Freehand Tattooing

[@carlagarcia7743]

I just got my first tattoo last week. I watched your videos in preparation. Helped me a lot. Thanks!

[@JamesWithee]

no problem man glad i could help with some info

[@tawny1430]

I appreciated listening to your choice in relating your view with the saying about pride. To stay centered and authentic self, I keep in mind the same saying "Pride goeth before the fall". I commend you on your story, it gives motivation in believing doors that are closing doesn't mean they won't open. To do whatever it takes! Thank you

[@pjko123]

Love ur hat😁 "badboy"

[@JamesWithee]

haha thx my uncle gave it to me when i visited him in seoul last month

[@czarnyksiezycrogaty]

respect 4 those wings man!

[@PatrickKmetz]

You should do a time lapse of your next tattoo you do!

[@tylong6382]

I’m getting my first tattoo in a few weeks and I’m psyched. I’m moving to Arizona in a couple months though and I definitely want to continue getting tattoos once I move, so I think I’ll be checking out your shop first because you seem extremely talented and knowledgable when it comes to tattoos.

[@JamesWithee]

nice. yeah man come thru whenever. everyone at my shop is dope too. check out the shop ig @darkhorsetattooco

[@lydia.carmona3292]

I love how knowledgeable and experienced you are. I can't stop watching your videos for info and because your so damn good lookin!

[@highflowerfairy2554]

My artist freehanded my cover up, and then the rest of my sleeve. The challenges of a cover up is a good reason to freehand a tattoo.

[@JamesWithee]

good point! sometimes freehanding is the best option for coverups / reworks. like many of the other situations where a freehand tattoo might be necessary, the fit is paramount with that sort of project. thanks for the valuable input

[@megalopolis2015]

This channel is helping me become wiser and more informed about the tattoo(s) I want, as well as becoming braver about going for it. I am relatively sure about the artist, as he is local, and two of his original collaborative works are on my landlord :0). I know he teaches art, as well, and it is rather extraordinary. Thank you for continuing to post on here, despite your demanding schedule.

[@KaleilehuaKaeo-Okimoto]

Corey Miller and Megan Jean Morris do amazing freehand pieces 💖

[@PlankGFX]

The artist that did my half sleeve mixed stencil and freehand.

[@JamesWithee]

yeah that's pretty common. i do it on a lot of my realistic tattoos to add flow elements and make them fit better. it makes for a really great custom piece

[@Zerpersande]

As someone about to get my first tattoo, and almost 70 years old, your videos have been very helpful. If I still lived in the US I would travel to your shop. But I expatriated to Japan 30 years ago. And with round trip airfare running about $2500, and weird connections that push airport to airport times to over 30 hrs, and sometimes 40 hrs, making that trip ain’t gonna’ happen.

[@ylanlaus8000]

James is such an excellent communicator (I just treat the extracurricular expressed f's as a modern verbal punctuation mark). Thank you for all videos re tattoos.

[@JamesWithee]

thanks man. i'm trying to cuss less in the vids but it's hard cuz i'm such a prick

[@BBDRUMS28]

I love Paul Booth's freehand work. Solid video James, you always have great insight.

[@gmendez6033]

Every video u speak on is straight Truth 💯 ..... Time n time again I explain everything u speak of. It takes a special patience to deal with people in the world these days brotha I commend u 1000% 12 years in..... Worked at shops but back privately at the moment. Had some bumps in the road...... medically and encarcerationally speaking ..... Was just released on bond. Might have to go to the Pinta myself for a stretch. My story matches yours but like u said. I'm gonna do this shit and I know I have many improvements to make throughout my tattoo journey but cleanse ness is the main priority I love to promote to clients..... Love the channel ....new subscriber. Spot on info. Keep up the bad ass work homie. Much love and respect

[@humanityfirst4246]

This is a really great video. Love all of them! I just subscribed and looking forward to your next one. By the way, love your hat!

[@devinw8771]

I have gone to the same tattoo artist for about a year now and my last tattoo was freehanded. I’ll admit I was still nervous about getting the tattoo that was freehanded because it takes a lot of trust

[@kvltwalter]

Paul Booth comes to mind, he primarily works freehand but he's also extremely skilled.

[@vthomlinson]

Absolutely love your videos. So many valid points and so much valuable information conveyed. Can you discuss tattoo infection? I get giant tattoos and am one of those guys that turns bright red for like a week and people who don’t know anything about tattoos are always trying to tell me it’s infected. It’s the most aggravating thing ever.

