On Days 1 and 2, I worked on just getting used to the machine feel in my hand, angles, and trying to make more confident lines and basic shapes. A majority of them d ok me with one pass with a 3RL or a 5RL.

On Day 3, though, today! I decided to start with a 3RL on the bottom two before swapping to a 5RS for the top two and for the full black areas. Attached Day 1 as the second image to show the progression to today! I hope to finish the 4th row tomorrow and will try to achieve better lines and shading.

I can get the lines I did today in 3 passes or so.

How did I do? What could I improve on? And lastly, any advice you would give to a newbie like me?

I started doing Stick and Poke tattoos two months ago, and the recent tattoos I've done with that medium on myself are decently clean (and I LOVE them all, no regrets so far 😂), and I decided to get myself a Machine to start practicing now and maybe pursue a mentorship once I've built a portfolio. I have a (parimarily) digital and traditional art history before all of this, but I know my usual art isn't necessarily tattooable, so a brand-new, from-scratch portfolio it must be! Last picture is my most recent Poke tattoos on myself - One is literally a signature, and I admit could be a little better, but I adore it.

Day 2 to 3 With a Machind