A stencil is a transfer of the tattoo design applied to the skin before tattooing starts. The artist prints the design on special transfer paper and then presses it onto the skin. This shows the exact shape, size and position of the design.
What is a stencil for?
A stencil has two jobs. For the artist, it is an accurate guide for following the design line by line. For the client, it is the last moment to judge the design on the body, in the mirror and in movement. At this stage the design can still be moved a few centimetres, rotated or rescaled.
Stencil versus freehand
Most tattoos start from a stencil. The exception is freehand, drawing directly on the skin, used among other things to fit a design to the muscles. The stencil itself is made from a finished sketch.
Before the artist starts, make sure you are happy with the placement. We explain how to choose placement and size in Minimalist tattoos: size and placement, and you can browse placements on our tattoos page.