Wrong on Paper, Right on Skin | 3 Minutes to Better tattooing

Shape is king in tattoo design. When I recently had a client come in wanting a blue jay that would wrap around multiple angles of his shoulder, it perfectly illustrated why we need to prioritize designing for the body rather than the stencil paper. This is exactly the kind of challenge that separates good tattooers from great ones - understanding that what might look "wrong" on paper can be absolutely right on skin.

Jake talks about why shape is absolutely critical in tattooing. When designing a piece, it's always good to think about how a tattoo is gonna live on a moving, breathing person, not just how it looks in your sketch pad. Shape comes before everything - before shading, before color, before all the fancy techniques we love to show off on Instagram.

This episode was made possible thanks to:

Interview by By Jake Meeks —

Writing By 

Topics:tattoo design principles, shape importance, body contours, multiple viewpoints, reference photos, stencil adaptation, tattoo aesthetics, Jake Meeks, Fireside Tattoo Network, tattoo placement

Steps In Designing the Blue Jay Tattoo

Mapping out the Planes of the Client’s Body

Sketching the Tattoo

First Draft of The Tattoo Design

The Blue Jay Tattoo Stencil

Stencil Placed on the Tattoo Client

This episode was made possible thanks to:

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