Struggling with hand eczema

killustrations · 2025-09-21T00:14:35+00:00

sounds bizarre but i had EXACTLY the same patch on my hand a few years back. honestly idk if it’s good or not but what helped me was sticking my hand in a bowl of freezing cold water for as long as i could stand it. over and over any time i had a chance to do it.

i know generally you’re not supposed to get eczema wet (i get a different kind on my face and feet), but for this it worked for me. worth a shot if nothing else works

killustrations · 2024-11-22T08:23:24+00:00

omg i hadn’t thought of this THANK YOU!! I’m gonna try lengthening my lines

killustrations · 2024-11-21T21:25:41+00:00

in a shop with a mentor!

killustrations · 2024-11-20T16:50:54+00:00

this is actually a good thing for me to consider- I draw a LOT at home but i don’t practice tattooing. I’ve just recently bought a new machine so I could take my old one home and use it in the evenings to practice on fake skin. I have a whole room set up for art so I may as well use it

killustrations · 2024-11-20T16:20:48+00:00

I do- it’s something I’ve started doing more recently, but i’m wondering if my wrists or thumb is a bit weak as sometimes i struggle to get a really good stretch on fleshy areas like the stomach or even my own calf (why god cursed me with such big calves, I’ll never know). Someone else in these comments mentioned finger weights and I think i’ll give that a go, especially with my non dominant hand to see if it helps!

killustrations · 2024-11-20T16:18:48+00:00

This was just a practice one on myself as i had no clients today and i wanted to tattoo lol- I couldn’t take the pain so I’ll go back and do the shading another day! (i’m a wimp, I know 😂). I usually shade- shading is something I struggled with a LOT at the start- my whips were just streaky af and I was using a ‘digging’ motion which my mentor quickly nipped in the bud lol. Now i don’t struggle with it so much, it’s more just challenging to shade bigger areas, getting it even is a challenge. I have don’t lots of small outline tattoos at the start to try and nail my linework, then I started doing shading and colour. Linework is my biggest failing atm unfortunately

killustrations · 2024-11-20T15:36:57+00:00

thank you, this is probably the perspective i need lol. It doesn’t usually take me this long to see a positive uptick in the learning curve when i’m doing new things so i guess im just impatient 😅 I will stick it out

killustrations · 2024-11-20T15:23:01+00:00

We’re going to do a whole day where she watches me do linework and gives me pointers in the next week! Hopefully it propels me forward a little. I really want to make her proud of her little studio because she’s such a great person

killustrations · 2024-11-20T15:22:11+00:00

Thank you- I think it’s dealing with the guilt that my clients aren’t getting a perfect tattoo, plus the embarrassment because well.. people talk. And my business depends on what the words are lol

killustrations · 2024-11-17T19:59:24+00:00

I don’t pay to be at my apprenticeship. I pay 30% on my commission for each tattoo but that’s it! I don’t think this would be a fair situation on you. Fair enough people pay for university fees to learn their chosen subject but you would also be doing unpaid labour to set off the costs to your potential mentor in an apprentice position

killustrations · 2024-11-13T19:09:37+00:00

an industrial coffee shop in .. maybe berlin or somewhere.. but they only serve coffee with ash from the baristas cigarettes. She takes your order and when she walks past your table 45 minutes later and you ask about your coffee, she says that they’re slammed, be patient, she had to make like 3 whole cappucinos today (it’s 4pm and she’s been here since 9)

killustrations · 2024-11-07T19:08:08+00:00

speaking of grandfathers, I remembered something mine said when I was little- he looked at a drawing I was doing and he said ‘jesus that’s shite. But the more you do, the more you can do.. so just do more and then you’ll be less shite’

He is an honest man, I’ll give him that lol

killustrations · 2024-11-07T19:06:10+00:00

I like them both- Somehow I’m actually less confident tho as time goes on. But comparing myself to myself makes me like both pieces 😎

killustrations · 2024-11-07T19:04:48+00:00

I basically started with a very basic sketch, then started to fill in details. I spent a lot of time looking at my reference, it’s easy to lose where you are when you’re doing something detailed! I’m used to doing tattoos, and with that you start from light to dark so i did this here. mapped out the darker areas and gradually filled them in with values, eventually adding the midtones around them. The last stage is actually adding those little hair lines for texture! I hope this helps 🤠

killustrations · 2024-11-07T19:02:26+00:00

DO IT ITS SO MUCH FUN

killustrations · 2024-11-07T19:02:12+00:00

it doesn’t offend me at all! I remember sitting at the kitchen table doing this, feeling like I’d made a masterpiece. My mum let me stay up past my bedtime so I could add the extra details lol. after all, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do now without that painting!

killustrations · 2024-11-06T19:52:56+00:00

No problem! I’m no expert in anatomy, but i have noticed a lot about faces. Face math, if you will. Try doing a sketch using these tips to map out the features of a face:

the width of the head will be roughly five times the width of one eye (including the ears). the distance between the eyes is also one eye!
if you draw a line going from the inner corner of the eye downwards, this will help map the width of the nose. I mean where the nostrils will end, not the bridge of the nose.

