From Start to Finish: The Tattooing Process

Not everybody may be familiar with the process of getting a tattoo. For most people, the 'process' of getting a tattoo is going into a tattoo studio and exiting a few hours later. There is, however, much more to it - there are careful considerations around the design, the location of the tattoo, and the overall process.

This section of the website is specifically dedicated to illustrating the process of getting an American traditional tattoo. One of our researchers, Doug, documented the process of getting an American traditional tattoo - from start to finish. The aim of this section is to highlight the different steps involved in getting a tattoo.
One of the aims is to help demystify the tattooing process - particularly for those who are not familiar with tattooing and help develop an understanding of the nuances related to the process.

Short, Anecdotal Story Time:

My left arm is pretty covered in tattoos whilst my right arm - despite having two tattoos on it already - looked a bit pale and 'naked' in comparison. I have always liked the idea of getting an owl tattooed somewhere on my body, and after spending countless hours looking at owl designs on the internet and social media, I knew it was time: I am going to get traditional owl design on my upper arm.

One of the most frequently asked questions I face whenever I get a new tattoo is: 'what does it mean?' - or some kind of variant of 'do all of your tattoos have meaning?'. Does the owl mean anything? Not really... I guess I really like owls. Owls, as a design, do have meaning, though - they are associated with wisdom, intuition, and mystery - none of those traits I would say I embody. Do I [personally] believe that all tattoos need to have meaning? Yes and no. Get what you like - your family's birthdates or just a mosquito. At the end of the day, you have to be happy with it.

I got the owl tattooed in April 2026 and below, you can see the different steps of getting the tattoo - including the design, placement, the stenciling, and the finished product.

Step 1: The Design

I have never had any direct input into any of the designs I get tattooed; I leave that completely up to my artist, who has done of over a dozen of my tattoos. So, naturally, the first time I see the initial tattoo design is on the day of the session. I do, however, provide reference pictures so that my tattoo artist has some sort of idea what I am envisioning.

Step 2: The Stencil, outline and placement

A stencil is placed on the area that will get tattooed, and the ink sticks to the body. I check it out in the mirror to check for the placement - if I like it, it is go-time, if the placement is a little off (if it needs to go a little lower, or higher), it can be wiped and the stencil is reapplied.

I chose the upper arm because owls tend to be quite long and large designs. I also did not want a design somewhere else - such as my forearm - as that would likely 'wrap around' my arm.

Step 3: The outlines

After about an hour, this was how far we got. The outline and the black fillers/shading was done. Once the outline is done, I usually have a quick break - have some candy and a sip to drink before it is time get back into the chair.

Step 4: The finished tattoo

After all of the coloring and shading is done, this is what the final result looks like. Amazing, huh?

After the tattoo is done, it gets wiped down with a wet paper towel and all of the discomfort of getting it is immediately forgotten about. After that, it gets wrapped in cling film and the after-care process begins.

Immediately after getting the tattoo, the colors really 'pop', but this settles down and the tattoo becomes more dull and muted once it has completely healed.

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