The process behind Gian’s neo-traditional tattoos.
From choosing reference and designing for the client to setup, stencil, tattooing, aftercare, and final photos, Gian walks through the process step by step.
Enroll in the MasterclassGian Karle, Ink Master Finalist, neo-traditional specialist.
This is the course itself: the decisions Gian makes before, during, and after the tattoo, explained step by step.
Three phases. Eight sections. The full method.
Not a content dump. A working artist's progression: design, execution, and the discipline that protects the work after the session ends.
Composition is the backbone of every successful tattoo.
Overall shapeThe diagnostic that happens before you tattoo. Composition, reference selection, and the sketch logic that decides whether a piece looks composed or merely referenced.
Design & Composition
Composition, contrast, and balance: the three reads that decide whether a tattoo looks composed or like a random Pinterest design.
Reference selection, adapting it to the client's shape and the side of the body part, sketching, and color study workflows for both Black & Grey and color tattoos. Composition is key to his approach. He also shares his process for reference selection, teaching how to choose and adapt source material that enhances clarity, readability, and long-term visual impact on skin.
Materials & Procreate Brushes
The drawing setup that feeds the design process, including the Procreate brushes Gian uses, so you can follow along the course and draw with the brushes Gian is using on a daily basis for his tattoos.
Brush libraryThe same Procreate brushes Gian uses daily, so when you draw your own work, you draw with the toolset that built his.
Taught twice, once for each style, with the linework progression that holds.
Tattoo Station Setup
Nine lessons on the station itself, because the work is downstream of how it's set up. Materials, machines, ink layout, the order of operations that protects flow during a long session.
FK Irons · daily driverThe tool that does the work. Setup, machine choice, and the order of operations that protects flow during a long session.
Stencil applicationStencil applied with the precision that decides the next four hours.
Stencils that hold
Beyond the sticker look. Foundation, application, and how to make a stencil read on skin instead of sitting on top of it. Tips on how to do this quicker and more efficiently, so you have more time leftover to use for your actual tattoo.
Foundations of Linework
The question working artists ask Gian more than any other, and the foundation everything else in the masterclass rests on.
Line weight hierarchy: 9 RL for bold outer commitment, tight 7 RL for mid-weight structure, 3 RL thin for detail and breath. When to commit, when to pull back, how to decide before you start the line rather than during it.
Plus the mechanics: cartridge selection, voltage and stroke, machine grip for control vs. speed, and how to diagnose a wobbly line without overworking the skin.
Linework · the foundation everything else rests onThe line weight hierarchy that runs through every neo-traditional piece, taught from the cartridge up.
Opaque grey · the extra toneThe work behind the technique that gives black-and-grey neo-traditional its weight and depth.
Black & Grey with Opaque Greys
Black & Grey tattoos can often be more challenging than working with color, especially in neo-traditional designs where bold contrast and depth are crucial. Unlike color tattoos that offer a wide range of color temperatures to create contrast, Black & Grey relies on gradients and negative space to achieve dimension and impact. Gian uses opaque greys to add another tone to his Black & Grey tattoos.
Packing and shading black to fade, then the opaque-greys work that gives the piece weight and depth on skin.
Color Neo-traditional
Gian dives deep into the art of saturation and color packing, demonstrating how to achieve smooth, solid fills that heal beautifully over time. He shares his personal approach to applying pigment without overworking the skin.
His color palette is carefully chosen to create high contrast and striking balance, leveraging warm and muted tones to make every element of his neo-traditional designs stand out with depth and clarity.
Color · packed without traumaHow saturation is built: pigment laid in clean so it heals without muddying.
Black & Grey · upper section healedOpaque greys that carry an extra tone.
Color · half healedHow Gian packs color without traumatizing the skin and muddying the colors.
16+ years working full-time as a tattoo artist. Two Ink Master finals. The system behind what Gian sees on every critique you've watched.
Bad photos can cost you clients. Poor healing can ruin them.
Bad Photos Can Cost You Clients
Your portfolio can make or break your career. Glare, reflections, and bad photos can ruin even your best tattoos, and cost you clients. Most top professionals already use polarizers and lighting techniques to keep their work looking flawless online.
With Gian Karle, you'll learn the exact methods he uses to set up his lights, apply polarizers to cut through glare, and even guide clients into the right positions. Present your tattoos at their best, elevate your portfolio, and book more clients with confidence.
Lighting, polarizers, and positioning: the discipline that makes a healed tattoo read like the day it was finished.
Aftercare is what stands between your work and a bad heal, and most apprentices never learn to guide it.
Don't Let Poor Healing Destroy Your Work
Overworking the skin can ruin a heal, but so can clients who don't follow the right aftercare. Great tattoos deserve to heal great, yet most apprentices fail to guide their clients properly.
In this course, you'll learn the proven methods top professionals use to prevent complications and protect their art. Good aftercare keeps your work intact, builds client trust, and ensures your tattoos speak for you long after the session ends.
Watched in any order. Most artists work the design and station sections first, then run the execution sections alongside their own tattoos, using what Gian sees as the standard they hold their work to.
The brands trusted by working professionals.
The standard your work gets held to from here on.
This is not a shortcut around practice. It is a clearer way to use the reps you are already putting in: better decisions before the tattoo, stronger execution on skin, and a sharper eye for what to improve next.
Enroll today to lock in:
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20% OFF Private Seminars
Experience a full day (or two) of shadowing Gian, learning his design, setup, and tattoo techniques with open Q&A.
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20% OFF Private Coaching
Personalized guidance and hands-on coaching from Gian while you tattoo on real or fake skin, built to elevate your work session by session.
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Direct Q&A Access with Gian Karle
Submit your tattooing questions through a private student form and receive answers directly from Gian. Personalized insights, with curated responses shared back to the community.
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Premium Bonus: Student-Only Discounts from Collaborating Tattoo Brands
We grow when we confront our flaws, share our work, and let feedback sharpen us.