Dude, you do have a special talent to explain all these things. I feel confident in trusting this info because you break it down very professionally. Thanks for the effort and dedication.
I agree. I'm doing a lot of tattoo reseach, and feel much better informed because you back up your statements not only with your personal experience as an artist, but also some of the science.
haha I agree with the Musk comment and WHY ARE SO MANY DOPE TATOO ARTISTS KOREAN?? Def getting work done by a fellow hangook saddam when I pull the trigger someday. Thanks for the clear and thorough explanation on this subject.
Great video but it's always nice to include pictures when you're talking about different topic. It gives the viewer more visual stimulation and also helps us to understand what you're talking about better :)
I'm an older woman who is getting my first tattoo next week. I've been watching your videos and you really come across as a very educated person who has a calming effect on your clients. So many artists couldn't care less about explaining this stuff to newbies, but you seem to really care about not only your clients, but all ppl who get tattoos. Thanks for making all these vids. These have made me actually move forward with getting my tattoo that I've wanted for a long time. And I'm even planning on future ones.
Got my first few tattoos in black/grey. Didn’t think anything of it at first. However, as i kept getting more pieces done, I realized how much more i love my black/grey tattoos compared to getting colored. Probably going to do my whole body in black/grey. But, to each their own!
Jay West I have both black & grey and color tattoos. I typically prefer the aesthetic of black and grey but some tattoos just look better in color. I have a lot of tattoos and only two of them are color, once of which is a galaxy.
I prefer B&G too. Most of mine are a couple have highlights of color. Only one is actually colored but, it is a hummingbird for my grandmother so kinda needed to be colored. lol. I plan to continue with mostly B&G
i plan on going strictly black and gray because color kind of looks cheap to me and it fades a lot faster. i like that super bold black style. i have a tattoo that's completely filled in black on my arm and it hasn't changed an ounce since the day i got it. i did actually get some white done on one of them because the artist wanted to experiment with some highlighting stuff and that is pretty cool too, it has just faded a lot now, and my skin is white and even albino in places, no kidding, so that white is just gonna' look like nothing eventually.
I love the look of color tattoos, but I've decided to get all my tattoos in black and white because a) they also look badass and i love it, and b) they'll age better, which is definitely a factor for me
I have people ask me often why I'm covered in traditional. I always tell them, every ounce of color can fade, every bit of shading may fade, but my lines will stay. I put my money into my lines. It'll be easier to touch up later, and the image I love is still there.
@@GrimAbstract same neo traditional is my favourite but I may need to go for black n grey Japanese or geometric since it's my second favourite since I'm mixed race black/white
I prefer B&G generally. I have a few with tiny highlighted areas with a bit of color to emphasize a specific spot of the piece. One is lined but all colored but, it really needed to be to look right. I plan to stay with predominantly black and gray for all my future ink
All of my tattoos are color. I always put UV Ray protection on my skin when I go outside in the sunlight. Hoping this will help extend the life of my colored ink
thanks! i am classically trained in a variety of artistic media. oils is my strongest and i learned a ton about color theory during that portion of my academic journey. i had some really great instructors
My mom has a foot tall tattoo of a parrot on the side of her calf. She's had it for almost 30 years and the colors, while they have faded some, are still clearly identifiable. The black has faded more than most of the color, surprisingly. I think because her leg doesn't get as much sun exposure and she had a good artist, the tattoo has aged exceptionally gracefully. It could use a touch up on the black and the blues and oranges, just a bit, but it doesn't look as old as it is. She also takes very good care of her skin. It's helped maintain the elasticity and the tattoo hasn't warped much with her changing body (she's 58.) That tattoo artist is STILL doing his thing and I want to go to him for mine. I'd love to see a video about aftercare and tattoo healing, and how to do it well. Everyone I've spoken to has some specific lotion they use for new tattoos, their own "secret" techniques for helping it heal well, etc. I'd like to know your advice about it, and maybe if there are different healing expectations that affect the tattoo for different skin types. Great video, very clear and well spoken!
