Tattoo artist Russ Collins shaves Joel Ste. Croix's arm before putting some ink on it. A good tattoo artist always shaves the area about to be tattooed to make sure there's a smooth surface. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
Once the area is clean and shaved, a template is pressed onto the skin. This is basically like those tattoos you got out of a 25-cent machine as a kid. The temporary tat will stay there and the artist will go over the lines with the real tattoo machine (don't call it a gun!). (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
Here's the temporary tattoo. A little bit of smudging is inevitable, so the artist will use a marker to fill in any spots before applying the permanent ink. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
And away we go! Now that the template is all set, it's time for the real ink. This tattoo – a custom design of David Bowie – features a prominent outline, and that's what gets applied first. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
The outline of the lower half of the body is done. Don't worry – that smudged ink you see isn't permanent. The smudged ink is extra stuff that didn't enter the skin. It will be wiped away over and over again throughout the process of the tattoo. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
Once the outline is done, it's on to color. Ste. Croix picked out the color scheme himself. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
It might look a little messy at this point, but just imagine what a Picasso would have looked like half-done... (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
A little touch of pink really adds some "oomph" to this tattoo. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
Almost done! Collins adds some white touches just to make the tat pop a little more. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
And there it is, the finished product! Not too shabby. The whole process took a little less than three hours, Collins said. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
The last thing that happens before the customers leaves the building is the application of a protector. Some places uses paper towels, some places use plastic sandwich wrap. Buzz Ink uses what Collins described as meat packs. You know those things that grocery stores put between the steak and the styrofoam tray? They're designed to absorb moisture, and that's what these protectors do. Collins said a tattoo veteran – such as Ste. Croix – could remove it once he got home, assuming he knows how to take care of a fresh tattoo. (JON BODELL / Insider staff)
With this being the Tattoo Issue, we figured we’d go to one of Concord’s six tattoo shops and see how the process all goes down.
Neither of us Insiders has any tats, so we had to go to see what it’s all about.
We stopped by Buzz Ink on Manchester street – which is a rare barber shop/tattoo shop combo – where Joel Ste. Croix was ready to add to his collection of ink.
He came in with his own design – an anime version of the late, great David Bowie. Up to the task was tattoo artist Russ Collins, who has plenty of ink himself and who “pretty much grew up in a tattoo shop.”
Needless to say, the next few hours were pretty educational to this tattoo rookie.
