flash vs “want to do” art – what’s the difference?

 

22×30″ sheet of flash.

it’s pretty simple.

flash is a drawing or design that a tattoo artist will do on anyone, repeatedly, it’s not a unique or singular image.

they’ve drawn or purchased the rights to tattoo it as much and as often as they want, and it’s often really cool.

want to do this” means the artist has drawn a custom design and wants to do it, once, on one person.

the word “flash” is the difference: flash means images you can “flash” to show customers what you can do.

in the old days it was up on the walls, or in racks, in every shop and you would walk in and pick something.

it was all pre drawn, repeatable, ready to go.

 

 

vintage flash from a friend’s collection

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where to find my work and me

active:

here! resonanteye.net

https://tiktok.com/resonanteye (mostly garden videos)

https://tumblr.com/resonanteye

rarely active:

https://youtube.com/resonanteye

https://patreon.com/resonanteye (art not tattoos posted here first, I don’t make anything from it at the moment)

inactive/reposts only:

twitter.com/resonanteye

facebook.com/resonanteye

instagram.com/resonanteye

I’m backing away from most social media as a primary posting location, it’s a process, but my work and essays and events will be announced here and on Patreon going forward. reposts from the site will go to sm after a brief pause.

I’ll be maintaining groups, friendships and portfolios at all sites but am in the process of removing content and migrating it here.

love you guys. thanks for still being around!

live paintings: two streams

I’ll be doing this on Friday at 7 PST this week again, feel free to join in! If you have questions or suggestions, comment here or there. See you Friday!

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horror movie talk with LFR

My friend Lucy F. R. has really great taste in movies.

I don’t say that lightly. You all know (if you’ve been reading me a while) how fussy I am about horror/weirdshit and how many movies I’ve watched. It’s my actual hobby, unrelated to anything else I do, purely for enjoyment. It’s hard for me to find people to talk about movies with, really- my uncle, who first introduced me to horror movies, and weird cinema, and one or two friends. So I’m really happy to have a conversation here about movies with someone.

Sal doesn't take any shit from no man.

Sal doesn’t take any shit from no man. (Beyond the Valley of the Ultravixens)

(R: me,  L:them)

R:  you’re on a grimy southern/grind horror kick right now. But what genre do you like best? What feeling are you after?

LFR: Horror is my favorite genre, I just get very into specific branches. I always want to end up saying to myself “this is a GOOD movie”.

R: What’s the best of the batch you’ve been into recently?

LFR:The Dunwich Horror (the 70’s one), Ghost Galleon, House By The Cemetery, Werewolves On Wheels, and Tourist Trap.

R: Tell me about Werewolves on Wheels. I just watched Dog Soldiers again, and I’ve been on a werewolf kick.


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screenprint action!

I’ve had to cancel my Seattle trip due to family health issues. I’ve got a fund going to cover my own medication and therapy in the meantime, that link is here in case you’re flush.

 

During the free time I have had, I dug out all my screenprint stuff from my art hoard. I had another tattoo artist make some shirts for me and realized I had all the stuff at home (big thanks to Christian Lyze!!!)

So I made some screens

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after burning those, I started printing.

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-12-5,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

 

the more I did, the better they got. I forgot how fun it was to do this. I’ve been pressing them with an iron but thanks to a loved one I’ve got a heat press on the way! in this weather, that’ll help a lot.

 

you can find all the shirts I have finished in the resonanteye.net/shop link. I’m gonna make a lot of these, this fall, I think.

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-12-5,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

Maker:0x4c,Date:2017-12-5,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-YMaker:0x4c,Date:2017-12-5,Ver:4,Lens:Kan03,Act:Lar01,E-Y

bring your soul to the surface

bring your soul to the surface

 

livestrong is incorrect! PSA. PLEASE SHARE.

PSA: SHARE!!!

if you have read/are using that site as a source of info about tattoo inks please PLEASE be aware-

THE SOURCE THEY CITE IS COMPLETELY NOT CREDIBLE WITHIN THE TATTOO INDUSTRY.

THE SOURCE THEY USED IS INCORRECT.

THE INKS (BRANDS) THEY LIST ARE REALLY TERRIBLE FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS AND YOU WILL NOT FIND A TALENTED PROFESSIONAL USING THEM.

