Basics of permanent makeup: practicing shading

Many masters - both beginners and experienced professionals - sometimes have difficulties in their work. They can go deep into the skin, the coloring suddenly turns spotty, there are voids or a clearly defined contour. In other words, the work is considered to be of poor quality. What do you think is the root cause behind all this? Of course, this is a gap in the hatching skill. It is impossible to argue with the fact that in permanent make-up it is with the help of lines and shading that masters create a pattern of eyebrows, lips or arrows, show volume or convey chiaroscuro. That is why gaining fundamental knowledge in drawing and improving the skill of shading is the first and important task of any master. And you can't skip this step!

On their own, masters can develop their skills by regularly practicing using a stroke on paper and a stroke on latex. But first you need to understand in detail the rules of shading and creating chiaroscuro. The task of a true professional is to make sure that permanent makeup is not visible on the face of their client. Paradox? But this is the art of micropigmentation.

Rectilinear shading is the basis of permanent makeup (tattoo). We offer you a series of exercises that will remind you of the criteria for a quality stroke, as well as help in setting your hand, honing the right movements and making a uniform straight stroke.

Experts recommend starting with the practical development of a simple rectilinear shading on paper. To do this, the master will need a simple pencil of medium softness with a sharply sharpened core, since work with a thin needle should be imitated. During the exercise, you should always monitor the sharpening of the pencil. You can also stroke with a ballpoint pen with a thin rod, but the task is more difficult to complete with a pen.

Exercise 1. Direct parallel stroke

The essence of this exercise is to perform a straight parallel stroke on the length of an A4 landscape sheet (the height of the stroke itself is 2-2.5 cm). In this exercise, free hand movement is practiced.

As a result, a horizontal strip should appear, hatched with parallel lines, 2-2.5 cm high. It is important to ensure that the stroke remains the same size throughout the entire strip. If you made the first stroke 2.5 cm long, then the last stroke should be 2.5 cm. You can pre-set guide points throughout the entire strip that will help maintain the size of the stroke. Visible stripes should not be drawn, so you can simultaneously develop an eye.

We begin to shade the resulting “corridor” with a direct stroke: draw a line, tear off the pencil from the paper, return to the beginning and draw the next line. And so - each next stroke. Strokes should be: straight, parallel, tightly pressed against each other. It should feel like you're standing still - that's how slowly you have to move forward. Performing this exercise, it is as if you are laying a stroke one on top of the other.

The beginning and end of the stroke should be lighter and lighter than its middle. How to achieve this? Due to the smooth, stroking movement of the pencil, similar to the movement of the pendulum. Make a small swing, bring the pencil closer to the paper, draw a line and smoothly exit it. Thus, the maximum pressure point will be in the middle of the line.

Criteria for the correct execution of the stroke:

1. After each stroke, it is necessary to tear off the pencil from the paper, return to the beginning "by air"
2. The beginning and end of the stroke should be thinner and lighter than the middle
3. The strokes should be tightly pressed against each other, there should be no gaps between them.

Criteria for incorrect execution of a stroke:

1. The pencil does not come off the paper. When extending such a stroke, when you apply one stroke to another, a joint will be visible (in the case of skin, you risk leaving a “spot” in the area where you are tattooing)
2. You can not "stick" with a pencil into the paper, otherwise the line will start from a point. When you extend this stroke, you will get a visible joint, which on the skin after healing of the PM will look like a spot.
3. The strokes are not parallel. In this case, gaps are obtained, which will need to be painted over in such a way as not to hurt the existing stroke, otherwise it will look brighter. Again, on the skin, such shading will look like a stain.

On a sheet of paper, it is necessary to perform from 15 stripes of a straight stroke in length, observing all the criteria for the correct technique for successfully consolidating the skill.