try to pat the cotton pad on the stencil to remove the ink instead of wiping it. If they are wiped too hard the edges where fine detail is may roll backwards and destroy the stencil.

 When you have finished for the day, disassemble the airbrush and thoroughly clean the internal parts with alcohol. The tip may need to be soaked in alcohol to break up any lodged ink. Before putting it back together, lubricate the needle to keep it from sticking as a result of the seals drying out.

Tattoo Recommendations: When applying airbrushed tattoos, choose areas of the body that are exposed or have loose fitting clothes. Tight fitting clothes will rub the tattoo ink off in a short amount of time. Recommend to the customer that they apply Talcum Powder several times throughout the day. Apply the talcum powder before showering and going to bed. Do not wash the area with the tattoo with soap and only pat dry the area. Do not apply skin lotion over the tattoo area. It will remove the ink. If they want to remove the tattoo, rubbing alcohol will instantly take it off.

Multi-Color Tattoo

Vinyl Mask Tattoos

Freehand Tattoos

Cleaning The Stencils

Cleaning The Airbrush

YOUR BANNER ADVERTISEMENT COULD BE HERE

Contact Airbrushtech Administration To Find Out More Information

Business Tip: You need to have large amounts of business cards available. On the back side of the card have the Tattoo Care Instructions and a list of the events were you would be available to work at. Give one of these to every customer. This is how you will get booked for private parties and events.

 Airbrushed tattoos are not confined to being created by stencils. Advanced airbrush artists can produce very realistic looking tattoos that are works of art, as demonstrated here by Pamela Shanteau .

 Airbrushed Tattoos are not only fun to do, but small tattoo businesses are raking in huge profits doing them. This is so simple to do anyone can be producing professional tattoos in no time. I've read through a lot of literature, interviewed several company representatives and visited every website related to airbrushed tattoos to gather information and recommendations. Most of the information makes good sense but I wanted to see it first hand. As part of my research, I talked to the owner of a local airbrush tattoo cart. I never revealed that I was an airbrush artist to him and while I was paying him to do a tattoo on my daughter, he easily offered up the information I was looking for. His cart only had one airbrush and he only did one color (black) tattoos. There was a continuous growing line of people waiting to get tattoos done the entire time I was there. I never let onto who I was but I asked what he made per day. His average single color tattoo was $7.00 and he consistently made $400.00 and up per day. Not a bad day's wages in my eyes!

Click on each card for downloadable blank versions and add your own contact information.