New Traditional Ship Tattoo Flash: Procreate and Watercolor

I've been tattooing since 1998 and still love painting and drawing as much as I can. I wanted to share two new traditional ship tattoo pieces I put together this week at Remington Tattoo in North Park. One started as a Procreate sketch. The other is a watercolor flash painting I did last night.

The Procreate Clipper

Procreate sketch using a True Grit Supply vintage-inking brush pack.

Drew this one in Procreate using a brush pack from True Grit Supply. It's a vintage-inking kit and it works pretty different from most Procreate brush sets I've tried.

It comes with a stack of paper textures, aging layers, and a whole palette of distressed colors and inks. Really fun to dig around in. Using masks really changes the workflow, might be great for print or t-shirts. And you end up with a digital piece with a unique look.

Watercolor flash on Arches paper, painted last night. Vintage nibs and black ink for the line, shaded wet on wet.

The Watercolor Flash

Often I take a digital mockup and rework it into a tactile, real-world painting. Helps me work out the kinks before committing on paper. Did that last night with this clipper on Arches watercolor paper.

Used some vintage nibs (I'm in love with these things) and black ink for the linework, then a couple round brushes and a couple flat brushes for the shading. I don't spit shade anymore. I work wet on wet now and just find i get way more control out of it.

Want to Get One?

Both designs are open to tattoo, and they'd sit right in with the rest of my traditional American tattoo work. Same goes for any variation you want: bigger, smaller, more color, all black, banner with a name worked in.

Best way is to book a consultation so we can talk size and placement. If you're in the neighborhood and the schedule's open, walk-ins work too.

Reach out on Instagram @chriscockadoodledo or come by Remington Tattoo, 3009 Myrtle Ave, North Park. Wednesday through Saturday, noon to seven.

Chris Cockrill is a San Diego tattoo artist at Remington Tattoo in North Park, tattooing since 1998 and specializing in Japanese, American traditional, and black and gray tattooing.