In-Person Tattoo Training
Sample Final Project Results
Sample Clip from Coloring Lesson
Sample Clip from Micro Mini Realism Lesson
Sample Clip from Shading Technique #9
Lead Artist
Jingxi
runs a tattoo course once every year in the
Los Angeles studio. The class is live, in-person and fully interactive and also part of the
apprenticeship program.
If you are not available in-person, we have a very good online tattoo course program.
If you are an established tattoo artist, you will be a better fit for other workshops like the Shading Workshop.
The class runs for 8 weeks and is 20 sessions total. Live class sessions are Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm, followed by a week of homework to be practiced at home then more class Monday through Friday followed by another week of homework and so forth. Short clips of the class can be found on Instagram or Tiktok.
The goal of this course is to cover all the basic tattoo skills in 8 weeks. It is not a replacement for an
apprenticeship
and it is impossible to magically make someone a mature tattoo artist in such a short time so what we do in the course is to:
- Introduce all basic tattoo skills for major tattoo styles
- Explain skin, machine, and skill theories
- Show the right way to practice each technique step by step
- Provide guidance for on how to best start a tattoo artist career
We make sure the students have clear constructive guidance so that they will understand what to do, why do we do certain things for tattooing, and the most important, how to practice in the right way and to continue improving their techniques after the course until mastering it.
We really break down the basic skills (lining, shading, coloring, etc.) into small digestible pieces. Every morning we introduce a part of theory, show the right way to practice techniques, and in the afternoon Jingxi will observe the students practice and help them build the right muscle memories and habits.
The course will be run within the below framework starting on a Monday:
Week 1
Day 1: General knowledge of tattoo styles + stencil making
Day 2: General knowledge of sanitization + tattoo machines
Day 3 - 5: Lining theories + Practice:
- Basic solid lining
- Variational tip lining
- Lining directions
- Blood line
- Lining with a variety of needles
- Speed control and voltage control
- Solid blackwork with liners
Weekend Break
Week 2
Homework - 5 Days (M through F)
Weekend Break
Week 3
Day 6 - 9: Homework Review + Shading theories + Practice as below:
- Use a mag
- Right side shading
- Left side shading
- Solid shading
- Smooth soft shading
- Continue/ connecting shading
- Shading with/without edges
- Shading direction analysis and practice
- Shading angle analysis and practice
- Shading with a variety of mags
- Speed control and voltage control
Day 10: Grey wash + ink dilution
Weekend Break
Week 4
Homework - 5 Days (M through F)
Weekend Break
Week 5
Day 11: Homework Review + Color packing + Color Transition + Color Mixing
Day 12: Stipple + Whip shading
Day 13: Tattoo Style Analysis + Practice: Old school
Day 14: Tattoo Style Analysis + Practice: New school
Day 15: Tattoo Style Analysis + Practice: Realism
Weekend Break
Week 6
Homework - 5 Days (M through F)
Weekend Break
Week 7
Day 16: Homework Review + Tattoo Style Analysis + Practice: Micro Tattoos
Day 17: Tattoo Style Analysis + Practice: Geometric/ Dotwork/ Watercolor by choice
Day 18 - 19: Final Project - Complete a full tattoo according to personal choice
Homework - 1 Day (Friday)
Weekend Break
Week 8
Homework - 4 Days (M - Th)
Day 20: Homework Review + Marketing + Personal Guidance on Tattoo Career
*The actual lessons might be adjusted according to the students learning speed.
Price for this course is fixed and we provide all supplies including machines, fake skin, etc.
We will only accept 6 to 10 students per course to make sure everyone gets the 1:1 attention needed to learn all fundamentals.
If you’re interested, please contact training@patchtattootherapy.com and we can discuss your goals.
Note that for Patch Tattoo Therapy studio, we consider this course a pre-training for future apprentices and co-workers, and so we have very high standards for the goals and results. It is not guaranteed that attending this course will result in an invitation to stay in the shop as it all depends on our vacancy and if we click. In any case, you won't find another workshop like this anywhere else.