When the needles dances with ink.

Several weeks ago I worked on an upper back tattoo for a good friend of mine. He already had a tattoo of the Pisces symbol, which was his very first tattoo.
When he had first gotten the tattoo he was asked if he wanted the fish around it but he decided not to.
So he asked me if I could add some fish around it to upgrade the design.
It was a new challenge. How could I say no?

First I made a tracing of his back and existing tattoo so that I can get the size right.
Then I made real small thumbnail sketches to plan out a good composition. It was not as easy as I had hoped. The sketches I did looked like a basketball so I needed to find a way to avoid letting that happen.
(Sorry. I can't find those sketches. Ill make sure to keep them next time.)

Once I worked out a composition that I liked, I started working on the design at its actual size on tracing paper.



From there I darken in the final lines as if I was tattooing. It’s almost like a test run for me. Then, using color pencils I add the color.



When I had completed the drawing I let my friend see it and then the appointment was set.



The work was done in two sessions.
1.Outline and shading
2.Color







While I looked over the finished tattoo, I realized that my kung fu had become stronger.
I love my job.