From the sketch to the skin: the creative process of the tattoo artist Zhimpa Moreno.

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As a tattoo artist, your creative process is one of the most important aspects of your work. It’s what sets you apart and helps you to create unique, one-of-a-kind pieces that your clients will love.

But how do you develop a creative process that works for you? Here are some tips to help you become a better tattoo artist through your creative process.

1. Gather Inspiration: Inspiration can come from anywhere, so it’s important to always be on the lookout for new ideas. Follow other artists on social media, attend art shows, conversations and exhibitions, and read books on art and design to find inspiration.

2. Sketching: Once you’ve gathered some inspiration, it’s time to start sketching. Sketching is a crucial part of the creative process because it allows you to experiment with different designs and layouts. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes or try something new.

3. Refinement: Once you’ve sketched out a few ideas, it’s time to refine them. Look for ways to improve your designs and make them more unique. This is also a good time to get feedback from other artists or even your clients.

4. Practice: Practice makes perfect, and the same goes for tattooing. The more you practice, the better you’ll become at your craft. Try new techniques and experiment with different styles to find what works best for you.

5. Be Open to Criticism: It’s important to be open to criticism from others. Other artists, clients, and even friends and family can offer valuable feedback that can help you to improve your work.

6. Take Breaks: Finally, don’t forget to take breaks. Taking breaks can help you to avoid burnout and can also give you time to reflect on your work and come up with new ideas.

In conclusion, developing a creative process that works for you is essential to becoming a better tattoo artist. By gathering inspiration, sketching, refining, practicing, being open to criticism, and taking breaks, you can hone your craft and create amazing, one-of-a-kind tattoos that your clients will love.

Pro tips and tricks for tattoo artists

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Thinking of getting a tattoo, but not sure how to present it to your clients? Or maybe you have an idea of ​​what you want, but you need a tool that allows you to let your creativity explore?

Today, with the rise of artificial intelligence, many programs and interfaces have emerged to offer all artists the ability to create unique, attractive and professional designs using both editing and design programs, thus creating an artistic piece that will allow you to present your idea to any client.

There are many ways to design your own tattoo using computer programs and websites. Some of the most used and effective interfaces and programs are those that offer you a wide range of ideal tools to edit, modify, draw and capture your idea in a more realistic way.

Adobe Photoshop is one of the most popular and powerful graphic design software on the market and is widely used in the professional tattoo industry for editing and creating designs through the layering system and tools offered by this application.

On the other hand, slightly more interactive applications such as Procreate, Clip paint studio or Wacom are the most used by Zhimpa Moreno, J Luis and Nicolás Asencios since they have a friendlier interface and at the same time offer a wide variety of tools for both design as to make textures and shadows.

Finally, it’s important to highlight that when choosing a program to design your tattoos, you must take into account what your design style is and if the program you selected offers you the right tools and options to apply your style within and offer you more freedom when designing your tattoo.

In this way, you will be able to choose the interface or editing program that facilitates your design process and thus offer your client a proposal that is not only professional but also adapted to the reality we live in.

Inknation Studio Podcast.

Video and photography in professional tattoo

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Tattoo photography and video making is a great way to capture the beauty of inked skin and showcase the artwork of a tattoo artist. For this, it is important to use the right equipment and techniques to obtain the best results.

When taking pictures of your tattoos, it’s important to use a fixed millimeter lens for standard tattoo photography. This will also depend on the approach you want to achieve and the goal you have in mind. A 34 lens at 50mm it’s a great choice, as it’s known to be much sharper and generally higher quality than a zoom lens.

Also, natural light is the best option to capture your tattoo as it prevents unnecessary glare and shine. When taking tattoo photos, it’s also important to experiment with different poses and angles to get the best shot. Close-ups of each part of the body where the tattoo is present can help capture the details of the artwork.

On the other hand, when recording videos of your tattoos, it is important to use a suitable camera. In the market there are specialized caracas for the creation of videos that can be very useful if this is your main objective. In addition, it is important to take light and exposure into account when recording or taking a photograph as it can affect or benefit the final result of your tattoo.

In general, photography and videography for your tattoos is a great way to capture the beauty of your tattoo and showcase the artwork of a tattoo artist. The use of the right equipment and techniques can help guarantee the best results at a visual level that will undoubtedly become highly valued content on social networks.

Inknation Studio Podcast.

The Human Story Behind Inknation Studio

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How Two Tattoo Artists Changed Lives With Their Art is an inspiring story of how two men are using their talents to make a difference in the world.

