We had the pleasure of visiting the incredibly talented Veda Ink, also known as Karina, for an exclusive tattoo tutorial showcasing her mesmerising colour illustration techniques. Karina brought her signature style to life with an extraordinary tiger design, featuring a vibrant purple palette, a cartoon-inspired strip over its eyes, and dynamic dripping elements at the bottom.
During our time with Karina, she shared some insights into her approach to colour packing. While many artists use circular motions to embed pigment, Karina works at a precise 45-degree angle, ensuring her colours are rich and vibrant. She notes that while this method isn’t unique to her, it’s a tried-and-true technique adopted by many skilled tattooists.
Check out the video for invaluable tips from Karina! She walked us through her colour selection process, crediting much of her knowledge of colour packing techniques, colour theory, and blending to Volkan Demirci, a respected figure in the tattooing community. To achieve seamless blends in her work, Karina tests ink shades side by side on a napkin, then smudges them together to preview how the colours will blend together on the skin.
We hope you enjoyed this tutorial – make sure to follow Veda Ink on Instagram to see more colour designs!
For this tutorial on how to tattoo a colour illustration tiger, Karina used the following supplies:
- FK Irons Spektra Flux Wireless Tattoo Machine in Stealth - 4.0 mm
- FK Irons Flux Max Bubblegum Bliss Tattoo Machine – 4.5 mm
- Killer Beauty None Woven Cotton Pads – Pack of 100
- Killer Ink Black Line Elasticated Bed Covers
- Killer Ink Black Nitrile Gloves
- Killer Ink Black Pallet Stretch Shrink Wrap
- Killer Ink Disposable Tattoo Cartridge Trays
- Killer Ink Grip Wrap
- World Famous Ink - Amsterdam Purple
- World Famous Ink - DaVinci Brown
- World Famous Ink – Deep Amethyst
- World Famous Ink – Everest Orange
- World Famous Ink – Monochromatic Set
- World Famous Ink – Pink Grapefruit
- World Famous Ink – Oleg Shepelenko Peach
- World Famous Ink – Orchid
- World Famous Ink – Thailand Sunset
- World Famous Ink - Tiger
- World Famous Ink – Valkyrie Fleshtone
- Aloe Tattoo – CB2 Pink Foam
- Butterluxe Stencil Glue
- Cheyenne Hawk Cartridges – 15 Open Liner 0.45 Long Taper
- Deep Hive Ink Cups
- DipCaps – Rinse, Dip and Clean Needles
- Easy Tattoo Cream
- Elite Pocket S6 USB Thermal Printer
- Elite Thermal Transfer Paper
- Eclipse - Black Tattoo Ink
- Eternal Ink – Golden Yellow
- Hive Cups – Rinse Cups / Cartridge Holders
- KWADRON Cartridges 9 Round Liner Medium Taper 0.35
- KWADRON Cartridges 15 Round Liner Medium Taper 0.35
- KWADRON Cartridges 15 Round Shader Medium Taper 0.35
- KWADRON Cartridges 11 Round Shader Medium Taper 0.35
- KWADRON Cartridges 18 Round Shader Long Taper 0.35
- KWADRON Cartridges 11 Soft Edge Magnum Medium Taper 0.35
- KWADRON Cartridges 15 Soft Edge Magnum Medium Taper 0.35
- KWADRON Cartridges 23 Soft Edge Magnum Medium Taper 0.35
- Magic Moon Cartridges 3 Round Liner Long Taper 0.25
- Magic Moon Cartridges 5 Round Liner Long Taper 0.25
- Radiant Colors - Deep Purple 30ml
- RAW Tattoo Ink – Amethyst
- Sknworks Tattoo Aftercare Spray
- Whitfields Tattoo Co – Foaming Soap
- Whitfields Tattoo Co – Tatpads
- Whitfields Tattoo Co - Process Butter