I have 3: My first was done in 2007. lower back. red, purple, green, and black tribal like lines. The lines are perfect looking. The red is faded but still pretty nice. The purple is pretty decent and hasn't lost much pigment. The green is also nice. This was done in three 1.5-hour sessions because I discovered I have an issue with sitting for long increments of time. The middle of my back didn't hurt too bad. The left side near love handle stung. Right side was fine. Was pretty quick to heal and there was no residue or subsequent bleeding. No itching. 2nd done March 2018: a hollow heart with a 5 letter word inside on my left shoulder blade. TIME: 45 minutes. This did not hurt. It was a little uncomfortable around minute 30 but subsided. The issue was that I didn't eat prior to the sitting and i had the tattoo shakes. Thank God it was a short session. It healed in 2 weeks. No itching. Third done first week of June 2018. Words above my first tattoo. This healed in about 10 days and the itching was BAD. It really didn't hurt aside from the middle. I really want a spinal tat but that pain is hindering me at the moment.
Upper spine isn't bad. My husband fell asleep during his. It runs from just below his hairline going about a foot down and ends just below the shoulder blade level
Don't have any tattoos but have been seriously considering it lately and looked at some designs. Your channel is great and you have answered some of the questions I have better than anyone else so far. Keep up the great work and this channel will be really big!
thanks man. that's part of the reason i started it. most tattoo channels don't provide accurate information or the info just isn't well organized imo. there's definitely a need for this
I actually just got 2 tattoos in the same day. One was black and one was color. The one that is black is basically looking healed and the color one is still all scabbed and not healed. I also get infected over everything, so I think that by black tattoo healing so quick is amazing.
I'm not a tattoo artist, but I'm an artist in other ways, so like I draw a lot. And a lot of what you say makes sense to me. I started out working with just gray scales, focusing on values to create contrast and depth. Then years later I dived into color and although that's more challenging, it does absolutely help with contrasting different areas, and showing different meanings/emotions with the help of colors. So I definitely appreciate both black and gray as well as color art (including tattoos) as well. And when it comes to my own body work, I want some of my tattoo ideas to be in gray scale and others to be in color. Like I'm getting an ivy done on my lower leg in color, and at some point in the future I want to get demon wings on my back entirely in gray scale, and I'm also considering getting a demonic cat on my thigh in gray scale with just a little bit of brown and red colors here and there. Both of the latter two I'd want for to be realistic, while the ivy in a far less realistic style. The ivy is also a lot simpler in shape, which makes me think having it in gray scale might make it look kinda dull. So I think I've been taking this into consideration without really thinking about it. Just... artist mind being on auto-pilot.
I am lighter skinned black person and I LOVE color. Out of 15, only 5 of mine are black and grey. Three of which are words, so that speaks for itself. The other two, one is a cross which I’ve only had for about a year because I was looking for the perfect one. The moment I saw it, I knew it was the one I am a very feminine female. And this cross just spoke to me. My final black and grey piece is a jewelry symbol that I fell in love with. You might of heard of it. Kay’s jewels, their open heart symbol. It’s to let the love flow in and out of your heart. I’m really blessed that my skin keeps color very well. I have these butterflies on one of my back shoulders that people cannot believe I’ve had for over 10 yrs. Also, I give much credit to the gentleman who did that tattoo, who for at least the last 5 years has been my artist. I learned when you find someone who is good and actually cares about their clients you stick with that artist. But, my whole point was being a black person, when I first started getting tattoos I was warned about colors. What I have learned over the last 20 yrs, you have to learn what is right for you!
Love your explanations! I have one black and grey that I knew exactly what I wanted going in, and the artist delivered so much better than I ever dreamed! Even with my color tattoos, my personal preference is to utilize "white space" as much as coloring in to both define and make the tattoo "pop", but the black and grey does a much better job IMO - the shading from grey to "nothing" almost looks 3-dimensional. I also now understand why there was so little pain getting the black and grey that I fell asleep before he was finished! Between his soft touch and the soft buzz of the tattoo gun, it was as soothing as getting a massage! Now to just get people to stop asking me "when are you going to color it in...."
love your videos! they're so helpful :) I think that if you added pictures when talking about specific tattoos or topics (ex. traditional; black and grey portrait vs colour) this would help visual learners tremendously!
