How to choose a Tattoo Machine for Beginners?

ARE YOU A BEGINNER AND THINK YOU WOULD LOVE TO BE A TATTOO ARTIST? ARE YOU TAKING YOUR FIRST STEPS IN THE ART OF INK? read this article

You have entire folders of your own drawings at home, the works of well-known tattoo artists they move you more than a double espresso, and you look at your own cat as a totem animal for Mayan Indian tattoos. But the most important thing is your hands, if they itch so much that even in a dream you hold DRAGONFLY X2 and do black work for your own grandmother, then the time has come. It's time to buy it, the first one you will remember forever.

And as soon as you mature, at that very moment chaos begins in your head: temptations, doubts and torments of choice dance an endless tarantella in your thoughts.

Take a tattoo machine choose beginner kit?

Here are the main questions:

Should you buy the cheapest Chinese machine on AliExpress?
What if I shell out my last money for an expensive machine and it doesn't fit?
What machine is suitable for contouring, shading and shadows at the same time?
I should buy starter kits?
So anyway:rotor or induction?
Since everyone's hands and needs are different, a beginner tattoo machine should be chosen according to several parameters. Weigh the pros and cons and take what can work right now.

 

To begin with, we will express two radically opposed opinions of the tattoo artists venerable questions about which tattoo machine to take for a beginner. More precisely, there are billions of these opinions, but we will express the two most polar:

Opinion one: you need to buy the best and most expensive on the market today. Even if for the sake of this you have to pawn all the gizmos and get loans. Take for example SpektraXion and I don't know the pain. It is a very precise professional instrument. He is nice, handsome, professional, which will add confidence in his own eyes. And even if you're not a very good teacher yet, "this is going to help you."

Second opinion: if the hands are skilled, tattoos can even be done with a bamboo stick, even with a needle without a machine. And the propaganda for expensive starter kits from the big builders, or when CheyennePen buys the first machine, this is all a show off and a waste of money.

As a general rule, this is what those whose development in tattooing stopped at a standstill, that is, the absence of any progress played a cruel joke on the person. At the same time, this guy really believes that they grow up, get cool tattoos, and can give advice to novice masters. Be vigilant, see if that person is really doing something worthwhile. As a rule, these people draw poorly and do not engage in skill development.

There are some tattoo artists that God endowed with a tenacious grip and amazing fine motor skills.

Since childhood, they masterfully own any drawing tools and they can do it beautifully, even being in the back of an old ZIL, shaking along the country roads of central Russia. But there are really few such people.

Therefore, if you are still not sure about the steadiness of your hand, choose something in between.

Of course, you can put in a lot of time and eventually learn to get it right with the "Chinese" cheaper. After that, you can do anything with a good machine.

But here there are several drawbacks:

By buying something shiny for 8uss with AliExpressYou are not immune to surprises. In fact, you will always know that you have a "weak link" on your hands., which means you'll hardly be able to get a "pure thrill" out of creativity. Because there will be problems with her, the only question is when.

Stay in the middle ground. And this is around 56 uss – 224 uss. Inexpensive machines are available from manufacturers, for example TattooMarket Brothers ($63), FoxTattoo ($91) and DeuceMachines ($98 – $133). Among rotary machines, a good option is Skinductor «Vertigopromo» (182 uss).

It is worth remembering that in the case of the induction, you should immediately take a combo: a eyeliner and a shader. That is, the budget is automatically doubled. Don't forget about other consumables, too.

But more on that later.

What machine is suitable for contouring, shading and shadows at the same time?

A machine universal It is a very relative term.

The rotating machines are considered universal, but lose in art and price.

A professional will be able to reconfigure a induction machine to suit your needs, for beginners this option will be more difficult. But if you really want to become tattoo artist, start with induction.

And while we understand how much you want it, we strongly recommend that you buy several machines that meet your needs (we are talking about induction machines).

Liner – contour tattoo machine. Short and hard blow, fast return, fast penetration into the skin. The paint does not have time to blend under the skin and is laid in an evenly outlined line. Trying to paint with a liner can break the skin. Therefore, after healing, a scar is formed.

Shaider It is a painting and tattooing machine. It acts more slowly, the skin is less traumatized. It allows you to achieve tight plugging and high-quality painting. If you draw an outline on it, it will turn out bold and vague.

If you have decided on a tattoo machine, the next step is the needles. There is nothing worse than a good machine with a bad needle. Choose needles from well-known brands of exclusively tested quality, which are They sell in trusted stores.

For example, at Tattoomarket you will always find an inexpensive line of needles Excalibur or needles kwadron premium. When considering cartridges, do not take junk brands such as Elite, FYT and modules unknown to you, pay attention to membrane cartridges Inox Prime or the new Kwadron cartridges and of course Cheyenne.

They greatly simplify the work of the wizard and are convenient to use. But even here you have to be careful. Some cartridges are suitable for fine lines and detail work, while others are suitable for extensive paint jobs. And here it is also important to use them together with the machine for its intended purpose. Also pay attention to the technical characteristics of the machine. Not all work with certain cartridges.  

Starter kits. Pros and cons

When choosing a tattoo machine, You probably already know that it alone is not enough. 

Rotor or induction?

Before moving on to the parameters of the machines, let's touch on the parameters of the interested party. If you are a slim young man or a gentle girl with a size XXS, then it is premature to think about machines Heavy and powerful, but worth it.

First of all, look at your brush. If your glove size is XS-S, stop at a machine with a 16-22mm mount; if your size is ML, try 18-26mm; Well, if you have L-XL, take what suits you!

If you're in the world of tattooing, where there's a whole worship cult of tattoo machines, where they're admired and enjoy comparing features, this is good. But if at the same time you longed for a very beautiful and sophisticated, but very heavy steampunk car, then try to analyze this question more practically and, probably, gain experience. Until you get used to its weight, you will lose all the pleasure of the process. Your arm will hurt and your back will pull.

Try to drive the car at idle, feel its vibration, estimate how comfortable it will be for you to work with it. The wrong instrument produces more exclamations of despair than admiration.

Speed

Now half the world works with rotors. It's elegant and convenient, but still, they're pretty slow. You probably don't want to spend 3 hours doing something that can be done in an hour with induction machines (unless you have fast, mobile hands).

Weight

Induction machines are heavier than rotary ones. For example, the same VladBlad produces very heavy and very powerful cars. Someone who fits right in, but no one can hold them in their hands.

Vibration

There are very powerful but light induction machines made of special alloys. But light metal sometimes doesn't balance the vibration. An experienced craftsman will easily draw lines, and the hand of a beginner can vibrate up to the elbow. Therefore, you need to offset the weight of the machine with a mount that dampens vibrations and keeps your joints alive.

Noise.

The induction machine emits a characteristic hum, in contrast to the silent rotor. Some people find it annoying. This buzz does not affect the quality of the tattoo on any score.

Art.

Induction machines are famous for their color density. Also, no rotor will make contours as "loud" as induction.

In general, there is an opinion that the induction is better for beginners, and the rotor is more suitable for those who have been working for more than a year. Taking all of the above into account, make the decision yourself. And if you still want a rotor, then in principle with it you will close all your questions to a minimum. For good money.

By choosing induction machines, pay homage to beauty and style. In this case, you will need two carriages: a liner for the medium contour and a shader for a standard fill. And if we go further, one more liner for thin outlines and another shader for large shadings. Whole: four. If there is also a rotor, then five. tough huh?

Let's summarize