Ever got so mesmerized by any specific design or pattern that you wish to have it inked on your body? Well, it’s possible to do that by using a tattoo stencil. A tattoo stencil is a way of transferring the design of a tattoo from a piece of paper to the skin. Using the tattoo stencil any tattoo design from a complex pattern to a simple one can be easily traced on the skin. This procedure is important as it forms the base for permanent and temporary tattoos. For a temporary tattoo, it is very easy to make a tattoo stencil at home. In this article, I have mentioned the procedure for making a tattoo stencil at home. Let’s read further to know the details.
What is a Tattoo Stencil?
A tattoo stencil is an aid for successfully transferring any pattern or design selected online or on any other platform directly onto the skin. There are certain professional tattoo artists who prefer to go for a freehand tattoo drawing method as they have been working in this field for a very long time while others prefer to use tattoo stencils for this purpose. Before using the tattoo stencil, make sure your practice the art of drawing on a piece of paper to improve your skill further.
Permanent or Temporary?
You all must be curious to know whether a tattoo stencil is a permanent or temporary method. Well, it’s a temporary method and can be easily modified as per the requirements. You can apply your tattoo stencil on your skin several times and can re-locate the design if you are not happy with the placement. You can also identify the size and exact outcome of your tattoo by just using the tattoo stencil. If you are unhappy with the tattoo stencil, you can easily wash off your skin and replace it well at the preferred location. So, in case of getting a permanent tattoo, make sure that you are happy with the tattoo stencil size and placement as once the permanent tattoo is inked, it cannot be erased. In the case of a temporary tattoo, the ink of the tattoo stencil and sharpie can be erased very easily. Before making a tattoo stencil, it is very important to consider the following materials.
Requirements
- Tracing Paper
- Sharpie or Ball Pen
- Masking Tape
- Antibacterial Soap
- Razor
- Stick Deodrant
How To Make A Tattoo Stencil?
- Selection or Drawing of the Design
The first step in making a tattoo stencil is to select the best design for yourself. There are endless designs available online and you can select the best one according to your wishes and preferences. There are numerous websites on the internet that provide exclusive designs for tattoos and you can also buy their different designs. If you are good at drawing then you can also draw any of your favorite designs on a piece of paper using a dark-colored ink pen. For drawing a temporary tattoo design, it is always recommended to select the simplest design as it would be easy to draw. Make sure that the design of your draw should have thick lines so that it can be easily traced on the tracing or wax paper. So, there are two options; either you can go for a printout method or can draw your own customized design on a piece of paper.
- Transferring the Design
After selecting or drawing the desing, the next most important step is to transfer the desing to the transfer or wax paper. Place the tracing or wax paper over the design carefully and stick it by using the masking tape. This will help to carefully trace the design on the wax paper. Now after tracing the desing on the wax/tracing paper, turn over the design and put an another piece of tracing paper over it and re-draw the design using the ink pen. This is a very important step as it helps to form the design in the right direction on to the skin. Make sure that you carefully copy the design onto another piece of tracing or wax paper.
- Preparing the Skin
The next step after the above-mentioned two steps is to prepare the spot on your skin where you wan to have the tattoo. Clean the spot using the antibacterial soap and use the razor to remove the unwanted hair growth. Remocing hair growth from the surface of your skin helps to give a clean and neat look to your temporary tattoo. After this, apply the deodrant stick on the spot so that the tracing paper can easily stick to the skin.
- Apply the Tracing Paper
The next step is to apply the tracing paper with the design onto the skin and press it gently. Do not rub the paper or press it hardly else it will smudge the ink of the tattoo on your skin. This is the way how your prepare your tattoo stencil. Apply the tattoo stencil on the skin the for 2 to 3 minutes so that the design of the tattoo is properly transferred to the skin. Preparing a tattoo stencil is one of the easiest and inexpensive ways.
Precautions
- Though the temporary sharpie tattoos can be modified at any time you must not hurry in selecting the design of the tattoo. Sit patiently and go through various options online and then select the best one for yourself. The same thing should also be done in the case of permanent tattoos as the designs should never be selected in hurry.
- Choose the best spot for your temporary sharpie tattoo designs. It must not be in an area that comes in regular contact with soap and water. Sharpie tattoos can be inked on various parts of your body like arms, hands, ankles, legs, shoulders, and many more. The placement of the tattoo depends upon the size and theme of your tattoo so all these things must be considered before choosing the right spot on your body.
- For some days, try to avoid using several beauty products like creams, lotions, foundations, oils, moisturizers, and many more in the area where you have inked your sharpie tattoo to increase the longevity of your temporary tattoo. All these products will smudge the ink of sharpie and will completely destroy your beautiful tattoo.
- The placement plays an important role in knowing the longevity of your sharpie tattoo. If you have inked it on the area which comes directly in contact with soap and water then your tattoo may fade away very soon. To avoid this, select an area that has minimal contact with soap and water.
- Try to avoid working out for a few days as the sweat on your body may smudge the ink of your tattoo.
- Try to wear loose clothes as the constant friction of the cloth with the skin will smudge the ink and will completely destroy your tattoo.
- Cornflour can also be used in place of beauty or baby powder as it also has the property to absorb the excess oils from your skin.
- Sharpies come in different forms but as per the studies, only “Sharpie Fine Point Marker” must be used for making a temporary tattoo as the ingredients of this sharpie are safe to use over the skin in comparison to other sharpies which can cause severe allergic reactions.
- You can apply the rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover on the cotton pad and gently rub it over your sharpie tattoo. After that, wash your area using water and soap. By all this, your temporary sharpie tattoo would be removed completely.
- Before beginning the procedure, it is recommended it use a small quantity of sharpie ink on your skin to check for any allergic reaction. In case your skin gets some allergy, then you must avoid getting such temporary tattoos. In case of the worst cases, you can also visit a nearby dermatologist.
- While applying the tattoo stencil on the skin, press it gently else it will smudge the design of the tattoo on your skin. The application for a stencil paper on the skin must be for 2 to 3 minutes. There are various application also available on the internet that can help you to make the tattoo stencils in different other ways.