We recently visited Conor McNulty, aka Colin Tattoos, known for his neo-traditional and pop culture tattoos, to learn how he brings the iconic Dragon Ball Z character Broly to life. Conor shared his approach to anime-style tattoos, which focuses on capturing the essence of the character by using varied line widths to add depth, combined with small details that really make the design pop. He stresses the importance of thorough research and gathering multiple references to nail the character’s colours and personality.
As he worked, Conor shared his insight into how the stencil process is crucial—not to be rushed—since it sets the foundation for a tattoo that works naturally with the body’s contours. When tattooing, he uses whip shading and pepper shading techniques to create smooth gradients and subtle texture.
Conor’s advice for newer artists is to always stay curious, ask questions, and keep drawing to develop your unique style!
We hope you enjoyed this peek into Colin Tattoos’ process for creating Broly. To see more of his amazing pop culture work, be sure to follow him on Instagram!
For this tutorial on how to tattoo Broly from Dragon Ball Z, Colin Tattoos used the following supplies:
FK Irons Flux Max - 4.5mm stroke
Killer Ink Easy Cut Cling Film
Kuro Sumi Imperial - Nicole Zulianello Anime Set
Stellar 2.0 Cartridges 5 Round Liner Long Taper 0.30
Stellar 2.0 Cartridges 7 Round Liner Long Taper 0.30
Blackclaw Cartridges 9 Straight Liner
Blacklaw Cartridges 9 Tight Liner
Butterluxe Bubblegum Balm
Butterluxe Cooling Tattoo Foam
Butterluxe Green Soap - Cola
Butterluxe Stencil Glue
Butterluxe Stencil Primer
Dermaglo Golden Yellow
Eternal Ink Chukes Seasonal Spectrum Longhorn Brown
Eternal Ink Dusty Mauve
Eternal Ink Halo Fifth Dimension Solar Flare
Eternal Ink Pitch Black Classic Lining Ink
Eternal Ink Portrait Light Peach
Kitchen roll
Kwadron Cartridges 11 Round Shader Long Taper 0.30
Kwadron Cartridges 9 Bugpin Curved Magnum Long Taper 0.30
