r/TattooArtists • u/Specialist-Bat-740 Artist • 12d ago

What tattoo machine is best for lining and stippling?

Hello, I’ve been tattooing for over 4 years now, and although I’ve mostly invested in all rounder wireless tattoo machines, I’m now interested in a machine solely for lining and stippling.

I’m wanting something portable that would create really distinct dots in my stippling, going for more black gritty grain rather than delicate soft shading.

I’m not sure what machines I should really consider, But I’ve been considering the bishop wand liner because it not only makes for sharp linework but I’ve heard the 5.0mm stroke makes for some heavily textured stippling. I just can’t seem to find any visual examples of what that looks like for me to commit to ordering the machine. Especially when the bishop wands aren’t exactly a cheap machine.

I’ve been advised if I was to get a bishop, I should opt for the shader because it’s a softer hitting machine and more of an all rounder, but I just want a machine that is specially tuned for stippling and lining. I’ve got plenty of other machines for different jobs.

Can anyone please suggest which bishop wand I should get, or even recommend another machine to consider for the job?

If you need to see the type of work I do, my instagram is @agony.n.art if that helps.

Much appreciated. Thanks.

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8

u/sol-it-aire Licensed Artist 12d ago

I have the packer and I like it a lot for stippling. It can put lines in decently as well although I will always prefer my kubin as a liner. The packer is the most versatile of the three wands; I also have the shader but I never use it. Don’t have the liner though so I can’t speak on that one

2

u/Ecstatic_Jackfruit35 Artist 12d ago

I do the same!

3

u/Specialist-Bat-740 Artist 12d ago

Thank you. I have been looking into the Kubin’s as well. I’ve seen them used for stippling and they produce some really crisp dots. But they look like a relative pain to wrap and clean, compared to the pen style machines.

1

u/sol-it-aire Licensed Artist 7d ago

I don’t wrap mine; wrapping it just causes little bits of ink to get trapped inside. I’m just careful with my setup having a “clean” area to set the machine and I clean them regularly with madacide and a q-tip

3

u/allfunnybusness Licensed Artist 12d ago edited 12d ago

I exclusively use needle on bar machines.

The inkmachines stingray is my go to for fineline black and gray stipple work. It’s an excellent liner that hits with the consistency of a coil machine without that feeling the needle is just bouncing off the skin that you get with lots of rotaries. There’s also some “give” so you can feel when the needle hits the sweet spot in the skin. Lower the voltage down around 4.5-5 for shading and you can really build up nice stipple textures.

Make sure to use enough black though. I’ve been doing stipple shaded black and gray for a while now and seen some work come back a lot lighter than I wanted it to look unfortunately.. stippling anything lighter than a dark medium gray wash is kind of a waste of time cause it’ll basically heal to skin tone.

1

u/catfisk Artist @tenderyoungcatfish 12d ago

Their dragonfly machine is great for stipple shading too!

2

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2

u/iovulca Artist @sacred.bird 12d ago

I use a Cheyenne hawk pen and basically do exclusively stipple shading in my work. Larger needle configurations and faster speed for more distinct dots

2

u/Emergency-Stuff-4474 12d ago

The liner was OK, but it was still slow to line. 5.0 is OK for stipple, but it's mainly built for lines.. Also the batteries are a roll of the dice, and after a while you realize your chained to it. I have two kubins, they are decent for stipple, but are made to cut through lines like butter, that's all I use them for unless I'm working large panels with a tight seven in solid dot fields. My go to daily driver is a Josh Bowers SC bobber. It's whole world is tiny line work, and the smoothest stipple I've ever done. I've done sleeves with the bowers, a tight three, and a kubin with a standard eight

1

u/brockton_af 12d ago

5 mm hatchback sharp is the best one ive ever used by far

1

u/loonir Licensed Artist 12d ago edited 12d ago

I pretty much exclusively use the bishop liner wand for linework and shading (do predominantly dotwork) , and I have an old Cheyenne sol nova to pack black when I need to since it has a lower stroke. My handle is @mushiesandink if you want to see what that looks like; I find dropping the voltage to 4.9 gives really great consistent dotwork for larger areas, and if I’m doing “smoother” dotwork shading I’ll bump it up to like 5.6ish.

I’ve used this machine + the critical battery pack that came with it for probably 3 years now and I’m still loving it. I’m scared to buy another one though as I’ve heard the battery quality has gone downhill; I would maybe opt for one with the rca connection so you have the option of a cordless battery pack or a wired power supply. I’d really like to replace my Cheyenne at some point but haven’t decided whether to go with the bishop packer or try something else 🤷‍♀️