Aliens

Been working on a backpiece for my husband. Below, I created a photomanip to turn into the design.



First I drew the egg set, then the queen alien. (I had to find a ton of reference because every version is different, and usually the photos are very dark.) Using Photoshop, I stuck the two drawings together and superimposed them onto a picture of his back. Soon I'll be coloring the final drawing for the tattoo, and some day when I feel confident, I'll ink on my favorite guy. Definitely after I have enough experience.

Fake Skin and my Machine

Started tattooing on fake skin this week. First I did the clover, then the cat, the jack-o-lantern, the eagle, and lastly the Celtic knot. Then I inked all the circles surrounding. The hardest part is making the outlines connect properly. Shading in small areas is a close second, though, and the plastic skin doesn't take ink like living skin does. Still, I'm on the right track, and my teachers are pleased with my progress. Woot!

Sketchin

This guy is a study of the surface of water. Done in pencil (graphite).

Been doing some sketching. I got my tattoo machine this week, so I practiced how to hold it correctly.





I really like the pin-up witch. Thinking about doing a good version as tattoo flash or a painting. Or if I'm feeling really ambitious, both. Heh, we'll see about that.

Koi combo w/ roses

Above are my final projects for my apprenticeship lesson book. I had to combine three subjects in one tat composition. I picked koi, rose, and heart.

Actually these are my revised pieces. To see my earlier version, just visit my fb page: Victoria Maxwell.

Sorry bout crappy photo. My scanner vacuums, to put it nicely.




These guys are just some practice pieces I found on my camera.

Prismacolor, tech pens, Sharpie.

New tat for moi?

Saw this design in a magazine (upper left), so I conjured up my own version. It'd be placed the same way on the legs. Still not sure if I'll actually go through with it, as my husband doesn't think it's that cool. I have other ideas, so I can part with this pretty easy.

Flash Mania

These are my designs! Yay! My tattoo teachers have critiqued my work. Some of these might change a little, especially if someone choses them to actually put them on their skin. Next week I should be practicing on fake skin; I've heard it's like rubber.






Above: This one had the most criticism, so I hope to redo it.

My Own Flash

Finally, I'm starting to draw my own designs. This is sort of a revised version of my previous zombie heart. The new one is clearer, with higher contrast.


Really felt like doing a Western cow skull with a rose. Don't know why. Also, I tried to use colors found in sunsets, like the blue shading and the orange rose.


For this heart, I knew that I wanted to do something with flames. So I started brainstorming and doodling. The idea came to me that I could do a purification fire-thingy symbolizing the power of Jesus. His love, the blue flames burn away the black sin on the heart, revealing his forgiveness and mercy--the white cross.

All these babies were done with Prismacolor pencils, tech pens, Sharpie. Not endorsement, just fyi.

Knotty, knotty

Bought one of those paper mache skulls at Michael's for $2 and painted it up like a sugar skull. It was a fun and challenging project, trying to keep the design symmetrical by hand. My tattoo teachers loved it. They told me I should find a way to do a bunch and sell 'em.

All the black lines are Sharpie, and the color is plain old acrylic paint. Sorry about the photos; I so need a new camera.


More Celtic knots, which take a while to draw from my lesson book. These were all created with Sharpies, tech pens, and Prismacolor pencils.

Another knot

As the title suggests. More practice.

Koi and Celts

Just practice for my tattoo apprenticeship.
Tools: Prismacolor pencil, tech pen, Sharpie.

Practice, practice, practice

*By the way, my title is totally a reference to the Swan Princess. LOL!






Still practicing flash art. The pieces above were copied by hand, not traced over, from my lesson book. I used Prismacolor pencils, a regular Sharpie, and a number of technical pens, like Sakura.




These were traced. The drawings in this post are in latest to earliest order, starting from the top, so the anchors came first. I'm starting to get a handle on where to shade and where not in the designs, reference for when I start creating my own. Also, I've learned that the most important objects in a single design look better when they have a thicker peripheral outline--my vocabulary word of the week. It's very apparent in the "rosy knife" up top there.

Tattoo flash art

So I got my apprenticeship! Yay!!!

This first month I'll be copying flash art for the purpose of learning what makes a good tattoo design. Consistent lines, color and how it's placed, and high contrast all play a part in these designs.

The images on the left of each piece are the ones that I've drawn. I already posted the first on Facebook, and my friends are lovin' it.

Dragon Heel

I'm still practicing. My apprenticeship interview is tomorrow. I really hope I get it!

Still-life of high heels, Toothless the dragon toy, my new sketchbook, and a Tinkerbell glass. Ebony pencil in my old sketchbook. Took me about an hour or so to sketch.

Real bacon!

Just some more warm-up sketching. I need to sharpen my drawing skills as they've gotten sloppy from unuse. So I drew some widows and bacon. And an egg. Don't know why.

Undead Heartbreak

I'm going to start a series of tattoo designs in order to warm up for a possible apprenticeship. I read online that many tats are drawn out in colored pencil, so I broke out my Prismacolors and got to work. It's going to take some getting used to; I haven't worked with colored pencil since I was little. The initial line work took me nearly an hour, the coloring about the same. There's no blood because this heart hasn't been pumping for a long time.

Moist

This is my personal tribute to cute food. Rendered in Illustrator, it demonstrates sheer saccharin cuteness. I might use it in a more layered piece, but for right now, he's just a flying cupcake.

I haven't done a lot of research on the subject; however, I do know that the fad is strong in Japan. Here are some images I looked at for inspiration:

awesome

overachiever

is this even real???

even school food knows it's sad