(Don't Fear) The Reaper

UPDATE 9/4/12: This reaper half sleeve was finito after today's 90 minute session. Total time from start to finish was around four and a half hours. The tedted king of the dead "Godfather" shader is one of my favourites - used it to tighten things up and blend the greywash.
A Dragonfly rotary was utilised for the soft "out of focus" effect in the background.

Only a 2-3 hour session is left to go on this Black and Grey Grim Reaper piece. I think its looking pretty cool so far and the client is stoked so its all good.
Next session I need to finish off the shading with a couple more shades of grey on the flames etc..and a darker background is a must in order  to give depth and add more perspective to the tatt.
This work was inked with a variety of machines - mainly my trusty Lauro Paolini + Juan Puente liners. The shaders I used were both rotaries ( Blitz and Dragonfly ).

Eye of the Tiger

Oriental back piece (work in progress).

This photo was taken after the first session. Tassie chicks- they are tough as - she never complained one time and I even had to suggest to her once or twice that a break would be a good idea.
the tiger/snake back job has got fair bit to go until completion, I'm really looking forward getting started on the shading next session. All of the linework on this B&G piece was laid down with rotaries (Stealth & Blitz machines).

El Angel de la Muerte

Client wanted an Angel of Death tattoo on his inner left forearm. He chose some steve soto religious flash that I then pimped up with Italiano chiaroscuro techniques to best emphasize the light and shadows of the design (as usual).
The outline was laid in using a 9RS with a Juan Puente liner running at 7.0, I then switched to the Stealth rotary for the fine detail (teeth, fingers etc..) running at 6.0 with a 3RL. I then pulled out the trusty Paolini Iban shader to pack in the black areas with kuro sumi ink and a 5RS @ 7.0. After the Iban I used a custom made Dan Hill cutback soft shader for the light shading areas in the skull using a very light grey wash with a 3RS @ 2.5. To finish the piece the Iban shader was fitted with a 5 mag to tighten up any loose areas with a mix of white and grey ink (1 drop Starbrite white + 10 drops kuro sumi black). This makes sure the tatt has no patchy areas and the same overall composition.
Goth industrial was pumping out of the Monster Beats dock during the making of this tattoo...definately not my bag but imho the tunes helped give the piece a "dark" edge for sure.

On Fiyah!

This client wanted three flaming skulls ( aka Ghost Rider style) on his inner bicep.
He originally wanted chains going through the skulls/flames but I managed to convince him that
the flames would be enough- but I could freehand the chains in if he really wanted them once the stecil was applied. Fortunately he really liked the design as it turned out so I started slinging the ink.
Outline was applied using a Paolini Shape liner running @ 6.0 with a 7RS. Smaller linework was completed with the Stealth Rotary @ 5.5 with a 3RL and the shading was done with the Paolini Iban shader running at 5.0-5.5 using a 7 mag.
I decided that the teeth would look  "mo' daemon" if they were sharper fangs so I freehanded them in as
I was tattooing. Client prefered the fangs over the original teeth by far thus proving its always best to follow your instincts whilst tattooing....never stop thinking about the design and ways you can improve on it.

Pray For Us

Client wanted skeletal hands in prayer on his upper arm. I dug up some oldskool original early nineties  flash and he chose a Corey Miller (L.A Ink) sheet from amongst them (nice choice!)
I pimped up the flash using chiaroscuro techniques which added alot more relief and composition to the design.
After I applied the stencil I got the thumbs up so I set to work using a Davan Infinitii Rotary running at 7.3 with a 7RL to nail the outline. The smaller, more intricate, linework was completed with a Stealth Rotary equipped with a 3RL running @ 5.0.
All shading was done using four different tones of grey wash with a tedted King of the Dead Godfather shader running @ 3.5- 4.0.
The client could not believe how fast this piece healed up compared to his other tatts- he actually said: "I love those rotary machines." lol

Servant of Cthulhu

Client wanted a B&G "Servant of Cthulhu" tattoo on his inner forearm. The flash was made up using a game card  that he provided as a reference. After sketching up the design I decided to go for a HR Giger biomechanical shading style, as the subject matter was perfect for "Alien" style textures.
The grey shading was done mixing  in the tube with a 5RS equipped Paolini Oban Shader @ 2.3-3.3 volts depending on the area. When layering gradual shading always remember to go from light to dark for maximum depth/perspective. The outline was done with the Juan Puente Liner packing a 9RS @ 7.0 and the rest of the linework was done with  an ol'  Micky Sharpz Microdial fitted out with a 3RL running @ 5.0.