By penny.hang

People often ask me how I first got interested in tattooing. I have always been an art lover and a prolific drawer, and over the years I’ve dipped in and out of different art mediums. When I was growing up and developing as an artist, no one in my family had tattoos, so they were always this cool, alien thing of beauty to me. The idea of having art on your body forever, something fixed and permanent in a world where change is the only constant, was something I was fascinated by. Being the one with the power and skill to do it, to use ink and needles and create that fixed thing, was even more mind-blowing to me. When I left art school, I knew that tattooing was the medium that resonated most with me, and my tattooing journey began.  

The first thing you must do as a budding tattoo artist is to develop a style. I’ve always been interested in the macabre and unusual subject matters. I always knew that I didn’t want to make pretty, perfect pieces as that just isn’t my style; I like things a little rough and wonky as it provides a more unique look on the skin. I keep up a regular drawing schedule, and by doing so I am able to exercise new ideas and think about them in a tattoo context. My style has really taken years of developing to be where it is now. Practice and experiment with different things to find what really resonates with you.

As a tattoo artist, I am self-taught, and it’s been a strange process of trial and error. I didn’t touch human skin for the first year of tattooing. Instead, I primarily worked with fake skin and fruits such as bananas and oranges, which taught me how to use the machine and learn different pressures and techniques. When getting my own tattoos from other professional artists, I also observed their process closely and asked a lot of questions. From there, I began doing small tattoos on myself (ensuring everything was as sanitary as possible – hygiene is the number one rule in tattooing). Once I was comfortable, I practised on friends who gave me their trust, working on small designs in low-pain areas. From there, I just started working up the size and detail of the pieces. Every day is a learning day, but I go into every tattoo with a professional mentality and constantly look for ways to improve my practice. 

Tattooing is a popular vocation, and many have asked me for pointers on how they themselves can get started. My advice to anyone wanting to get into tattooing would be to draw – like, all the time. It’s fundamental. Once you’ve got basic proportions and shading down, have a look at getting some fake skin and giving it a shot. Definitely don’t go straight to human skin because it will go badly. Give yourself time to get used to holding the machine and learning what it can do. Practice makes perfect, at the end of the day.

Find penny.hang’s work and designs on Instagram: @penny.hang