[@devinwoods8798]

Thanks James for posting all these tattoo info videos, I'm getting my first in a few weeks and it's making me feel very comfortable getting it. My friend told me to watch you as he watched you leading up to his. Could you give advice as to how to email your artist? I already have one and I've put my deposit, but I want to ask her to customize it a little more instead of just copying the image (It's my friends handwriting and a band logo with a very important symbol to me), since I picked her for her style-I'd go to her blindfolded and let her tattoo me that's how much I respect her art.

[@BEPJakk]

I snorted so loud when he said "Hippity-hooplah" at 7:21 . Do you know that I am watching every single one of your videos even if they're not relevant to what I was initially interested in? just because Im learning so much. This is like taking a course lol, you're doing great things for the world, thanks for making these and look forward to more! can you do a video on getting a tattoo in a foreign place?

[@allstargoonsquad]

those wings are killer

[@CalixtaVinca0217]

Love the cap "nappeun namja" but you look like a good boy 😊

[@JamesWithee]

I'm the worst

[@deezupzeohdown957]

Boog always freehands n his shit dope

[@johnyluci21]

The best wings I've seen the placement is great

[@mikepeifer6502]

BLK JAX has to be one of the best free hand tattoo artist I’ve seen, atleast in AZ.

[@minhosong8831]

Haha love the video and the 나쁜남자 hat!!!😆🤣

[@xxfinalxfightxx7139]

i have been looking all over for a video of tattoo artists going through their own sketchbook and going through all their pictures they freehanded andd cant really find one.. um im hoping this comment gets seen but if not it's fine. just would really enjoy seeing something like that?

[@TheSnowboardws]

I'm thinking of trying to go to Carl Grace just because I now live close by his Boston shop and I'm a huge black and grey fan. I'm torn though cause I really want to fly to the UK and have Sam Barber do a leg or arm sleeve. My mind is always planning future tattoo plans and I only have so many limbs to dedicate to artists, the struggle is real. haha. I love your videos btw, keep making them!

[@JamesWithee]

thanks man. yeah it's tough to decide because space is limited. the harder part is actually getting a session booked with one of those guys once you've decided who you wanna roll with. it can take a lot of trying and you gotta be flexible with your schedule / budget

[@Anonymous--hm7gs]

Hey I'm interested in learning how to tattoo and I've been told to learn freehand and to draw on different textures do you have any advice?

[@anyawinkelmanv7818]

Damn that wing tattoo sounded goofy af but the finished piece looks really fucking awesome!

[@JamesWithee]

Thanks. 9/10 times those tattoos are cheesy

[@mrgorgun81]

Hey dude, i will travel to get a tattoo from this artist which i really like his work. But he don't show before the day of the tattoo. Think this is normal, or is it worth taking the risk of flying 3-4 hours? I mean i like the dude's work but i'm thinking what if i don't like that particular piece. Not really about the video subject, sorry for that.

[@JamesWithee]

the answer to your question is lengthy. so much so that i might have to make a video about it. in short, what he's doing is totally normal. there are many reasons for this, including the possibility clients stealing designs and shopping them around with other artists for cheaper. almost all busy and experienced tattooers that i know work this way, including myself. i wouldn't worry too much about the designing part. if you picked the right guy to begin with then you should leave that totally up to him and let jesus take the wheel. if he tattoos at a high level the chances of you not liking the design are slim. it'll probably be cooler than what you originally imagining. the key is to be open minded and coachable during the tattoo process. he wants the tattoo to look cool just as much as you do

[@mrgorgun81]

And what if i go there and not really comfortable with the design, or it is not perfect in my opinion? Because i will be travelling there and he is busy i will only have 4 days and he can't redraw it. That's my problem, should i just go with whatever he drew even if i don't love it or ask for deposit back or what?

[@JamesWithee]

he'll probably tell you no if you ask for the deposit back. if you don't like the design, you definitely shouldn't get it though. i feel like you're worrying too much about it. you just gotta pick the right artist and have faith in him. getting tattooed is inherently risky behavior. it just is what it is.

[@mrgorgun81]

Thanks for the replies dude, appreciate it.

[@JamesWithee]

no problem man, anytime

[@jorge7yygonzalez570]

Question bro, so I've been drawing for a couple of years now, but they told me about that technique the tattoo artist used to capture the volume, shadows and light . How you where talking about in your video, they originally used yellow, red, and blue colors so I was wondering if you can help me out on that ? Whats that technique called ?