The healing process for tattoos depends on how quickly you heal but in most cases it takes 2 weeks for a tattoo to completely heal most of mine took about 10 days
My first tattoo is black and gray. The outlining was a strange tickle pain and I laughed quite a bit. The shading and blending is what hurt. That was a burning pain.
Love this! This really helped me choose black and gray for my major sleeve project (connecting a arm and shoulder piece to full leg). As this is disney sketch based it will look awesome.
Fantastic video, James. I understood everything you said and it made perfect sense. You say everything in a way we can all understand. Brilliant! Thank you.
Thanks for putting this video together. You explain everything in great depth and in a detailed way that makes sense to relative tattoo newbies like me. It's great to feel fully informed when making a tattoo decision and your videos have helped me in this. Much appreciated.
I like the way you explain the differences, but I feel like it would be a big easier to understand by throwing pictures on the screen. Especially when you are comparing two things like in the beginning you explained the difference between a black and white tattoo and a black and grey and as someone who doesn’t know the difference in how they look throwing a picture up as you talk about it is really helpful
Have the best of both worlds. My leg is black and grey and arm is Japanese coverup of previous black and grey work. Colour tattoo definitely stands out alot more pops out!
thanks markus! i'm working hard to try and get better at this youtube shit. i'm considering going back to school this fall to take a couple of classes on videography, editing, etc.
Just got a red and yellow tattoo on my ankle this summer without knowing any of this info, so let's see if there's any color in this thing in a decade. lol
My uncle had this red and yellow fire-y sneakers tattoo running across his forearm ever since I was a 5 year old boy. I’m now in my 30’s, his flames forearm is all black. Probably got a cover up done with black ink cuz I don’t see sneakers on the end of the flame anymore.
a example that Iv experienced painting graffiti with pigments in warm colors especially yellow are harder to get to cover nice and opaque ( in one pass anyway ). graffiti artists praise paint companys that have solid yellows its just so hard to produce because of how the pigments occurs naturally in the World and that in turn causes them to be lightfast and fade, looking at og freight pieces done with yellows and reds are usually aways faded and the dark outline still holding. with my tattoos i was always thinking of the long haul so black and grey is my choice.
I react to red ink especially but other colors as well. Healing takes MUCH longer for me in color. I recently have gotten my first black.and grey tattoo from my hip bone to my knee. No reactions and healing was so much faster and easier. I wish i had only done b&g from the start. If you get excema or psoriasis please seriously consider just black and grey. The tattoo process doesnt just effect the immediate area. If you get a flare six weeks after, its related to your tattoo.
I've always wondered about this... what tattoos are best on dark skin tones. I love seeing all the colorful tattoos on fair people, but when it comes to me... I'm clueless. Thanks for the info!
As someone with two full color sleeves, I can honestly say that bright yellows fade very quickly. I had to get some yellow roses I have on the upper part of my arm redone after only a year because the color just fell out of them. Brownish yellows seem to be holding up pretty well so far. Because all of the color is solid, I had to have the background completely redone on my right arm and will have to have my elbow redone on my left. :( There is one thing on my left arm that is not in color: a black and grey blue jay skull. It looks photo realistic and was the quickest part for my artist to tattoo. One second she was dipping in the grey wash, the next it was done. Still, I'm having my left leg done in full color, but I'll probably do my right in black and grey based on what will be tattooed.
yeah it's just something that we gotta factor in while making the decision on bng / color. some colors fade faster, but if you like the way it looks its still worth it in my opinion
Yellow does fade fast. Red can too. I have issues with white holding. I have a piece with a feather in it, on my arm, and we did the white three times before i gave up. As soon as it healed, the white was gone. Lol
Rei Zak does dark green and darker red fade fast?in 2-3yrs when i can i plan on getting an spqr with the leaves around it on my arm and black just wouldn’t look as good period
This helped me A LOT! I wanted my first tattoo with coloured hibiscus flower with my son's initials. Since I know I can't bare pain,THANK GOD and THANK YOU I watched this video! Now I know it would have taken so much more time to finish it,even if it's not a very large one. Thank you. I'm documenting myself and preparing mentally for my first tattoo. Summer is almost over so here I come, tattoos! Thank you again!
