fun at No Ka Oi yesterday

I figured I'd post a few more things I've done before heading into work today. It's looking rather cloudy today but hopefully the rain will hold off til I get there.

I worked the night shift at No Ka Oi last night, which was nice considering it's busier in there and i get to work with the people that I don't usually. I got a few cool walkins last night, this one being the biggest.

I had alot of fun with this one, and it was his first tattoo. I got to play around with drop shadows and thanks to some tips after this was finished I have more ideas as to how to deal with that for the next one. This is one of the things I would really like to get good at - lettering. My linework could be better here but I took my time and I hope he comes back in a month so I can see how it healed. I get really pumped over larger pieces so I can experiement and sort of push the limits a little bit since I'm restricted with what I can and cannot do right now.... so any chance to do something like this I'm jumping on it.



This was my first walkin for my shift. It was a father and son, super nice guys. This one in particular was put on the son, Trevor. He also is a very talented photographer and was kind enough to take some photos of me while I was working, including my new blog header! They each got this D on their wrists. I used this as an opportunity to use the drop shadow again and beveled the lettering a bit. Still need to perfect my linework....again.... but I figured I'd put one of them up so you can see. This whole not using an armrest thing is killing me. I feel like my lines could have come out much cleaner had I used one. I'm trying to stick with my guidelines that I have been given and not use it at all, but in some cases I use it anyway. This should have been one of those times. For most people I don't need the armrest at all, but for those with skin so damn stretchy like this wrist.... definitely could have used it.



I'm kinda bummed about the quality of this photo, but it's all I have for now until we get final photos of this finished. This is on my friend Tichina who is leaving town pretty soon. She had the idea to do a cartoon/caricature of a hipster kid with some traditional roses. Ideally I'd like to throw a frame around this one day, but for now this was SO much fun! I got to try out greywash on a face which I'd eventually like to get really good at. The best part about this is the face I drew it completely made up... no real error here when shading. I stuck with mostly lighter tones so I can darken them later, and when it heals we're going to add a bit of color to the roses and the cap.  Kudos to Tichina for contributing to my cause! YOU RULE


 I threw this one in there because I forgot to the last time I posted. I did this one in NJ on a world traveler from Ireland. Really nice guy, him and his wife were at the very beginning of a 3 month USA tour. Philly being the first stop. I'm not really sure why he got the cards, but the date was pretty self explanatory and he let me do whatever I wanted with the shading. I wanted to try and make them look old/faded/torn. Sorta got away with it but I know how to deal with it better for next time. The banner looks kinda dark, but I stuck with mid-tone greys so that should lighten up. Good luck to this guy on his travels, and thanks for stopping in for this!


 TEENY TINY one. done in nj


Another done in NJ from a photo she brought in. She let me modify the original slightly, and sat great. I kinda like this style, heavy outline with soft shadows within. I need to get drawing and painting more. I've fallen off the wagon!


Until next time....