I’m sure you already know how much I love tattoos. You may not realise it if you don’t have any tattoos, but people tell me all the time about their tattoo “ideas.” They even tell me that they’re afraid to get them. Yes, getting tattoos is akin to wearing a sign that says, “Talk to me about tattoos.” Laugh out loud!

First, print your tattoo designs on tattoo paper that can be printed. You can either use my template (below) or create your own. If you make your own, keep in mind that it must be an 8.5×11-inch format that you must turn (so it appears backwards) before printing. For this project, I used my Canon PIXMA iP8720 printer, which is my favourite printer because the print quality is consistently excellent, even when printing on a variety of materials, as we did for this project! Click here for more information.

These designs stick to the skin, incorporate different electronics, and provide transparent art for everyone to see thanks to the use of several layers. Electronics may imply that the tattoos have sensors or even LEDs. These lights are programmed to flash in time with the rhythm of music in at least one event, and are regulated by an Arduino concealed underneath the wearer’s clothing.

Skintillates, like typical temporary tattoos worn by both children and adults, flex naturally with the user’s skin. Users can also freely design and print with a full range of colours to create application-specific customised designs using our simple fabrication technique.

Two for the price of one

What could be better than turning a photo into a DIY temporary tattoo? Of course, combining two photos to create a DIY temporary tattoo. We used a bird graphic from Magical Creatures’ Witches theme for this illustration.

Change Color 2 to black after putting the bird graphic on a white background to make the bird silhouetted (or just choose a one-color bird graphic from Voracious Ravens). Then, in the Graphics tab, press Your Own to open a photographic picture on top. Set Blend Mode to Lighten in the Graphic palette. For step-by-step guidance on a related project, see our Text Masking tutorial. To get more information about tattoo kit click here.

Geometry is the study of geometry.

In the world of trendy tattoos, geometric shapes are anything but square. If you’re looking for some shapes, check out the Geometry section of our Graphics page.

Tips for getting your tattoo printed

• Now that you’ve gotten the hang of it and have a few cool ideas floating around in your head, here are a few pointers to help you make your DIY skin art a success.
• Remove any unwanted lines or portions of a picture with the eraser in the Graphic palette.
• Be sure to flip your picture horizontally before saving it if you’re creating a wordy masterpiece. Otherwise, when you move the text to your skin, it would appear backward.
• PicMonkey’s collage creator makes putting several tattoos on one page a breeze. In this Help post, you’ll learn everything you need to know.
• Print a test sheet before using your fancy schmancy temporary tattoo paper to see if any changes are needed.

Keep as close to the edges of the pattern as possible when cutting the tattoo out of the paper. On your skin, temporary tattoos are a little shiny, and you don’t want any extra sheen beyond the lines.