Fireside Articles

Wrong on Paper, Right on Skin | 3 Minutes to Better tattooing

Dan Pushcarich

Published on: 23/04/2025

Shape is king in tattoo design. When I recently had a client come in wanting a blue jay that would wrap around multiple angles of his shoulder, it perfectly illustrated why we need to prioritize designing for the body rather than the stencil paper. This is exactly the kind of challenge that separates good tattooers from great ones - understanding that what might look "wrong" on paper can be absolutely right on skin.

Drawing for Tattoo DesignTattoo Techniques

Tips for Tattooing Darker Skin Tones | Fireside Technique | EP 37

Dan Pushcarich

Published on: 08/04/2025

Creating dynamic tattoos for dark skin can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible. In this short episode, we offer a few tips to help get the most out of your designs for dark complexions. Some of the main thing’s we’ll get into are; simplifying your value range, taking extra care for body placement, and utilizing larger, more well defined shapes. Tattooing darker skin is really no different than tattooing any other skin tone, you just have to take a little more care and consideration with your design for the client.

Tattoo Techniques

Paul Booth | Venetian Tattoo Gathering | EP 104

Dan Pushcarich

Published on: 03/04/2025

Tattoo legends like Paul Booth are ew and far between. If you know his work it doesn’t take much to understand the impact he’s had on tattooing at large. Another thing that sets Paul apart from other tattooers is the care, clear goals, and dedication to longevity he has for every piece that he does. In this episode Jake talks to Paul about mainly tattoos over time, his forays into the fine art world with his galleries, and collaborations.

Business and MindsetTattoo Techniques

Assigning Value Ranges in Tattooing | Fireside Technique | EP 50

Dan Pushcarich

Published on: 03/04/2025

Today we’re breaking down how to assign specific value ranges to different elements in your tattoo designs. This can create a visual hierarchy and prevent chaos when working with complex subjects like wings, flags, or textured compositions. The goal is to help you visualize and simplify intricate tattoo designs through deliberate value assignment so that you don’t have areas competing for attention, similar to techniques used in traditional art forms.

Drawing for Tattoo DesignTattoo Techniques