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they used a fake, crappy online “tattoo school” scam website to get their info. the inks listed include two brands with recalls (!!!!!) and a brand that has really low pigmentation. those brands were listed as “good” only because they’re potentially available to non professional artists!!! Most amateur grade and publicly available inks are made with all sorts of contaminants, and some are dangerous.

The scam school website they used as a reference is NOT a reliable source for information.

THIS IS A BAD SOURCE FOR INFORMATION ABOUT TATTOO INKS.
professional grade tattoo inks are not available to the general public, contain nothing extraneous, and you won’t find out about them through “how-to tattoo dot com” or some crap like that.

tattoo inks available to professionals show no toxicity in ingredients, are not hazardous, and are usually vegan (some brands of black are the exception to that).

if you have questions about ink, ask your tattoo artist. we will always answer questions for you and we have msds sheets as well. (these images are an example, from a brand used by many professionals.)

Screenshot_20170924-221427Screenshot_20170924-221242

(this is from one of several brands often used by professionals)

I’ve seen reference to this website several times now, so I decided it was time to let people know this is NOT CORRECT INFORMATION.

 

Please, please. If you have concerns about the inks, ASK YOUR TATTOO ARTIST. If you do not trust your artist, FIND ONE YOU TRUST. Get tattooed by professionals only!

Seminar: Passive income and social media use for tattoo artists

13912592_10153856265657712_6602799035210498873_nSeminar: Passive income and social media use for tattooers.

Even though we all make our daily bread tattooing, we all are also human beings, living inside bodies that can get broken or worn. When you’ve got slow times or an injury or illness, passive income is a good backup, and if done properly it will complement and improve your work on skin.

If you’re using social media at all- to share your tattoo work – or if you would like to start selling your other artwork online to reach a wider audience- this class is for you.

If you see the internet ad social media as a chore, hate pinterest, and fear theft- this class is for you.

Learn to use social media properly — without compromising your copyright.

This class relates to the sale of secondary mediums beyond tattooing, and will go over the relationship between your existing client base and the collectors who will buy your work on paper rather than skin.

We’ll cover print-on-demand services, pros and cons of social media use, networking as a strategy to find collectors, consolidating your media management, and getting more reach with your work online.

Seminar text and cheatsheet handout packet, aftercare instructions, and legal consent form templates included.

electric eye candy tattoo convention, seminar info

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LINK TO PRE-REGISTER HERE

ONLINE AVAILABILITY OF WRITTEN MATERIALS HERE

On Sunday, September 11, I’ll be teaching my seminar on the use of social media and the internet for passive income, for tattooers. This seminar includes a huge packet of resources and information as well as access to a private group on which you can ask follow up questions, get recent information on changes, and talk and network with anyone else who’s taken the course. Location: Electric Eye Candy Tattoo Extravaganza
you do not have to be working at the convention to come to this seminar.

It’s a two-hour seminar- usually runs a bit longer for questions. I cover “branding”, username and site selection, basics of building a site, consolidating media, passive income streams, how to leverage your client base and word-of-mouth to reach further online, how to protect your copyright, and go over free or cheap tools you can use to share your work.

Even though we all make our daily bread tattooing, we all are also human beings, living inside bodies that can get broken or worn. When you’ve got slow times or an injury or illness, passive income is a good backup, and if done properly it will complement and improve your work on skin.

If you’re using social media at all- to share your tattoo work – or if you would like to start selling your other artwork online to reach a wider audience- this class is for you.

the course does count as continuing education credit for two hours. (I know a lot of you may not need that accreditation, but in some states your license requires this and yes, this seminar counts)

at this convention the seminar will cost $100 per person. tattoo artists at any level AND apprentices, are welcome. if you are an artist in another medium you may attend as well, although a lot of the information may be things you cannot utilize the same way.

to pre-register, email me at re*********@gm***.com. I accept paypal and Square. you can also show up on Sunday and pay at the door with cash or credit.

Bring pen or pencil, a piece of art you’ve made (or an image of one) and your smartphone, tablet, or laptop. there will be a wifi hotspot in the room for everyone to use as you follow along with the class.

