Tattoo Flash Design Workshop

About this experience

A drawing workshop held in the studio on a closed day. No tattooing happens. Lena teaches how tattoo flash differs from illustration: lines that hold up as skin ages, shapes that read from across a room and designs sized for real placements like a forearm or ankle.

You study classic and fine-line flash sheets, then design your own sheet of four to six pieces, moving from pencil roughs to clean ink linework. Lena critiques each piece the way she would for an apprentice and shows how a finished design becomes a stencil.

Your day

1. 12:00 PM

   What makes good flash

   Study flash sheets and learn why line weight and spacing matter on skin.

   30 min

2. 12:30 PM

   Roughs

   Sketch ideas in pencil and pick the strongest for your sheet.

   45 min

3. 1:15 PM

   Linework

   Ink clean final lines with fine liners and brush pens.

   1 hr

4. 2:15 PM

   Critique

   Lena reviews each design for readability, sizing and placement.

   30 min

5. 2:45 PM

   Stencil demo

   See one of your designs turned into a stencil.

What’s included

• Drawing supplies: paper, pencils, fine liners and brush pens
• Your finished flash sheet
• A stencil of one of your designs
• Coffee and snacks

Good to know

• Drawing only. No tattooing takes place in this workshop.
• No drawing experience needed.
• Guests must be 16+.

Your curator

Lena Novak12 years tattooing, studio co-owner

Lena Novak studied illustration before starting a two-year tattoo apprenticeship. She specializes in fine-line botanical and blackwork pieces and is typically booked two months out. She co-owns a four-artist private studio in Brooklyn.