Hey! I was wondering, how do you draw the tattoos? I've been trying lately in an OC and i feel like something isnt right hahahah But yours seems very natural looking
I don't know if the way I draw tattoos is the most natural looking or the best way but I can show you how I do it!
The thing that will make the tattoos blend with the character in a more realistic way is the color. Tattoo ink fades and changes color a little once your tattoo is healed, and I've noticed that using a saturated color instead of pure black helps to achieve that effect. Of course, your color choices will vary a little depending on the skin tone of your character (use a darker reddish color for a character with darker skin tone, a lighter one if the character is very pale, etc), but the multiply mode will help make the tattoo design stand out regardless. You can play around with opacity levels too. Here's a side by side comparison of how the tats look if you use a brown/reddish color vs an achromatic black/gray.
It's a matter of taste, really. I don't think the 2nd image looks worse, but I like the look of the first one better because it blends with the skin tone a little. If your art style is more graphic/bold than mine, you may want to stick with bolder tattoos that stand out more than the ones I draw. For example, I don't always do this process; here's an example of tats I drew that do not blend as much with the skin:
For Frankie's tats I wanted a bolder look (she's the only one with colorful tats). None of these tats have a lower opacity setting, but I did color the lettering in a way that some parts are lighter/more saturated following the shadows of the skin. Again; this is all a matter of taste! My advice is that you should use the liquify tool a lot because as long as the tats "bend" and follow the body shape they will look like they belong to the character. Whether you prefer a "natural/faded" look or a bolder one it all depends on personal taste and your art style in particular. The gaussian blur trick makes a big difference too, although I don't always use it.
gamechangershow
origamiaround
