Tattooing has been a Eurasian practice at least since Neolithic times. Otzi the Iceman, dating from the fourth to fifth millennium BCE, was found in the Ötz valley in the Alps and had approximately 57 carbon tattoos consisting of simple dots and lines on his lower spine, behind his left knee, and on his right ankle. Other mummies bearing tattoos and dating from the end of the second millennium BCE have been discovered at Pazyryk Tattooed...

Q. How and why did you get into Tattooing? Who are your heroes or your inspiration? I had originally been offered an apprenticeship by an old friend who was tattooing. I used to be known in my small home town growing up for my drawing ability, and he was looking for another tattooist. So, he took me under his wing, showed me what he knew ,and within some months I was tattooing regular customers. I would never have even thought about getting...

Q. How and why did you get into Tattooing? Who are your heroes or your inspiration? I always knew i would be heavily tattooed from a very young age.. all throughout high school, i bought every tattoo magazine i could get my hands on. by the time art school came around i had decided tattooing was what i wanted to do with my life. Q. How long have you been tattooing? Professionally for about eleven years. Q. Is the industry like you...

Q. How and why did you get into Tattooing? Who are your heroes or your inspiration? I got into tattooing by chance really. I was taking evening courses at the Royal Fine Arts Academy in Brussels while working another job. I used to hang out at the tattoo shop on the corner of my street, and the guy saw my drawings and said I should get into it. Went on an extended holiday to Greece that summer and met a few people from a local tattoo studio,...

Q. How and why did you get into Tattooing? Who are your heroes or your inspiration? Guy Aitchison is definitely the biggest hero I have, others include Trent pare, Clint Danroth, Aaron Cain. Just bugged the local tattooist to train me .I bugged him every day for almost a year then one day he finally said yes. So there's definitely something to be said about being persistent. Q. How long have you been a tattooist? All said about ten years...

When properly used, autoclaves are an important part of any tattoo shop's overall sanitation program to keep both customers and artists safe from potential infections. An autoclave is a pressurized device designed to heat aqueous solutions above their boiling point to achieve sterilization. It was invented by Charles Chamberland in 1879. The term autoclave is also used to describe an industrial machine in which elevated temperature and...

Here's a selection of articles written by professional tattooists about their work and industry. The idea is to let you know more about the art, the work and get some useful advice and insights from the pros - use the links on the right to see a full list of the artists who've written articles on knink. If you'd like to add an interview or article about your experience as a tattooist, please get in touch, hope you enjoy them, knink Featured...

There are many types of tattoo designs, which can be sorted into major categories such as black and grey tattoos, biomechanical tattoos, new school tattoos, Japanese, tribal, Celtic, and many others. Within these categories, the subject matter often follows various subjects, eg. Koi with Japanese tattooing, or cards, flames, dice, and swallows in New School Tattooing. Any image can be tattooed in the 'Japanese', 'New School' 'Tribal'...

Cryosurgery (also known as cryotherapy) is the application of extreme cold to destroy abnormal or diseased tissue. This method of tattoo removal surgery uses the application of liquid nitrogen to the area in question to freeze it. Then, this freezing causes a peeling action which in turn makes it possible for the top layer of skin to peel easily and deeper than usual. The name 'cryosurgery' suggests a rather invasive procedure. This is...

Tattoo removal is most commonly performed using lasers that react with the ink in the tattoo, and break it down. The broken-down ink is then absorbed by the body, mimicking the natural fading that time or sun exposure would create. This technique often requires many repeated visits to remove even a small tattoo, and may result in permanent scarring . The newer Q-switched lasers are said by the National Institute of Health to result in scarring...