Stick and Poke tattoos, also called hand poked tattoos, DIY tattoos or home-made tattoos, are non-electric tattoos, made by manually poking the skin.
Stick and poke tattooing is an intimate and manual process. Using a sterilized tattoo needle, a grip, and some safe ink, hand poked tattoos are achieved by a series of individual punctures made over and over into the skin.
“When you're tattooing yourself, you have to treat everything like it's contaminated,” says Avery Osajima, a stick-and-poke tattoo artist based in Seattle. But with careful sanitation practices and the right tools, tattooing oneself is, in fact, fine, and is how many tattoo artists start out.
Hand-poked tattoos are called “Tebori” in Japan; meaning “hand-sculpting”. The hammering technique is also used in this traditional process which requires a tool made of of a lime tree branch attached to a bamboo stick; the “ink” being wet charcoal.
Stick-and-poke tattoos, also called hand-poked or machine-free tattoos, tend to have a punk, DIY vibe associated with them due to their modern origins in the underground culture scene.
A tattoo flash is a design printed or drawn on paper or cardboard, displayed on the walls of tattoo parlors and in binders to give walk-in customers ideas for tattoos.
Batok involves hand tapping tattoos on the receiver's skin. Unlike modern tattoos in which artists use a machine to inject the skin with ink, batok practitioners use handheld tools to tap ink onto the skin.
Hand-poked tattoos are tattoos made without the use of tattoo machines. While they are created with the same supplies as machine tattoos, stick 'n poke artists push needle and ink into the skin manually, without the aid of a machine.
Used to place tattoo numbers on pigs (typically on the side or on the side of the shoulder) as a form of permanent identification that will remain on the carcass after the pig is slaughtered.
How long do they last? Hand poked tattoos are permanent as the ink is deposited into the second layer of the skin, just as a tattoo machine would do.
A quick check made clear that this was not advisable or even possible and I had to let go of the idea of a sparkling picture embedded in my skin. So the simple answer is no, you can't use fountain pen ink for a tattoo.
Yes. I've tattooed myself on myself. I'll detail this a bit below. As others have already mentioned some tattoo artists ink themselves during their apprenticeship.
Using skin patches is a quicker process, too. The patch is pressed onto the body — similar to how one would apply a temporary tattoo paper — and then the microneedles dissolve. A few minutes later, the ink sinks into the skin. They can even be self-administered — no tattoo shop required.
A freehand tattoo is drawn on the client and then tattooed. We sketch directly on the skin with markers instead of transferring a stencil. This technique can help with the natural flow and shape of the body.
As a result the experience feels so much more personal and intimate. Unfortunately, time often equals cost. In general handpoked tattoos are more expensive but again this matches the labour you are paying for, often supporting one-off artwork and an emerging community of new talent.
Three Dots Tattoo
Many have used this simplistic design to indicate a concept of continuance, an unfinished journey, or a slow change of idea or thought. Others use three dot symbolism within their tattoo to convey a deeper spiritual meaning, as three is considered a sacred number in many religions and belief systems.
One of the most well-known criminal tattoos is the teardrop tattoo. A common tattoo in American prisons for Hispanic inmates, is four dots or three dots. The dots represent that you have earned your keep in your gang.
A traumatic tattoo is when foreign bodies become forcibly embedded in the dermis and create a permanent tattoo. Such particles may include fireworks, sand, metal, glass, gunpowder, asphalt, dust, petroleum products, and graphite from pencil point injuries.
Does it generally hurt more or less than the traditional method? "In general it doesn't hurt as much as a machine tattoo as it's far less invasive, which means the skin heals much quicker too. However the pain often depends on the particular area being tattooed - some areas will hurt more than others.
While there's a difference in technique between stick-and-pokes and machine-done tattoos, both are ultimately permanent marks.
The technique behind stick and poke tattoos
The technique of hand poking is not the reason it may fade but the tools used, location on the body, and how it heals all contribute to the life of a tattoo. In some instances, a hand poked tattoo will actually last longer than a machine tattoo.
Hummingbirds in particular have come to represent renewal, joyfulness, transformation, protection from evil spirits, and even immortality in some cases! These meanings can be incorporated into a unique tattoo design for those seeking something special in their body art.
This lips tattoo will usually be in color and look lifelike as if someone has just kissed the tattoo owner with the lipstick on. Red lips, usually with an open mouth, are a symbol of counterculture, the connection to the erotic and sex appeal.
Leeching Ink
Depending on how dedicated you are to your aftercare regimen, a little bit of pigment may leak out of your skin. Leeching ink is particularly the case if you pick at your peeling tattoo. Alternatively, an inexperienced artist may apply the ink at the wrong depth.