Tattoo process
Every Tattoo requires a different process and way of thinking as the variables can vary massively. Tattooing is a truly unique art form as it has to be a collaboration between the artist and the person who is receiving the tattoo, good communication is key to creating a successful piece of work.
Everything we tattoo is drawn directly to skin without the use of stencils in order to fit and flow with the body.
Initial sketches
This early stage of Tattooing is the most important part as it is the foundation and structure of the entire piece. For me it makes sense to design the tattoo directly on skin rather than showing a sketch on paper that has little crossover to the organic and asymmetrical form that is the human body. It’s important that the tattoo looks as though it belongs there and ultimately makes your body more aesthetically interesting.
Alex Johnson
Body Suit
Collab
Above is the current stage of Alex’s Bodysuit.
Below are in process videos and images of the development.
Alex has been getting tattooed for most of his adult life and has been smart about trying to keep symmetry with his various tattoos. He approached us a couple years ago about designing a body suit for him so we’re now tying everything together. Luke Edgar and Matthew Huggett have been working together to overlap textures and patterns to create flow and continuity in the design. This has truly been a three way collaboration as Alex has had as much input in the design concepts as we have.
James Webb
Body Suit Cover Up
Above are images of the current stage of James’ bodysuit. Below you can check out the progression.
Cover up body suit for James Webb
World Champion fighter James Webb initially approached me with the concept of armour to cover some previous tattoo work over his left shoulder. You can see in the images above how we began the process of building the armour to fit his body. I immediately became fascinated with the idea of covering a professional fighters in armour, dressing him for battle while also telling the story of past battles he’s come through.
Taking inspiration from Roman gladiators, Samurai, Sci Fi and Architecture we’re working our way through James’ bodysuit. We’re a couple of years in and probably have more than a couple to go. I’m excited to see how it will evolve.
Richard Whitty
Body Suit Development
Rich and I met in 2020 when I began work on his first tattoo based on his African heritage. This began life as a half sleeve and quickly grew into now covering most of his torso. The work on Rich aims to flow seamlessly over his body with no harsh breaks. We are currently almost finished his second sleeve and after that the design will most likely drop down to the leg. Thanks for being awesome Rich.
VJ
Cover Up
I first met VJ when I was an apprentice, he has been consistently getting tattooed for all of his adult life and this tribal piece was one of his first which he has wanted to get covered for a while but was unsure if it was possible.
Even know I have called this a cover up I really haven’t covered much of the old tattoo but instead used it as a base layer and used it to inform the new tattoo, often times I find that working over the top of existing work allows me to create textures and movements that would be impossible to do by myself.
So if you have an old tattoo there is always something we can do with it whether we are covering it or just blending it into new work.
Dan Bloss
Sleeve
