Make a Temporary Tattoo With a Pencil
Temporary tattoos are a great way to see what a real tattoo will look like before getting one. They are also great for costumes, plays, rallies, and other events. Unfortunately, the temporary tattoos you get from a store may not always have the exact design you are looking for. If this happens to you, why not just make your own? All you need is a pencil, some paper, and water. If you choose to use colored pencils, then all you need are colored pencils and hot water.
Contents
Steps
Using a Pencil
- Clean your skin using rubbing alcohol. This will get rid of any oils or dirt that might keep the pencil from sticking to your skin. Simply soak a cotton ball with rubbing alcohol, and wipe the area where you want the tattoo to go.
- Draw your design on a sheet of tracing paper using a pencil. Try to use a soft pencil, such as 3B, 4B, or even softer. Press hard while you draw, so that you get that shiny layer. This way, more of the graphite will be able to come off onto your skin.
- Avoid using a mechanical pencil, as it won't be thick enough.
- If you cannot find any tracing paper, you can use parchment paper instead. Regular paper might do in a pinch, but you may not get the best results.
- If you are not good at drawing, print a small image out, and trace it.
- Cut the design out, leaving a small boarder around the design. It will be much easier to wrap a small piece of paper around your skin than a large, full sheet of paper. Don't worry about being too precise here; as long as you have the tattoo cut out, you will be fine.
- Place the paper against your skin, pencil-side-down. Smooth the paper, and hold it in place by the edges using your forefinger and thumb.
- Place a damp cloth against the paper. Soak a towel in warm water, then squeeze the excess water out. Press the towel against the paper, and hold it there for about 20 seconds. Be careful not to move the towel or "rub" it along the paper.
- Remove the towel, then peel the paper away. You should have a faint image of your tattoo by now. You can call it finished at this point and show it off. If you'd like to darken it and make it last longer, continue reading.
- Trace over the tattoo using eyeliner if you'd like to make it darker. This is not completely necessary, but it can make your tattoo appear more realistic. You can use the pencil kind or the liquid kind. For a longer-lasting tattoo, use waterproof eyeliner.
- Set the eyeliner with talcum powder or baby powder. Shake some talcum powder or baby powder onto the tattoo. Then, take a soft, fluffy makeup brush (like the kind used to apply powder) and gently brush the powder off.
- Seal the tattoo with liquid bandage. You can use the spray-on kind or the brush-on kind. This will protect your work, keep the eyeliner from smearing, and make your tattoo last up to 3 days.
- You can use hairspray in a pinch, but it may not last as long.
- Take care of your tattoo. Avoid washing it or rubbing it, or it will fade sooner.
Using Colored Pencils
- Fill a cup with hot water. You can do this by heating some water in a kettle, and then pouring it into a cup. You can also do it by pouring some water into a mug, and heating it in the microwave. The water does not have to be boiling, but it needs to be hot.
- Dip your colored pencils into the water and wait 5 minutes. This will allow the colored pencils to soften up so that you can draw with them on your skin. If you are using watercolor pencils, you don't need to leave them in for that long; you can just dip them into the water for a few seconds.
- Start drawing your design. If you are doing a picture, such as a smiley face, start with the background first. You will add the details later. If you make a mistake, wipe it off using your finger or a q-tip.
- Give the pencil a quick flick when you take it out of the water to knock off any excess water.
- Add the details and outlines. Once you are happy with your design, you can add the final touches. For example, if you are drawing a smiley face, you can draw the mouth, eyes, and outline.
- If the pencil starts to dry and become hard to work with, dip it into the water again; you don't have to leave it in there for 5 minutes this time.
- Wait for the tattoo to dry. This should only take a few seconds. Be careful not to touch your tattoo during this time, or you might spear your artwork. Avoid blowing on the tattoo to help it dry faster. If you used a lot of water, you might end up "spreading" the water and "ink" while blowing on it.
- Spray your tattoo with hairspray if you want to make it last longer. This tattoo will only last until the next time you take a bath or shower, but coating it with hairspray will protect your artwork and keep it from chipping.
Tips
- If you are making a pencil tattoo and want to write something, remember to reverse your image, or the word(s) will come out backwards.
- You can use regular colored pencils or watercolor pencils for the colored pencil method. Watercolor pencils don't have to soak as long as regular colored pencils do.
- You can do the regular pencil method using printing paper and a gel pen.
- If you don't have eyeliner at home to darken your pencil tattoo with, you can use a marker or pen instead.
Warnings
- Don't put tattoos near your eyes; the skin is too sensitive in that area.
Things You'll Need
Using a Pencil
- Soft pencil (anything from the "B" range, such as 2B, 3B, 4B, etc.)
- Tracing paper or parchment paper
- Towel or cloth
- Eyeliner (optional, to darken tattoo)
- Talcum powder (optional, to seal eyeliner)
- Fluffy makeup brush (optional, for talcum powder)
- Liquid bandage or hairspray (to set eyeliner)
Using Colored Pencils
- Mug
- Hot water
- Colored pencils
- Hairspray (optional, but recommended)
Related Articles
- Make a Washable Tattoo
- Apply the Perfect Temporary Tattoo
- Make a Temporary Tattoo Last Longer
- Make a Temporary Tattoo with Nail Polish