Zhimpa Moreno and Darwin Enriquez are two talented artists who have used their talents to change lives. They knew from an early age that their passion was art and their dream was so big and real that today they managed to become the most recognized tattoo studio in New York City where not only art plays a fundamental role, but they also have a message of equality where they offer talented tattoo artists a space to expand their art and grow as people and professionals

Inknation Studio was a dream come true where neither prejudice nor negativity managed to prevent the dream of these two tattoo artists.

For this reason, Inknation proves every day to be more than a tattoo studio, but offers the guarantee to each resident artist to learn and develop in every aspect of their area. being so, talented, humble, creative and dreamy artists.

In its beginnings, Inknation Studio didn’t have the same approach as other tattoo studios, it wanted to make a difference from the beginning, managing to analyze the mistakes of other tattoo studios and turn them into learning in order to take its studio to another level. This is the approach that Darwin Enriquez and Zhimpa Moreno wanted to achieve in order to build an original study.

They both believe that tattooing is not just about the art, but about the connection that you make with your clients. They both strive to create tattoos that are not only beautiful, but meaningful to their clients.

Inknation Studio Podcast

Guide with the basic aspects to tattoo the Neo Oriental style.

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The Neo Oriental tattoo represents a mixture of styles that focuses on creating highly detailed designs with a high level of sophistication and color. That’s why this has become one of the most sought after styles.

With years of experience and being a professional resident artist at Inknation Studio, Emersson Pabon shares with Darwin Enríquez the main characteristics that a Neo Oriental tattoo should have.

The main thing is to start the design by drawing the lines of it. This is a fundamental aspect since it’s a hallmark of this style and will generate a visual impact.

On the other hand, the shadows play a fundamental role since they allow depth, warmth and harmony to the design. This should be the second step you need to focus on when getting your tattoo done.

Finally, the application of color is one of the most important features. This will not only bring the tattoo to life, but depending on the colors used, it will be able to represent the neo-oriental style with dignity.

These three characteristics are the most prominent and the ones you should focus on when creating a Neo Oriental style worthy of a professional.

Inknation Studio Podcast.

3 strategies to have greater reach in social networks as a professional tattoo artist.

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Having a solid strategy that helps you promote your content on social networks is essential if you want to obtain greater reach, visibility and credibility in the work you do as a professional tattoo artist. 

For this reason, Inknation Studio’s professional tattoo artists Darwin Enríquez, Pablo Frías and Andrés Makishi will share three of their master strategies for creating viral content on all social networks. 

1) ANALYZE YOUR AUDIENCE. 

It’s important that you analyze your audience, which is the social network that generates the most reach, and that users like to see, in this way you can create content that is oriented to them and to what you want to convey as a professional tattoo artist.

2) SELECT THE RIGHT TOOLS. 

To create quality content, it’s important that you think about what type of content you want to publish, what you want to show, and the details that will make it more visually appealing. 

Taking these aspects into account, you will be able to use tools that facilitate its creation, such as Capcut, Premiere and LumaFusion.

3) USE ALL THE FORMATS OFFERED BY SOCIAL NETWORKS. 

Although it’s true that many social networks have evolved and are now creating new updates, it doesn’t mean that you should put aside the type of content that you like to do.

Notwithstanding Instagram is a social network that is betting on the creation of reels, you can also make various types of content using all the formats it offers. The important thing is to know how to capture your tattoo design and display it in a creative, unique and professional way.

Follow these 3 amazing strategies and create content that will help you promote not only your tattoo style, but also your passion as a professional tattoo artist. 

Inknation Studio Podcast

The evolution of the professional tattoo industry.

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   The professional tattoo industry has evolved and with it new machines, styles and pigments have emerged to make it easy for the tattoo artist to create unique and professional designs.

 

For that reason, Zhimpa Moreno, J Luis and Camilo Tuero will share three great tips to use the new tools that have emerged in your favor and thus create professional quality tattoos.

 

One of the tips suggested by the three tattoo artists is to experiment with new tattoo machines that allow you to create new lines, textures and strokes adapted to the style of tattoos you are doing. 

 

On the other hand, adapting to the evolution of tattoo styles is essential. Knowing what are the trends that emerged many years ago and what are the most sought after today will help you create a unique tattoo style that at the same time allows you to offer unique designs according to the requests of your clients. 

 

Although there is currently a wide variety of pigments used for tattooing, it’s very important that you know what the techniques were like to achieve new colors and shades. In this way you can adapt the color to your tattoo style in a professional and original way.

 

Knowing what the beginnings of tattooing were and how techniques, machinery and styles have evolved will help you create a solid foundation that will allow you to evolve over time just as the professional tattoo industry has.