I love my color tattoos very much, but they did hurt more and the healing process was hard because my skin is fairly sensitive to ink, especially colored ink. So I think it’s worth it in some cases and in others it’s gonna be better to do just black.
I choose black and grey because they look good on my milk chocolate skin. Because I have red and yellow undertones in my skin. I haven't found someone I trust that can do color on darker skin and it look well as it ages.
You do most of this stuff without knowing. Common sense or because it seems like the right thing to do. Once someone puts it into words and talks about it out loud it makes it way easier to understand and learn. When I first got a job in a shop the dude taught me like five big things I already knew but didn’t know how to apply it properly because I was doing it naturally instead of because it’s the right thing to do and didn’t even know I knew the right thing to do. And other people did the math years ago. Having someone tell you no that’s wrong is really helpful but sometimes someone letting you know what you are doing is right really helps as well. Helps you commit or doubt yourself less and attempt to apply your knowledge than tattooing as opposed to as if you are still figuring it out. Had people tell me you have to do small circles to color n shade n then Robert Atkinson whooped my ass on a sleeve n said do whatever works when I noticed and questioned him why he was going straight back and forth. Will admit I had 8 week scabs but ten 20 yrs later my stuff still looks great.
Excellent explanation from tattoo curious client to seasoned tattoo lover! Just found your channel, I am definitely a new fan❤ I look forward to looking for new videos. (I am a Nubian female with 5 bng tattoos, 1 color traditional. Started in my 40s, am in mid 50s now..in the process of my sleeve piece.) Thanks again for your clear and concise expertise explained.🤝🤝
absolutely love the videos but alittle advice as a viewer it would be awesome if you could show a photo of a tattoo to show what you mean when youre explaining it. its easier to understand i would think
So funny how comments are filled with people saying the love black and grey and throwing shade at color tattoos. Glad you gave that original thought to us with the hundreds of other people making that exact same comment.
I know a lot of people have already said it, but this video is pure gold! James, thank you for taking the time to explain the differences between color vs black and grey tattoos! I have considered getting a few professional tattoos for a long time, and maybe fixing a tattoo that a buddy of mine did. Before watching this video, I was on the fence about getting more tattoos and if they would be in color or not. Now, I know that I really do want this and know that I am going to get black tattoos for the most part.
hey petyon, i'm glad my vids are helping you out. i personally have only black and grey tattoos, and although that wasn't a planned choice, i'm happy with the direction i went because of the various benefits of having everything be one consistent system. bng is never a bad choice, but it all depends on your preference. thanks for watching
HEY JAMES LOVE THE VIDEOS U HAVE PUT OUT....KEEP IT UP! GETTING READY FOR A NEW BEAR TATTOO N COUPLE WEEKS THIS VIDEO HELPED ME MAKE UP MY MIND. BLACK N GREY IS WHAT IM GONNA GO WITH
color tattoos usually hurt more, but it doesn't have anything to do with how light the pigment is. people just say that because if there are a lot of colors in a piece, the lighter ones are usually done last to prevent the darker ones from staining them as the artist wipes ink around on the skin. at the end of a session, the skin is way more irritated, so it hurts more
Getting my first tattoo next month and I'm getting it done in a black and grey scheme. I wasn't aware that black and grey had so many advantages over color. I picked it because I love those kinds of tattoos!
Thanks for the info man. Getting my first half sleeve done, and my tattoo artist recommends I go with color. I originally wanted black and grey, but I'm going to let him do his thing.
