From Manchester to Malta: How I won Best of Show for this realism tattoo sleeve
My partner and I are based in Greater Manchester, working out of Final Chapter Tattoos in Hyde. We specialise in colour realism, black and grey realism, and fantasy-based artwork. This year, we got invited out to a prestigious international tattoo convention in Malta, which had some serious names judging it, including artists who’ve been on big tattoo shows. Of course, we said yes straight away!
Malta’s an amazing place. Loads of history, some of it older than the pyramids, epic weather, good people, and just an all-around great atmosphere. We’d been there before, so we already knew it was worth the trip. Sam and I decided to go a few days early and stay a bit longer after, so we could actually enjoy it as well. At the end of the day, yeah, it’s work, but it’s also an experience.
The Art of Preparation: What Goes Into an International Tattoo Convention
Leading up to the convention, preparation is everything.
Tattoo conventions are no joke. If you forget something, you can’t just pop back to your studio, so to make sure that I always have everything I need, I work off a checklist. I’ve got a full convention list saved on my laptop, and if everything on that list is packed, then I’m sorted.
My travel tattoo kit usually includes:
My equipment: Machines, power supplies, and my selection of needles and inks.
Clinical essentials: Full setup for hygiene and safety.
Lighting: We use carbon fibre lighting where possible to keep our luggage weight down without sacrificing the lighting needed for realism work.
You’ve got to think smart with luggage. Keep it light but make sure you’ve got everything you need. Sometimes I don’t even take loads of clothes — you can always grab stuff there, and a lot of conventions sell unique clothing anyway.
Travelling to a tattoo convention with a client
I took one of my regular clients out with me from England. He made a proper trip out of it with his girlfriend, went over a few days early, and even did some scuba diving, he’s a diving instructor, so that’s his thing.
When tattooing in a climate like Malta’s, skin prep is going to be super important. I always advise my clients to stay hydrated, moisturise daily, and, most importantly, keep out of the sun. Yeah, not the easiest thing to do in sunny Malta. But it’s pretty much impossible to tattoo sunburnt or leathery skin. Remember, the better the client’s skin, the better the final saturation and detail.
How I create a colour realism tattoo sleeve with a client
This client gave me full creative freedom on the design, which is always ideal. That’s when you get the best out of an artist, when the artist is not restricted and can actually create something properly. When a client trusts my vision, it allows me to push the boundaries of composition and colour theory.
At first, I designed a full-on zombie apocalypse concept. Proper gruesome, detailed, scary, with a zombie as the main focal point. But when he saw it, he had second thoughts. He didn’t want to scare his little cousin. Fair enough. We had a laugh and switched direction.
We came landed on the idea of a dinosaur theme, which ended up being an epic full tattoo sleeve! Here is how the sleeve was designed:
Upper arm (main focal point): Large T-Rex head
Lower arm: Supporting elements to balance the piece
Cliff + waterfall: Flowing down toward the hand
Red Jeep: Breaking up the greens (colour theory)
Helicopters (background): Subtle, not overpowering
The T-Rex face had the most detail around the eyes, nose, and mouth, with softer focus around the edges, similar to photography's depth of field. That way, your eye is drawn exactly where it should be. The red Jeep was key, red complements green, so it breaks the piece up and stops it from looking too flat.
Nothing was random. Every element, every colour, every placement had a reason.
Why I prefer to design tattoos Behind Closed Doors
Normally, I don’t send designs out before the appointment. In my experience, when a design is shared before the day, it often gets critiqued by friends and family. And most of them don’t understand tattoos. Then it turns into constant changes, and the design ends up worse.
But for conventions, it’s different. You need everything ready beforehand, so I showed him early, we both agreed, locked it in, no stress on the day.
three days at the Malta Tattoo Convention
Day 1: Starting Strong
Day one is where we go in heavy.
I always tell my clients:
Eat a proper breakfast
Bring sugary snacks
Stay hydrated
There’s no dieting on tattoo days. Low blood sugar is when people faint, simple as that.
We started with the lower arm first (for swelling reasons), getting the base of the design in.
It was a long day:
Breaks for food
Stretching
Looking after both of us physically
I usually bring my own food, like chicken, salad, proper meals, not just rubbish. Dark chocolate is always a good shout as well.
At the end of the day, I wrapped the tattoo using Tattoo Armour, a pad that absorbs blood and plasma, and sent him back to rest.
Day 2:Building the Sleeve
Day two, same routine.
Client comes back:
Removes pad
Cleans tattoo
Re-wraps
We go straight back in.
Long session again, working through the rest of the composition and building depth.
Same rules:
Eat properly
Take breaks
No alcohol
Consistency is key over multi-day sessions
.
Day 3: Finishing & Preparing for Judging
Day three is always tighter.
The competition starts earlier, so you’ve got less time.
Luckily, we only had the top section left, the silhouette areas, which don’t require heavy detail.
We finished the sleeve in three days.
No numbing cream used.
I personally don’t recommend numbing cream; I’ve seen bad reactions, even chemical burns. It’s not worth the risk.
The Result? A Clean Sweep at the Malta Tattoo Convention
Before heading to the stage, presentation is key. I cleaned the tattoo thoroughly, removed excess ink and blood, let it air out (not wrapped, no sweating), used soft cotton pads (not rough paper towel) and applied finishing products lightly
You want the tattoo to look clean, sharp, and professional, not messy.
We entered:
Best Realism (fresh sleeve)
Best of Show (fresh sleeve)
Best Large Colour (healed leg tattoo from 3 months prior)
That healed piece was originally done at another convention, Frankfurt Gods of Ink.
And after the judging, we took home:
1st Place: Best Large Colour (For a healed leg piece done months prior).
1st Place: Best Realism (The fresh Dinosaur sleeve).
1st Place: Best of Show (Overall winner of the convention).
Winning with a healed tattoo says a lot, that’s where the real quality shows. The judges were international, high-level artists, so it meant something.
The Awards and The Aftermath
The trophies were unreal.
Best of Show was a custom skateboard-style award with filigree detail and a sculpted element holding a tattoo needle. I even met the guy who made them. Getting them home was another story… Nearly got stopped at the airport because of the needle, counted as a sharp object. Had to remove it before boarding. A bit stressful at the time, but funny looking back.
Enjoying Malta and The Experience
After the convention, we stayed a few extra days.
Sightseeing
Swimming
Exploring history
Visiting churches (Malta’s got loads of them)
Also met some solid artists and made good connections, which is one of the best parts of conventions.
Back to tattooing in Manchester
We came back to Greater Manchester after a successful weekend, already thinking about the next show.
My client came back a few weeks later, and I got healed photos of the sleeve (The image at the start of the blog).
Final Thoughts: What You Don’t See Behind the Scenes
What people usually see is the final tattoo.
What they don’t see:
The preparation
The planning
The pressure
The long hours
The technical decisions behind every detail
This is the level of work that goes into every tattoo I do.
If you’re looking for a realism tattoo artist in Manchester, this is exactly what you’re getting — not just a tattoo, but a full process done properly from start to finish.
If you’ve got an idea in mind, get in touch and we’ll build something that’s done right.
