Black fills on a stencil: why to hollow them and how to mark them
Reviewed on October 16, 2026
Tribal, blackwork and engraving have large black areas. On stencil paper they’re a problem: all that carbon ends up on the skin.
The problem with solids
A stencil transfers everything that is black. A large area leaves a smear that runs with the transfer solution and your hand, hides nearby lines and is hard to clean while tattooing.
Outline and marks
The usual fix is to draw only the edge of the area and flag the inside with a few marks. The artist knows what gets filled and the stencil stays clean.
Which mark to choose
It depends on what you want to read on the skin:
- Spaced lines: the most legible.
- Cross: marks the area more strongly.
- Dots: the least carbon.
- Screen: if you also want to suggest a tone.
Sizes that work
At 203 dpi, a 0.4–0.6 mm outline, 0.2 mm marks every 2–3 mm and half a millimetre of space next to the outline are a good starting point.
Tools to do it
Fills and outlineTurn the large blacks of a tribal, engraving or blackwork design into a firm outline with light marks inside (lines, cross or dots): the fill stays recognisable and the stencil doesn’t overload with ink.Use the tool →Analog effectsGive a clean drawing the look of a linocut, a rubber stamp, a photocopy, a risograph or an analog TV, with warps such as arc, S-curve, waves or melt. All exportable as a stencil.Use the tool →