A Pound of Flesh
In this blog post, we deal with two crazy boys from America. During the research we came up with this saying
"Everybody said, 'You can't do that. Then one guy came along who didn't know and did it."
A Pound of Flesh is the brainchild of Shaun Miller and Abraham Cobaxin. The sympathetic story of the two reads like that of a company born out of a problem solving case: somehow with a smile on at least one side of its face and a "Yeah, right, why didn't I think of that" thought.
The core idea
The core idea of A Pound of Flesh is to provide synthetic, tattooable products. They resemble real skin when tattooed. Cool for first experience for budding tattoo artists. Cool for experienced artists to try new techniques, experiment with new equipment or create their own 3D portfolio. Artists with a 3D portfolio can show potential clients first hand what their work looks like on real skin.
How do you come up with the idea? The two are tattoo artists themselves and at some point they ran out of space on Shaun's arm. So they asked themselves: how can you practice tattooing without bothering your friends and family with half-baked talent and crude art that they'll have to cover up in a few years? They tried practice tattoo skin, as that was all that was offered to them. Then they came up with the idea of practice tattoo hands. Shaun would sculpt his hand and Abraham would brew and cast the mould. Abraham had experience in special effects and so was equipped with the necessary know-how. The first hands were good, but still needed to be polished.
The perfected products we present to you today in this blog. They are synthetic, tattooable body parts or heads that are realistically shaped.
Good to know when using A Pound of Flesh products
- If you have problems with the application of the stencil, you can first work on the surface with a pot sponge. Then apply the stencil and let it soak in for 1-2 hours.
- The other way round: to remove the stencil, soak a paper towel or towel in bleach. Use it to rub the stencil off the product. For stubborn stencils, place the soaked cloth on the product for one hour. Then try again.
- Remove excess ink during and after tattooing with A&D ointment and your own fingertips.
- All A Pound of Flesh products should be tattooed slower than real clients. We recommend a hand speed that is about 10% slower than usual and more time when applying the ink. To do this, turn up the power supply so that the machine works at a higher voltage. Clean the needles regularly during the process. This prevents the paint from clogging the needle.
- Similar to a tattoo on the skin, any ink is permanent. Therefore, A Pound of Flesh products are not reusable.
A Pound of Flesh – Idol Series Jess Smith Kopf
The Jesse Smith head is a great collector's item for tattoo practice. This creation is a complete cast of the actual head of Jesse Smith.
Jesse Smith is a tattoo legend, did his first tattoo in 1998 and is known for his quirky, colourful, illustration based art. He has won numerous awards for his tattoo work and has been featured in almost every tattoo publication there is.
Dimensions:
~25,5 cm (H) x 12,7 cm (B) x 19,05 cm (T); 63,5 cm circumference
Main features:
- Sculpted from the head of tattoo artist Jesse Smith.Life-like in size and shape
- Made from silicone and rubber-based materials
- Trainees and beginners can practice tattooing techniques
- Professionals can use it as a 3D portfolio or canvas to try out new equipment and techniques
Also feel free to write us a comment if you have any experience of working on A Pound of Flesh products.