If you’d like to speak to people who have taken this seminar to find out more, you can ask Curby Dickens, Bonnie Gillson, or Joanne Martian. All three have put a lot of the information to good use.

I can’t wait to meet you guys, I hope we have a good turnout, and good questions asked at the end! xox

all quiet on the eastern front

I’m in PA. (full tour tattoo dates are here). Here’s the trip, in all its glory. photo-heavy post after the jump.

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Using the internet to find your next tattoo? Read this.

The internet has so much imagery in it, it’s understandable why you’d want to use it to find good ideas for your next tattoo. But there are a few things to watch out for, and a few things you definitely shouldn’t do.

will bodnar, cicada tattoo, anji marth, high priestess tattoo, at tattoo convention

an artist using antique, copyright-free woodcuts as reference

When you have no idea what you might want, it’s really tempting to just start googling “tattoos” or “tattoos for girls” or something, and look around at what other people have. There’s nothing wrong with this; this is a great way to get ideas, seeds of ideas. You have to be careful though, because these tattoos belong to other people. Either they belong to the tattoo artist or the wearer, one or the other, no exceptions.

They own them.

So, yes, use the images online of other people’s work to get ideas for subject matter or placement- but not as an exact thing to get tattooed. There are reasons for this; ethically, it’s theft for the tattooer who ends up doing your tattoo. They don’t get to really do their best work, because you’ve instead asked them to steal art from someone else. Legally, it’s also theft. The original artist who drew and tattooed it owns the no-shit actual copyright to that tattoo. It’s plagiarism and is considered theft.

You can bring in these images as ideas, as things you like the style or subject of- but you shouldn’t try to get someone else’s tattoo exactly copied onto your own body. I think everyone is entitled to their very own tattoo, and I think artists are entitled to be paid for their work in drawing and designing the tattoos.

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The best way to use the internet for tattoo ideas is to follow the advice here, and use the internet to find the artist that did an awesome tattoo. That way you can go to them and tell them “I liked this piece you did and want something like it” and you will get exactly that, without any ethical problems. You find the artist you want first, then figure out the art with them, this is the very best way to get a very good tattoo done. (this applies to big or small, extensive or simple tattoos.)

big or small!

big or small!

If you bring in someone else’s tattoo and the artist is willing to steal it, they probably are not very skilled to begin with. Good artists won’t steal. Copying someone else’s tattoo is really, really a dick move. It makes you a thief, really and truly it does. I promise that if you find a tattoo artist whose work you love, they will do a MUCH better version of the idea for you, that will suit YOU and not some other random person you’ve never met. Find the tattoo artist you trust, whose work you love, and you won’t have to copy someone else’s tattoo to get something awesome.

ink travelers tattoo convention

Note that while this applies to other people’s tattoos online, it doesn’t work the same way for art in general. If you see a painting you love, and want tattooed, contact the artist who made it and tell them you want to get it tattooed on you. A large majority of artists will just say yes, go for it, or at most they will say “buy a print first please then go right ahead!”

There are very few artists in this world who object to people getting tattoos of their work- but you should always ASK first anyway, because the artist owns that art. They own it. They own the rights to it, and using without permission is stealing. This applies to paintings, photographs of flowers or wild animals, every image has an owner. There are exceptions (copyright-free websites, tattoo flash that your tattooer has paid for, etc) but things that you find on google are NOT NOT not free for the taking. Those images all belong to somebody. If you can’t figure out who the original artist is, ask your tattooer to help you out. A  lot of the time we can find out for you.

lyle tuttle tattooing.

If your tattoo artist has flash on the walls of their shop, or books of images for tattooing, it’s because they paid for the rights to tattoo those images. This means they’re not stolen, they’re totally fine to choose from.

For tattooers, take your photographs so that the tattoo is seen at an angle or so part of it is obscured. Use a strong watermark across the image to make theft more difficult. And rest assured that only assholes steal; your work being stolen is not any detriment to your reputation, but to theirs.

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A real asshole can and will use your tattoo image to make a stencil of sorts:

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But if the image is at an angle, their finished piece will never look quite right. Symmetry and details will look skewed and wrong. This helps a lot. Try it.

Further advice for tattooers on retaining copyright is available in my seminar.

 

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