As a person looking to learn tattooing I'd like to say that I really appreciate you posting the whole tattoo from start to finish...the only thing I could ask for is "could you do some commentary on the tattooing process?" I love this video
My tattoo guy, Blake, did my biggest piece yet (on my thigh). It is a colored piece (he did outline/shading in one session, and a month and a half later, finished the coloring). And I notice in some areas, instead of doing "white" he just kind of left it alone. In other words, he didn't go over my skin, and just left it. And I think he did that, because I did hear white can fade, but it does kind of look cooler just letting my natural skin tone come through in some spots. I am pale, but not too pale, so it kind of sort of adds "color" without doing so, if that makes any sense? I am not a tattoo artist, this is just from a client's perspective. I myself, just love color, so I usually always get colored tattoos. And I know the risk of fading and such. But I just love colors. Nothing against the black and grey tattoos, but being pale, I just like colored tattoos. And I can't judge the healing as far as black and grey compared to color (cause I don't have any black and grey) but I just took really careful care of my tattoo (during my after care). And I just healed beautifully, and it seemed like a normal/usual amount of time. I heard color tattoos take longer just because there is more trauma/more work being done, so it seems justified, you know. Plus, my tattoo guy, does reduced price touch ups and such for life, for being a client of his, so you know.
sometimes color artists will leave some empty skin in there, particularly with illustrative works. i do it whenever i can because colors that are close to white can get discolored from melanin over time. on some objects with certain color schemes it looks natural, on others it doesn't. and with color realism, there is almost never any empty skin
This may be stupid to ask, but I heard somewhere that you can bring in a picture of what tattoo you want but don’t tell the artist that it has to be exactly that, that the artist needs to do it their way and add stuff to it. Basically make it their own. I don’t really know if it’s offensive to the artists if I just tell them like no additives just the image/or symbol nothing more nothing less. This is one of the main reasons I’ve put off getting my first one.
I have traditional tattoos. The one on my toe faded and I was glad that it was traditional because I was able to get it touched up and even had it done with different colors. One on my hip I accidently got the scab pulled up while it was healing and it bled out some of the color. I definitely need some touchups done on my colored ones. That's ok because it gives me a reason to go to the shop, as I don't plan on any new ones at this point. BTW, LOVE LOVE LOVE that John Wayne tat!!
I love color. My back piece is over twenty years old and have almost every color in it. The only color I have had retouched is black. But everyone is different✌️
Ahhh I need to do black & gray, from now on. This was very educational. Now I know why, my tats faded so much...& being in the sun, as much as I have been.
Yup that what my artist explained. Those colored reds etc, will eventually fade first and some might get rejected by your body immediately, but still I will get a colored tattoo at least one.
Great explanation! I started a biomech/power armor tattoo in color mainly for the legibility, plus my artist (Bryan Parsons) is amazing with color. Not too sure about pain difference or even different areas, but can tell you after 3 hours of outline across my entire upper chest, heal, then 3 hours of coloring a biomech heart on the sternum for my first tattoo, it hurts!
Very in-depth explanation! It depends on the artistic style for me. I love colorful art pieces so I would need a really, really good reason to get something in black&grey. I do have one small black tattoo but it's just a symbol. For a really nice art piece I think portraits are suitable in black & grey, but for other scenes or visual interest I would prefer color. I'm getting one tomorrow that's mostly red.
Bro I really appreciate you going out of your traditional tattooing element to make a video explaining things. It definitely helped out. What city are you in?
no problem allen, i'm glad you enjoyed the video. my shop is in gilbert, arizona but i tattoo at conventions all across the country. check out my ig for a list of the places i'll be this year. i also post before i travel somewhere to let clients know that they can schedule with me
I would imagine that the ink manufacturers can't put a lightfast on because each person is an individual and their body will react differently to certain pigments oil paint manufacturers will have a general idea of the board or canvas that the paint will go on because its a pretty standard thing by this point. most people will be painting onto the same or similar medium. a tattoo artists medium changes every time a client walks through the door. some skin is more acidic, some more alkaline etc. and it's kinda impossible to watch a tattooed person for years compared to a bit of card or canvas :) I guess it also depends where you live (I'm from Scotland so hardly ever see the sun never mind expose my body to it :) I've got a tat on the top of my shoulder that I got 30 years ago and the yellow and red in it is still visible (the red is faded but it's still clearly visible) i've got black tats that are 20 years old and they have hardly faded at all.
Gosh great video I was thinking if should do some black and grey tattoos instead of all of them color. This video helped. I did not know there was a difference between black and grey and black and white always learn something new. 👍keep up the good work
