A local tattoo artist is trading in his ink gun for a pad of paper. He's been tattooing in Tucson for about 20 years and now you can find his designs on more than just skin.
As the needle hits skin -- it pulses through a work of art. Tattoo Artistry owner Ed Slocum took that same concept and put it on paper.
"It was really freeform," said Slocum. "It was really easy to put together. So in that aspect it was a lot easier than creating a tattoo."
His designs are now featured in a new children's book written by one of his clients Alanna Roethle. The book titled 'The Rat Who Didn't Know He Was King' allows young children to enjoy the same designs they'd see in adult tattoos.
"I rendered it all digitally on my iPad pro," said Slocum. "It was really easy actually. I basically just collected different reference materials, took some pictures of desert landscape around my house, just to get the feel of different areas and whatnot. Basically just trying to capture the wildlife in the Sonoran Desert."
The book is set to be featured at the upcoming Festival of Books in the spring and it's already been a big hit for some of his most loyal customers.
"A lot of my clientele ordered it right away and posted pictures of them reading it to their kids so its been really fun."
