u/castingshadows87

Had fun with this sick house cat. Hope you all enjoy. My IG is aaronriddletattoos if you’re interested

I made this post on Instagram the other day but I wanted to share some thoughts here.

What does a blackout consist of?

Technique. PURE technique.

Doing a blackout will expose all of the flaws in your understanding of saturation, your machines, your pigments and your needles.

There is nowhere to hide these flaws. Are you rushing and just trying to do a super fast tat? It will 100% show in a black out.

Is your mind wandering and you’re not engaging with the skin itself? You’ll get big track marks in your blackout.

Are you not managing how diluted your pigments are getting? You’ll get washed out uneven spots in the blackout.

Are you overworking the skin and not paying attention? Yep it’s gonna show.

Im not an expert at blackouts yet which means im not an expert at tattooing. But these are the most basic skills all of us should have mastered and most of us don’t (including myself).

So the next time you’re asked to do a blackout try and think about all the ways in which that blackout can enhance your career. A blackout will humble you and show you just how little you actually know about your machines, your technique, and tattooing in general.

This entire tattoo took 6 hours. Yet there’s blackout masters who can do a whole sleeve in 3 or 4 hours. But for me this was a triumph! It’s healing well except for a spot or two that might get alittle scaby but overall your tattoos shouldn’t scab. There’s no reason a tattoo should scab unless you overwork the skin and that’s exactly what I did in the spot that’s healing rougher than others.

So anyways I’ve been hyper fixated on the philosophy of blackouts and this is what I’ve come up with. Feel free to ask any questions.

It’s been well over a year now, one and a half summers of brutal Phoenix heat, and quite a few touch up sessions. The first pic has been healed and settled the longest and quite frankly it looks amazing.

The last time I posted this people said it would’ve fallen out by now. It wouldn’t hold. It would just look like a black blob and it’s not possible for this style to hold. Well you be the judge.

Obviously you can see the fresh tattoo on his forearm. That’s the 3 session and surprisingly it healed SUPER BRIGHT. Literally healed white as heck.

Check me out on IG: aaronriddletattoos if you want to see more of this project in the works.

In 2016 that was the pinnacle of my design skills. I was so proud of that tattoo and still am. It was the best I could do at the time. I had already been in a shop for almost 10 years in 2016 so that was a decade of hard work in the making.

10 years later I can look at my progress and see that my best was just a part of the process. Just as I’m sure in 2036 I’ll look at my work today and ask myself why I couldn’t see those things I’m seeing now.

Neither in 2006 or 2016 did we have 5 minute trends dictating our algorithms pushing style and aesthetic at break neck speeds. I’ve never tried to be a tattooer that does what’s hip and cool in the moment. I know what I like and I’ve always stayed true to my tastes and foundations. That’s why progress for me is slow. It takes years for me to understand concepts of design including flow/movement and efficiency.

You should always try and audit yourself and see if you’re understanding the work you’re doing or just copying someone else’s style because it’s popular/trendy. The more I seek to understand what I’m doing the more my work becomes my own.

I’m new to gaming in general. Only started playing Elden Ring because my wife bought it for me for Christmas last year. The entire concept of RPG’s is new to me. I tried Ds3 and enjoyed it but I was also gifted Ds2:Sotfs so I decided to start there.

I’m doing a strength build and enjoy using the ultra Greatsword. However I’m seeing now I shouldn’t have my vitality over 14. Why is this?

How are you guys able to equip heavy armor or even use a shield for that matter with only 14 vitality? Any help is appreciated. The vitality aspect of Ds2 builds is really difficult for me to grasp especially when combined with Flynn’s Ring.

Should I Respec and put points elsewhere and if so where?

So far I’m dying alot but it’s getting better. Cleared out Iron Keep and basically have Freya left and then the Gutter to work through and not sure where else to go from there. I believe I’m almost to mid game?

Is it illustrative? Neotraditional? People keep asking me but I really don’t feel like I fit into neotraditional tattooing anymore. But I also feel like I don’t fit into illustrative even though it’s such a large umbrella.

Anyways hope you guys enjoy! I’m always open for critiques.

Tattoo by me Aaron Riddle. Done at my studio Desert Psychedelic in central Phoenix, AZ.

You can find me on Instagram by simply searching my name. This tattoo is fully healed and settled.

I work at Desert Psychedelic in sunny Phoenix Arizona. Hope you all enjoy this sick head tatter.

Also don’t think too much about the design choices. It’s just a cool fantasy scorpion.