Everybody can give a tattoo, but the difference is only the tattoo given by a well equipped tattoo artist is called art. To create that art, you need preparation, the first step of which is to enrich your knowledge like how to set the depth of tattoo needles. The more you know, the better your tattoo will be. Why should we set a proper depth of a tattoo needle? You should know that tattoo needles are used to insert tattoo ink into a person’s skin to color the tattoo design to make it looks more exquisite and vivid. All the penetrations are done on the epidermis, which may be more acceptable if being called as the first layer of skin. The needles go no deeper than the dermis, the second layer of skin. The depth of tattoo needles decides the appearance and attraction of the tattoo designs as the ink can’t be penetrated right with a wrong depth and colors can’t be shown to the full extent. Also, the level of pain is also determined by the depth. If the needle goes too deep, it may cause excessive bleeding then, which affects the cleanliness of the skin and makes it more difficult for the healing of the skin. So, how to set the depth of tattoo needles right? For an experienced tattoo artist, it seems to be a piece of cake. They can eyeball the needle and tell whether the depth is suitable or not. But a novice should do more steps. To know all the trifles of tattoo practice is a must, which helps you get more familiar with the tattoo equipment involved in tattooing. Then you should measure the thickness of human skin, which varies from person to person. Usually the thickness will be 1-to-2 deep between the thickness of a dime and a nickel and slightly less shallow than a hair follicle. The measurement will be much easier after some practice. The depth of tattoo needles differs according to your purpose. For outlining, the depth should be set at around 1.22mm. For shading, set the needles to be at 3/32″ on a10-wrap tattoo machine , 1/16″ on an 8-wrap machine. Then don’t forget to ride the tube to keep the depth consistent. After setting the depth of the needles, remember not to enact on the skin immediately as you may make mistakes when just get started tattooing. Try the depth on grapefruit at first. If it shreds, you have got a great depth for your tattoo needles.