Want to practice tattooing before you create designs on yourself or your friends? If so, read on to find out more about how to stick and poke practice skin.
If you’ve decided to order your first stick and poke tattoo kit, you may be scared to try your hand on a real person. Luckily, many of these kits come with practice skins. These allow you to get introduced to your new equipment and get the feel for the needle before you create designs on yourself or your friends.
In this article, we’re going to explain how to stick and poke on practice skins. We’re also going to give you some tips that will help set you up for when you’re ready to tattoo an actual person.
What Is Practice Skin?
Practice skin is a thin plastic-like sheet made of either silicone, PVC, rubber, and in some cases, real pigskin. It is used by tattoo artists and amateurs to practice tattooing before they start creating their designs on real people.
This artificial skin is the closest you’ll get to tattooing a real person but, you’ll be able to have a do-over if you get it wrong. It’s your opportunity to get accustomed to your equipment and the sensation of the needle without having to worry if you make any mistakes.
How to Stick and Poke Practice Skins
To tattoo on practice skin, you will use exactly the same materials and technique as you would if you were undertaking a real project. Even though you’re not tattooing an actual person, you should use this opportunity to practice as if it were. Here are some tips you should keep in mind:
Practice Preparing Your Work Station
One of the biggest mistakes people make with DIY stick and pokes is that they don’t take the experience seriously. It’s often seen as a fun activity to do with friends. And, in these cases, health and safety go out of the window.
If you order a professional stick and poke tattoo kit, you’ll find that it comes with a variety of materials that will allow you to set up your work station as if you were in a real studio. Whether you’re using practice skin or not, you should always set up your work station as if it were the real deal.
Before you get started, make sure you:
- Have easy access to a container to dispose of old needles
- Clear and sanitize all of the surfaces around you
- Put down a disposable work surface cover
- Put on a pair of latex or nitrile gloves before handling any of your equipment
- Sanitize the practice skin as you would if it were real skin
This is the perfect opportunity for you to organize your workflow in a way that truly suits you. With this in mind, use this time to become aware of your surroundings so that you avoid ink spillages and spreading when you start taking on real projects.
Make the Experience Realistic
Many find that practice skin doesn’t feel close enough to the real experience. That can be true if you simply put the practice skin down on your work surface. To make it feel like your tattooing yourself, wrap the practice skin around your arm or leg.
By doing this, you’ll be able to know what it feels like to tattoo with the natural curvatures of the body. Whatever you do, don’t turn the practice skin over halfway through your session. Remember, you won’t be able to do this when you tattoo yourself!
Use the Opportunity to Try Different Tools and Techniques
While there are no do-overs in the tattoo world, practice skin is the ultimate opportunity to get accustomed to your materials. It’s also the best way to try out new tools and techniques. With this in mind, use this time to try different needle sizes so that you can get a feel for the thickness of each and how these influence your designs.
Work On Your Drawing Skills
The best form of practice you will ever get is with old fashioned pen and paper. Yes, you need to develop the skills and technique to transfer your designs onto the skin but without the right drawing skills, it’ll be near impossible for you to master the craft.
If you’re serious about inking yourself, your friends, or even becoming a tattoo artist, you need to practice drawing. Most importantly, you need to practice the stick and poke style of drawing. All stick and pokes are created using dot work so when drawing, make sure you use individual dots rather than lines.
Are you interested in trying your hand at creating your own stick and poke tattoos? If so, check out our professional stick and poke tattoo kits today! All of our kits come with a wealth of health and safety materials as well as professional needles and inks. Plus, our top of the range kit comes with two practice skins for you to get started with!