Grey wash tattoo ink is comprised of varying degrees of grey/black inks that are used to create varying contrasts for a tattoo. This gray wash is used in black and grey style tattooing and other styles as well. It takes a fair amount of skill to properly fill out an outline with just the right amount of contrasts to create the same degree of depth as a pencil drawing. Some well known brands for this type of ink include Talens drawing ink, Kuro Sumi and Fusion.
Creating your Own Grey Wash Tattoo Ink
Creating your own grey wash tattoo ink is a cost effective method of getting many different shades without having to buy many expensive bottles. The simplest method of creating your own shades is by putting out several ink cups in front of you on a sterile surface. In each cup, add one drop of black ink to the first cup, two drops to the second cup and so forth towards however many cups you have laid out. Fill the remainder of each cap with distilled water. Mix with a sterile mixing stick if you have one or a tooth pick if that is all you have. Now you have many different shades for you to work with.
Using Gray Wash
Now that you have a bunch of different shades to work with, using gray wash is simply a matter of applying these different shades to skin. Always keep one cup of undiluted black for lining. Start with the lightest shade if you are not sure how it will show up on skin. Start off with your machine at a low setting and work your way up slowly in voltage and in skin coverage. The goal is to get a feel for how the new shades will show on the skin before you go full force into the tattoo.