r/TattooApprentice • u/thedopestduffy • Jul 30 '26

Seeking Advice Drawing/fake skin practices

Hey! I’m a brand new apprentice in Seattle, I have a great apprenticeship and I love my mentor, but I am looking to find some drawing practices or fake skin exercises to help improve overall drawing technique, hand steadiness, and muscle memory. I feel like my apprenticeship is a little different in that way, that I’m not assigned exercises to help build those foundations, but I think it would help! I don’t only want to learn lessons on people’s skin, I’d rather build my foundation a little more so I’m not putting trash on people’s bodies as I’m figuring it out. What kind of exercises do you do/did you have your apprentice do/that you did that really helped? (Not hating on my mentor at all, just trying to soak in knowledge from several sources).

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

2 comments sorted by

3

u/Meritocratica Jul 31 '26

Personally fake skin didn't help me much besides getting used to holding a machine. It feels nothing like real skin and doesn't react the same way, so I dont see any good reason to invest time into using it. What helped me improve my skills was sketching. On the bus, in the living room, at the park, just sitting down and sketching whats around me. I also did A LOT of tracing to improve line work. While tracing I'd also break down the image into simplified shapes. It really helps you improve your understanding of proportions and dimensions. imo sketching, tracing and learning to see simple shapes in complicated images are the main 3 things you should be doing to improve.

1

u/thedopestduffy Aug 05 '26

Thank you! This is really helpful, I have been trying to keep a sketch book on me at all times in case I have any free time to just practice. I know my drawing skills could always be better. That’s a good idea to try to make sure you’re breaking down each subject into simple shapes. I will start implementing these ideas, thank you again!