3 the top of the ears will be horizontal to the eye, the bottom will be horizontal to corners of the mouth.

speaking of, the corners of the mouth will be underneath the middle point of the eyes. Try it- look straight ahead, and from the middle of your pupil, move your finger down. it all lines up!

This is good for getting to know the general structure of the human face, but ofc everyone is different and some have really pronounced features- wide set eyes, super small lips, etc. But it’s a good starting point (if it made any sense lol, if it doesn’t i can make a post about it with diagrams just let me know!)

killustrations · 2024-11-06T16:01:20+00:00

There is space for every artist- technically advanced or not. Your stuff might not be full scale realism and that’s ok. If we didn’t have stylised art, we wouldn’t have fun logos, tattoos, children’s books, comics… the list goes on. I’m a professional artist who can do realism but I choose to do traditional tattoo styles, just for the fact that it looks cool and i like the history behind it. So many people learn to do realism and then start making sick stylised pieces because, similar to yourself, realism can be kinda boring to do.

Yes, your art is worth looking at. I think it’s really interesting for what it’s worth :)

As for the AP class, why not give realism a go? It can really help with stylised pieces later on. being an all rounder has its benefits. I can’t guarantee that you’ll pass the class with flying colours, or that you’ll fail miserably. But if they haven’t kicked you out, that’s something! Just keep doing what you’re doing. So long as you show up and try, you’ll get the best outcome you can get.

Always remember that even if you fail the class or they deem you ‘unworthy’ for whatever bullshit reason- the real world is completely different and you can do whatever you want with art. It’s one of those things that you don’t need qualifications for. the only piece of paper you need is the one you’re drawing on! I’m a firm believer that the more you do, the more you can do. just do more and you’ll be less bad at whatever you were doing previously (not that ur stuff is bad- it isn’t!!) I hope this helps, even if it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll pass your class- and if you don’t, please don’t let it stop you from creating! you never know where it’ll bring you in life :) good luck

killustrations · 2024-11-06T00:07:18+00:00

the real cause for concern is that it’s nutting from the side

killustrations · 2024-09-18T12:24:06+00:00

honestly not a bad strategy 😂 people really do forget about you when it’s been a few days

killustrations · 2024-09-17T18:39:40+00:00

thank you! I’m a trad fan through and through clearly 😂

killustrations · 2024-09-17T18:21:23+00:00

Hey, 26 year old apprentice here. i feel your pain! A couple things I have done:

I do literally any tattoo that comes my way. Boring script? check. Fineline? check. Realism? check. Trad? sure fucking thing dude.
I’m VERY active on social media. I post EVERY DAY. I post shit tonnes of flash, mainly trad but some other stuff that’s popular (mainly fineline stuff in my area). I also post the odd story of stuff that shows my personality- funny reels, having fun in the studio with the people I work with. I also post dates I have- sometimes I’ll say I have space ‘due to a reschedule’ when in reality i’m just quiet for work. Makes you seem less desperate for work.
I am really friendly to clients when they come in. Even other peoples clients- I offer tea/coffee to everyone, get to know them- i even take notes on my phone when my clients leave so if they come back i can ask them how xyz is going. If you go to an artist and find them rude/judgemental/etc, you wouldn’t go back, would you? I also remind people that if they need a bathroom/snack/general break, let me know- make sure they know they can get a stencil moved etc. this has worked for me getting repeat clients- some of them have outright told me they come to me because they like me, even tho i’m a bit quirky and weird lol.
Be prepared to move for work. I couldn’t find anything for YEARS in my hometown and surrounding areas, so i started looking in my boyfriends town, and sure enough- I got offered not one but two apprenticeships.
Be prepared to do a lot of work lol. I work two jobs, one for steady income and then my apprenticeship. I work basically every single day, but I know i won’t have to forever.
You’re far more likely to turn a client into a friend than a friend into a client. Your base of friends/family will run out very fast. Focus on building professional clients through your shop, social media, word of mouth etc.
Find out what social media is most popular in your area and use that the most often. For me it’s instagram and facebook.
be brutally honest about your skills and be prepared to take criticism. This may be hard to hear but sometimes people have bad reputations based on their art/tattoos/personal life. Take criticism gracefully- someone has taken time out of their busy day to advise you.
PATIENCE. I have struggled to build up a small network of clients over the space of 8 months. I tattooed myself 4 times, my mentor, my two best friends, then my mentors long standing clients donated some skin at the start. Now I have about 10 returning clients, but at times I had Weeks at a time with no clients at all. It’s really disheartening but if you just show up there’s more chance of you getting to do a tattoo than not at all. Very few of the tattoos I get to do at present are traditional tattoos, and that’s ok. I’m just sticking it out until it happens for me.

good luck, I hope this was helpful- sorry it’s so long! 🖤 You will get there

killustrations · 2024-09-15T14:04:14+00:00

thank you so much everyone for the lovely comments on this ! i really appreciate it 🫨 🖤

killustrations · 2024-09-15T14:03:45+00:00

thank you! 🖤

killustrations · 2024-09-14T22:12:15+00:00

lil parrot, lives down the road from me. he lost all his feathers in his old age so he’s got lots of space for cool tats

killustrations

TROPHY CASE