On flash, and picking it off the wall.
- In art, Tattoo Advice,
This is an original I’m selling- it’s part of my flash set from last year. Almost every sheet in that set (flash comes in sets of six or ten- this set had ten painted sheets) had a strong orange or yellow background.
Flash is one of my favorite things to work on. I’ve done a flash set every other year, since I started tattooing. Flash is meant to be tattooed- tattooers or shops buy the set, add it to their collection, and people can get any of it tattooed on them, can “pick it off the wall”.
Since so much of tattooing is online these days, I sell the print-ready files to tattoo shops as well as physical prints. Sometimes I sell the originals to collectors.
Tattoo flash is meant to be copied as tattoos.
The only real rule or issue with it is when people who didn’t buy the print/file/rights, try to take it into a shop to get it tattooed on them. It’s sort of frowned on. Usually people buy the print, buy the file and print it out to bring in- tattoo-getters, that is. Buy a print of a flash sheet you like, if you want something from it done on you. Give that print to your actual tattoo artist as a tip. Picking up the print from the original artist gets you the rights to get it tattooed on you, and your tattoo artist the rights to add it to their collection and tattoo it on anyone who wants something from it.
Kind of a win-win.
Flash is an old concept. It’s been around for maybe as long as tattooing has been. Before Internet came we used to mail each other prints of flash as a way to collaborate on stuff. The old timey guys had their shops plastered with flash, like wallpaper- painted by them, or traded or bought from friends.
I have a huge flash collection, I love the stuff. Not many people pick off the wall anymore, which is ok, but I still love having the stuff. I love seeing how different artists approach the typical technical issues in tattooing.
Flash is meant to be easily tattooed, tattoo artists draw it so that it can be copied easily, doesn’t need to be translated to work on skin. Unlike art you might buy from non-tattooers, it’s READY. It’s made to be put on just as it is. And that makes it a very niche sort of art.
(this original painted sheet is available at https://www.etsy.com/listing/156296306/illuminati-tattoo-flash-yellow-guns-hand, or prints can be found at http://www.redbubble.com/people/resonanteye/collections/191442-tattoo-flash along with the rest of this set – and the year before’s set too)
Your most important decision isn’t going to be the art itself, but the artist you choose to apply it. Before you even start putting together any images, you should start looking for an artist to do the tattoo. Most people assume they have to come in with some kind of finished piece and then hand that to just any artist, and they will get a good tattoo. This is pretty much backwards!
If you’ve already got the book, come by anyway! Let me see what you’ve colored!
