Has anyone tattooed leather

[Beaverslayer]

cem,

Here's a few that are especially good work tattooing on leather. I know "Don't believe everything you see on the internet" but I'm pretty sure these are real.

Undoubtedly artistic, this hand tattooed leather chair is made by the Mama Undoubtedly artistic, this hand tattooed leather chair is made by the Mama Tried studios, run by Scott Campbell, a very renowned tattoo artist.

Here's a solo bike seat by Electric Solo. He states on his website that he spent 5 years developing the method to do this.

Here's a picture of him tattooing a seat. Notice how all the bottles and stuff are all turned so the labels are not shown?

The real nice thing about family in this case, is that family owns the tattoo shop and he wants to figure this out as much as I do.

[MBOGO]

Have to say thank you for really taking the reigns on this Beaverslayer. Though don't see myself buying a gun, and going to town, stranger things have happened and I can see the potential in this.

My thoughts on leather, have you tried one of the waxed upholstery leathers?

On dyes, you said you were working Tattoo dye, have you tried acrylic paints, Tandy cova is marketed to the leather working community, but I know Liquatex is more aimed at the art/painting demo, and is known for density of pigment, and consistancy. There would be a different learning curve with handling, and effects, but I could see where it would be good from a working, and colorfastness standpoint.

Just a couple of cents..

[cem]

Yep I've seen both artists before both do great work, I mentioned Alex (Electric Solos) a bit further back in this thread. The ink he is using is called Stable I only know of it cause they have a distinctive bottle and I had a subscription to the Gnomon Workshop (art video tutorials) for day job stuff at one time and one of the tattoo artists there used it before he made his own brand. Never used it or seen it in person but I've read it's thicker than the other well known tattoo inks which might be a factor in using it for leather.

There is a couple of videos floating around for Scott Campbell and it looks like his stuff is laser etched, for colour stuff laser etched then the coloured ink is rubbed in.

I reckon with your family history you'll definitely figure it as I can see it being a lucrative side business for you guys.

[janaka]

i'm thinking if letting a sheet of veg tan on a steamer where the wrong side continue being moisten without wetting the whole leather, will this help extend workable time for tooling.

[yourmessagesir]

So, I've been following this thread for a couple years now and have been trying to figure this out as well.

I'm studying design right now and for a special class were doing i'm choosing this tattooed leather (I'll use the laser method if I can't figure it out. But based on what I've read here and tried myself I have a huge head start to this.

I'll be getting a few different types of leather as well as treating my own hides then trying out all the methods I have written down ( There's a lot..)

I'll post here what I find out and if I make any progress. Let's hope we can figure this out!

[cjdevito]

Can tattoo ink be used to colour leather or is it a different composition.i know nothing of tattooing and wondered if the inks were different ie;water based,alcohol or whatever

Old post, but I recently talked to a friend of mine who's a tattoo artist about this very question. Turns out most tattoo 'ink' is actually composed of metal oxides. I have to wonder if these would (over time) discolor veg tan in much the way vinegaroon does. If applied as a dye you could expect little to no penetration, the color would just sit on the surface and would be prone to getting scratched off.

I was specifically curious if white tattoo ink might work as a form of white dye, but after talking to my friend it seemed like the results wouldn't be anything worth pursuing.

[yourmessagesir]

So this is what I've done so far with leather and tattooing it.

I figured out how to tattoo it, it doesn't fade, i sealed it. Made my own inks, and right now I'm making a homemade tattoo gun specially for this.

I'm working on tattooing softer leather so that it will work on upholstery and accessories but I think i have that sorted too.

If you know how tattooing human skin works and how the inks work with flesh, as well as knowing how different oils work with leather, it's really quite simple to figure out.

2 weeks of constant trial and error have given me the basics, but I still need to test the fine details and perfect it.

I added a photo of my early attempts.They are really messy compared to what I'm doing now. But it gives an idea of what it looks like

[cem]

Heres someone else having a go http://www.puncturedartefact.com/, looks pretty good to me. After nearly four years this thread has been going it's been great to see what people have been coming up with and that there is still an interest in it here.

[Greybeard]

Wow, what an interesting thread.

yourmessagesir: would be interested to hear the details...

I will give my opinion on the subject....

I am both a Tattoo Artist and a Leather worker (Scrimshander too).

Leather is similar to human skin but it is dead. When doing a tattoo the artist tries to deposit the ink in to the 3rd layer of skin later to be healed over by the body. The tattoo is then visible Under the skin. If you go too deep the lines (ink) will be carried from the point of origin, this is referred to as a a "blow out". If you go to shallow, parts of the ink will be removed during the healing process.

Leather is Dead. There is no healing process, and it is not translucent, so when you puncture the skin for the most part it the design will only be visible at the point of penetration. Most Veg tanned leathers I have worked with have been dried out during the tanning process and need to be oiled. If the leather is dried out then the Ink would spread or seep from the point of origin. This would also allow staining from the wiping process.

I would think that leathers that have been tanned using wax in the process would be a good source, such as harness leathers, etc..

-Pause-

I just tried some Mop-n-Glow on a piece of veg tan (1 coat) with A&D ointment lightly smeared on top. Did a blot test to see if I could wipe without staining the leather, Good. Then tapped a needle thru another blot and wiped, Good.

So, I will try to Oil the leather let it sit for 24 hr, top coat it with Mop-n-Glow, apply A&D and try a simple tattoo.

[dentat2]

im a tattoo artist and i have tried tattooing leather. i used veg tan and to keep the ink from staining the leather i used beeswax mixed with mineral oil and rubbed it in really well then tattoo'd the leather just like i would skin. while its alot tougher than human skin i found i could do a pretty tight design with no problems. as for the ferrari not sure, that looks like alot of work and lots of time.

the tattoo ink in the bottles from the picture above is stable brand ink. its the only tattoo ink that comes in that shape of bottle