 

Inknation Studio

 

Advantages and disadvantages of artificial intelligence for the professional tattoo industry.

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Once again technological advances surprise us and today artificial intelligence has become a new reality. But, what are those advantages and disadvantages that this new technology offers to tattoo artists?

Darwin Enríquez, Zhimpa Moreno and Armando Muñoz talked about this controversial topic in their new episode of Inknation Studio Podcast with the objective that you know the positive and negative points of implementing this technology in your tattoo designs.

Advantages of artificial intelligence when tattooing.

Process automation.

Artificial intelligence allows you the possibility of automating your creative process when designing your tattoo, as it offers you the possibility of creating unique images with the style you want that will serve as inspiration or elements when creating the final design of your tattoo.

Boost your creativity.

Since it’s a system trained exclusively to help you with specific tasks. Artificial intelligence allows you the possibility of obtaining images created just for you, which means that you will have a chance to find unique visual references.

Disadvantages of implementing artificial intelligence in your tattoo.

Lack of qualified professionals.

One of the great drawbacks of artificial intelligence is the lack of qualified or trained people to have basic knowledge on the use of this new technology which means job losses or difficulties for people to quickly acquire the skills to handle this technology.

Problems tattooing the design.

An (AI) image with the elements and style you want can sound very appealing. However, the great challenge that many tattoo artists will face is having the ability to transfer that design to the skin to create a piece that has the same nuances and elements as the image created with artificial intelligence.

With the implementation of artificial intelligence, new advantages and disadvantages will continue to be added to the list. However, it’s important to note that this new technology can be used as a reference, but can never replace the human ability to create professional tattoos on the skin.

The challenges tattoo artists face when migrating and how to overcome them.

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Immigrating to another country is a great challenge. It’s not just about establishing yourself and starting over in a different country than the one you were born in, but about building an artistic reputation that allows you to get new clients and more job opportunities within the tattoo industry.

Even as apprentices and in their struggle to be great professional tattoo artists, Darwin Enríquez, Camilo Tuero and Armando Muñoz had to face various obstacles that paid off thanks to their artistic effort and work.

What were those adversities that these three great tattoo artists had to overcome when starting over in another country?

 

Undoubtedly, language was the main obstacle. Immigrating to a country where the official language is different from the one you speak was the most difficult thing these artists faced.

Nevertheless, one of the tips that they recommended and implemented at that time was to analyze the people who spoke to them in order to understand through their expressions what they were communicating. This is a great help when you’re still in the process of learning the language.

On the other hand, customer acceptance of the tattoo style performed by each artist was initially a drawback. 

Arriving in a country where its people are used to other styles of tattoos can be intimidating. However, analyzing the market and showing what you’re capable of mixing new styles with your personal stamp were the masterful techniques that helped Darwin Enríquez, Camilo Tuero and Armando Muñoz to establish their style within a new market.

Although these were the biggest challenges, these three tattoo artists also had to put a lot of effort into promoting their tattoo style in order to be recognized. 

Strategies such as participating in conventions, publishing content on social networks, and collaborations with other artists were what undoubtedly helped them in their beginnings. 

Immigrating can be a difficult challenge, but it will depend on your attitude to accept your new environment and build the reputation you want to achieve in your new home.

Inknation Studio

Strategies to sell your tattoo style to your clients

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Trying to include your tattoo style to the idea that a client has in mind is undoubtedly a great challenge.

But, have you ever wondered how to attract new clients and tattoo them with the style that characterizes you?

At Inknation Studio Darwin Enriquez, Emersson Pabon and Armando Muñoz will share with you three of their great techniques used to make your clients trust you, feel safe and are willing to tattoo your style and incorporate new ideas into the design.

Social networks are your ally 

Today, social networks have become the professional portfolio of each person. As a professional tattoo artist, it’s important that you use it to your advantage and post photos or content related to the tattoo style that you like to tattoo or that characterizes you.

In this way, your followers will be able to see what style you tattoo and they will look for you because they want the design that you do for them.

Be honest and persuasive when tattooing

Many clients have great ideas, wishes and suggestions for their tattoos. Don’t close yourself to their suggestions, always listen to what your client wants but also offer them an artistic overview of what would look good in their design.

Being honest is important so that your client trusts you, your artistic vision and the process you are going to carry out.

Managing different techniques will give you better knowledge. 

Even if you stand out for a specific style, it’s important that you know and handle different techniques, shapes and styles of tattooing.

This will help you build more trust with your clients, as they can be sure that you have the skills to create any design geared towards your style. 

With these three wonderful tips you can attract new customers so that your style and originality is what your customers want to buy.

Inknation Studio