Washes

Category: art

Bottles of pre-diluted tattoo ink, usually in varying shades of black and gray.

Artists often have a set of "washes" (e.g., 1oz, 3oz, 5oz gray) to quickly shift between different shadow depths. This allows them to create smooth gradients without having to mix ink on the fly for every single segment of the tattoo.

Common Examples

• The artist’s palette was organized by "washes," allowing them to layer the shadows seamlessly across the entire landscape design.
• A well-prepared artist will have their gray washes lined up and ready to go before the client even enters the chair.