[@Uta_Chandra.H]

Did you clean the skin first with alchohol before applying the markers?

[@JamesWithee]

Always. It helps them stay on longer when wiping

[@richardstone2025]

Hey man I’m a tattooing freak lol 😂. All jokes a side you channel is dope homie

[@BlackFlashDrive]

Great channel man. Keep it up brother

[@shanemcman3665]

I brag harder on my freehanded tattoos. But they were only really done that way because a stencil would never have worked given the location

[@BriceTooNice]

i got the basic whiteboy tree tattoo and my artist wanted to freehand it to make it more unique on the first session he freehanded it and second session he had a stencil. the stencil part loooks way better. the freehand part looks too clustered

[@christianrojas1214]

Hey James I just started to following your channel. And I would love getting a tattoo from you, do you do conventions in Houston tx?

[@JamesWithee]

hi christian, thx for the subscription. i don't have any conventions in texas lined up this year.. i think the houston one either just happened or is coming up very soon. i might go next year tho. follow my instagram to get updates on where i'll be traveling. i have my travel itinerary in my bio on there for this year. i do conventions once a month on average

[@10essee10titans]

Vine St tattoos in LA is a good example of this

[@JamesWithee]

do they only do freehand pieces?

[@10essee10titans]

they have a few guys in the shop, but i know the shop owner (Noel) only does freehand pieces (not sure about the others). they dont have a massive online presence but they do some great work. something of a gem depending on what youre looking for instagram.com/vinesttattoo/?hl=en

[@OGMannyJ]

Hey I just got a freehand tattoo about 4 weeks ago and all of a sudden the outlines the thicker lines are raised. Do you think I’m having a reaction to the sharpie ink? What is your advice?!

[@user-us4ws9px2s]

Do you ever visit Stockholm, Sweden?

[@vicariouspunishment]

Dope video

[@paigeboerjan2088]

Can you do a video on pricing like some people do by the piece or by the hour? I’ve been curious if by the hour starts when the needle goes to the skin or when you walk in basically

[@JamesWithee]

Sure I'll do a video that covers this. I haven't talked about pricing yet because of a complex subject and I haven't worked out exactly how I wanna tackle it, but it's coming for sure

[@paigeboerjan2088]

James Withee awesome. Thank you!

[@jasd1183]

Why do I have to be 18 to get a tattoo, I still don’t understand this shit, I’m 16 I need a half sleeve

[@JamesWithee]

i dunno how it is where you live, but in arizona it's against the law to tattoo a minor without parental consent. i choose not to tattoo ppl under 18 even if they have their parents on board tho. there are a lot of reasons.. i'll probably make a video about it. if u do get tattooed when u are under 18, just make sure u pick an area/subject matter that you won't regret when u are older

[@user-us4ws9px2s]

When you freehand, you use color, what is that for?

[@BrOoK8414]

Multiple layers.

[@vapestar3705]

Risky.....?can show u all the freehand work done on me and its the dopest work I have hands down no joke....

[@wrightsrrt871]

Sometimes freehand is an time saver instead of fighting the stencil for sure and I have an 15 color option sharpie set myself and sometimes I stamp the main piece then freehand the backdrop in which is a little of both. Great videos and sorry im catching them later on

[@pushinsince9339]

People actually brag about their tattoo artist doing freehand over stencil work? Lmao! Wow! Didn't know that was something to brag about.

[@kevinnguyen1249]

@alexisvaateteart is an amaaaaazing at freehanding

[@JamesWithee]

Kevin Nguyen yes he is legit. One of the best out there. His owls are insane

[@jonathanorellana1494]

Does anyone know what kind of chain he wears?

[@JamesWithee]

Jonathan orellana avianne is the company it’s a Franco chain

[@jonathanorellana1494]

James Withee ty :)

[@christianarobinson5405]

Should I go high . For my first tattoo?

[@JamesWithee]

what like smoking bud? not much harm in it. but i would go sober for my first one, just so i know how it feels from a normal perspective. for some ppl smoking weed can make the experience a little more stressful / overwhelming. plus your artist (although unlikely) might refuse to tattoo you if you look all bowled out. a lot of my clients get stoned before every appointment because it helps them with the pain. i don't judge em. i smoke weed too lol

[@livyexton2308]

Buy a stencil machine you cheep arse ,every shop should have there own,waiting in line,joke