Anyway on with the show...........
This method is easy! After a few goes you will be able to create a piece of flash from your stencils that will allow you to create various flash sheets for a variety of different occassions. e.g. You may have a special event you only want to have certain stencils for, but you can store as many flash sheets as you need them and print them out when you like. Why, do I like this process....well there are several reaosns and the main ones are, that you don't need to get your gun out and start spraying stencil on bits of paper etc and the fact that you can change them with a click of a mouse.
OK, thats the good news....yes there is bad!!!!! I only use black ink for my tatts but with a bit of imagination you can fill the areas you need for colour.
You will need 2 pieces of main software and a flatbed scanner to accomplish this process. I use Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Pagemaker as they give me a versatile answer to my problems.
Step 1. Place your stencil on the scanner the way you want it to look. Use a thick piece of white stock and place over the stencil before you close the lid. The brighter the better.
Step 2. Now scan the stencil (I use Photoshop) as best resolution you can. Crop to size once complete.
Step 3. Save your image. Don't use "SAVE AS" mine didn't work. I had to use "SAVE FOR WEB" and give it a name and the extensions is .jpg.
Step 4. Use the MAGIC WAND tool and highlight the areas around the stencil area you want to fill whith white.. It should be black first. Now fill it with colour WHITE. Use the SELECT INVERSE tool which will highlight the stencil area you wish to colour. Now fill this with black! If you require colour for your stencils you will have to play around with the fill colours and get the closest to what you will be spraying. (I use a disclaimer at the bottom of the flash sheet stating "Colours & Sizes will vary to actual tattoo".
Step 5. I use Adobe Pagemaker for layouts and once I have saved the image (CTRL S) in Photoshop I drag and drop the image onto the new page in Pagemaker. If you save the image you may not be able to PLACE the image in Pagemaker. WHY?? I don't know but I can drag and drop OK!
Step 6. Place stencil numbers next to your stencils and print a copy when you are happy with the layout. YES you may have to print several copies to get the image size right. I like to have the actual flash sheet images the same size as what will be sprayed. When you print you final sheet you will use for the flash sheet, use a good quality gloss photo paper. You will notice the images look a bit jagged on Pagemaker but will disappear when print on quality paper. I then laminate my sheets to protect and they look great.
OK, thats about it...any problems please email me and I will be glad to help.
Flash Sheet example here.
