Tattoo my PhotoStencils NEW
Tattoo Stencil Maker: Turn Any Design or Photo Into a Stencil
To make a tattoo stencil, open a design in Tattoo my Photo 2.0 and tap the Stencil switch — the design turns into a clean outline you can save as a PNG, print, or trace straight from the screen. For your own picture, tap Photo to Stencil on the main menu, pick a photo, switch on Lines only and tune Detail and Darkness until the edges you need are there.
Two ways to get a stencil
A stencil is the map your tattoo artist — or you, with a marker — follows on skin: clean outlines, no shading, nothing finer than the needle can hold. Getting from a finished design or a photo to that map is the slow part, and it is exactly what the newest version of the app now does for you:
- Design → stencil. Any design from the library, one tap. Solid black areas become outlines; line work stays line work.
- Photo → stencil. Your own picture — a pet, a portrait, a sketch from your artist — redrawn as lines on your phone.
Both end in the same three places: a PNG in your gallery, a print (or PDF), or a tracing session with the stencil on your screen.
Design → stencil in one tap
- Open a design — Pick any design in the library and open it.
- Tap Stencil — Tap the Stencil switch in the corner of the design. Solid areas turn into outlines.
- Save or print — Tap Save stencil for a PNG in your gallery, or Print to send it to a printer or a PDF.
- Trace it — Tap Draw Tattoo, choose Trace it, lock the screen, lay tracing paper on top and trace.
The switch only shows up on designs that have a stencil — which is almost all of the built-in library. Tap it again to go back to the original artwork.
What the conversion does to different styles
The app looks at where the ink sits. Fine line work — floral pieces, script, sketch-style drawings — comes through as it is. Heavy black areas — tribal, blackwork, silhouettes — would print as a solid blot and smudge on transfer, so they are hollowed into outlines the width of a pen line. Here are 11 designs from the library next to the stencils the app makes from them:
Photo → stencil
- Open Photo to Stencil — Tap Photo to Stencil on the main menu.
- Pick a photo — Take one with the camera or choose one from your gallery.
- Switch on Lines only — The sketch turns into pure black lines, ready to transfer.
- Tune Detail and Darkness — Detail decides how many edges come through, Darkness how heavy the lines are.
- Save it — Save as a photo in your gallery, or as My tattoo template (Try-on) to try it on first.
The Original switch in the corner shows the photo again, so you can check what the lines left out. The conversion runs on your phone; the photo is not uploaded anywhere.
Sketch or Lines only — which one?
With Lines only off you get a pencil sketch: edges plus soft shading, like the drawing an artist would make from your reference. It is the better choice for a reference — something to look at while drawing, or to try on as a soft, shaded design.
With Lines only on you get a stencil: every pixel either black or white, small specks removed, thin lines joined up so they do not break. That is what survives printing and transfer paper.
What Detail and Darkness do
| Slider | Left | Right | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detail | Only the strongest edges — outline, eyes, mouth | Every edge, down to single hairs and skin texture | Faces and pets: start low, raise until the eyes and mouth read |
| Darkness | Thinner, lighter lines; faint edges drop out | Heavier lines; more of the photo turns to ink | Raise it when lines break up, lower it when areas fill in black |
For a portrait or a pet, the combination that usually works is low Detail, high Darkness: few lines, but solid ones. Busy backgrounds come through as lines too — a window frame, a chair, a pattern on a shirt — so crop the photo tight, or pick one with a plain background.
Save, print or trace — what to do next
- Save — from a library design, the stencil goes to your gallery as a PNG on white. From Photo to Stencil you choose: Photo in your gallery, or My tattoo template (Try-on).
- Try it on first — a stencil saved as My tattoo template lands among your own tattoos, so you can put it on a photo of your arm in the try-on editor before anyone draws anything on skin.
- Print — opens your phone's print dialog: pick a printer, or Save as PDF to print later or send to your artist.
- Draw Tattoo — choose Trace it to put the stencil on a bright screen and trace it through paper, or Draw with camera to see it over the paper through the camera. Lock the screen first, so the pen through the paper cannot move it.
Getting the size right on paper
The print dialog fits the stencil to the page. That is fine for a reference sheet, but a tattoo has a real size: measure the printed stencil with a ruler and scale it in the print or PDF settings until it matches the size you tried on. Tracing from the screen gives you the stencil at screen size — zoom it with two fingers before you lock it.
Not sure what size the design should be at all? Settle that on a photo first — how big a first tattoo should be and seeing it on yourself before you commit cover it.
From paper to skin
A printed stencil is not yet on skin. Artists transfer it with thermal (hectograph) paper and stencil solution; at home people trace it with a skin marker. Mirror anything with lettering before it goes on transfer paper, keep the line weight even, and leave out detail finer than about a millimetre. The full no-machine routine — transfer paper, window, phone screen, camera — is in how to make a tattoo stencil without a machine on our design site, along with thousands of designs to start from.
Frequently asked questions
Is the stencil maker in Tattoo my Photo free?
Yes. The Stencil switch and Photo to Stencil are part of the free app. Designs marked as PRO in the library unlock the same way for stencils as they do for try-on.
Can I turn my own photo into a tattoo stencil?
Yes — tap Photo to Stencil on the main menu, pick a photo from the camera or gallery, and the app redraws it as lines. Switch on Lines only for pure black outlines and adjust Detail and Darkness until the important edges are in.
Does my photo get uploaded anywhere?
No. Photo to Stencil converts the picture on your phone. The stencil only leaves the device if you save, print or share it yourself.
How do I print a stencil at the right size?
Print opens your phone's print dialog, where you pick a printer or Save as PDF. The dialog fits the stencil to the page, so measure the print and scale it on the printer or PDF if you need an exact size — or trace it straight from the screen with Draw Tattoo.
Can I try the stencil on my photo before I use it?
Yes. When you save a Photo to Stencil result, choose My tattoo template (Try-on). It is added to your own tattoos, so you can place it on a photo of your arm exactly like a library design.
Do all designs have a stencil?
Almost all of the built-in library does — when a design has one, a Stencil switch appears in the corner of the design. For anything else, use Photo to Stencil.
Make your first stencil — free on Android.
Get it on Google Play