Our Courses  /  4-Day Masterclass

4-Day Fine Line Masterclass

An intensive CPD accredited fine line course for tattoo artists and PMU practitioners. Four days. Live models. A portfolio of real work and the technique to match.

Price£899
Duration4 Days
Class SizeSmall
AccreditationCPD

This intensive course is built for tattoo artists and PMU practitioners who already have machine experience. Over four days, you will learn the specific techniques, needle knowledge, and hand control that fine line demands, leaving with a portfolio of real tattooed work, a CPD certificate, and a clear path to building a fine line client base.

  • Fine line needle configuration, cartridge selection, and machine setup for precision work
  • Single needle and multi-needle fine line technique, hand speed, and pressure control
  • Fine line shading, texture, and depth: creating the illusion of weight in minimal line work
  • Stencil design and Procreate for creating placement-ready fine line designs
  • Live model tattooing, tattooing real clients under full expert supervision from day one
  • Portfolio review, pricing strategy, and positioning your fine line work on Instagram
  • Aftercare protocols and client consultation best practice for fine line work
Tattoo kit
All needles & cartridges
Inks & consumables
Practice skins
CPD certificate
Live model sessions
Stencil materials
Free refresher training

Courses run monthly across all six UK locations. View all dates and book your place.

Manchester London Essex Birmingham Glasgow Dublin
The Curriculum

What Happens Each Day

Four focused days. Each builds on the last. By day four you are tattooing real clients under full supervision, not watching someone else do it.

1

Day One, Foundation: Needles, Machines & First Lines

The day starts with the mechanics: why fine line requires a completely different approach to machine setup, voltage, and cartridge selection than conventional tattooing. You will set up your machine for fine line from scratch, understand needle groupings (1RL, 3RL, 5RL) and how each creates a different mark, and begin working on practice skins with single-needle line work. By the end of day one you will be producing clean, consistent fine lines and have a clear understanding of why each variable matters.

  • Machine voltage and speed settings for fine line precision
  • Cartridge and needle selection, when to use 1RL vs 3RL vs 5RL
  • Hand positioning, pressure control, and consistent needle depth
  • Single-needle line exercises on practice skins
2

Day Two, Shading, Texture & Design in Procreate

Day two builds on your line work with fine line shading technique, creating the illusion of depth, weight, and texture using minimal ink. This is what separates fine line artists who can produce work that lasts from those whose pieces fade and blur within months. The afternoon session moves into Procreate: creating placement-ready stencils, scaling for real skin placement, and developing a design workflow that speeds up your booking-to-tattoo process.

  • Whip shading, stippling, and negative space technique
  • Creating tonal depth without heavy ink saturation
  • Skin healing science, designing for longevity
  • Procreate workflow: design, scale, transfer for fine line work
3

Day Three, Portfolio Pieces, Complex Compositions & Business

Day three is your chance to apply everything on increasingly complex designs, botanical elements, portrait line work, geometric compositions, building the portfolio pieces you will carry forward. The final session covers the business side of fine line: how to price your work, how to position yourself on Instagram, and how to attract and convert fine line enquiries into bookings.

  • Botanical, portrait, and geometric fine line compositions
  • Multi-session design workflow: how to plan larger pieces
  • Pricing strategy for fine line work
  • Building and presenting your fine line portfolio on Instagram
4

Day Four, Live Model Tattooing & Certification

The final day is where your training becomes real. You will tattoo a live model, a real client who has consented to receive a fine line tattoo as part of the training programme, under direct, one-to-one expert supervision. This is the single most important session of the course. Working on real skin is fundamentally different from practice skins, and there is no substitute for it. After the live session, certificates are presented and we cover aftercare protocol, client consultation documentation, and your next steps.

  • Full supervised live model tattooing session
  • Real skin differences, how to adapt your technique
  • Client consultation and aftercare documentation
  • CPD certificate presentation and post-free refresher training
Is This Course Right for You?

Who Should Book On

This course is for you if…

You are a working tattoo artist or PMU practitioner with existing machine experience. You are comfortable with a machine but want to develop the specific precision, technique, and aesthetic of fine line work. You want to specialise, build a fine line portfolio, and attract a new client demographic.

PMU artist? Read our guide: PMU Artist to Fine Line Tattoo Artist: Is the 4-Day Masterclass Right for You? →

This course is not for you if…

You have never used a tattoo machine before. In that case, our 10-Day Complete Beginner Course is the right starting point: it covers everything from scratch, including machine setup, health & safety certification, and progressive skills development.

Your Starting Point

Two Kinds of Artist Who Thrive on This Course

If You're a PMU Artist

PMU practitioners are consistently among the strongest performers on the 4-Day Masterclass. The reason is straightforward: your machine experience, your understanding of skin, and your precision technique all transfer directly into fine line tattooing.

What changes is the machine setup (higher voltage, different grip pressure), the ink consistency, and the aesthetic demands of body tattoo work. The PMU-to-fine-line transition is one of the most natural pivots in the industry, and the 4-Day Masterclass is built to make it as efficient as possible.

  • Your hand control and consistency are already there
  • Day one recalibrates your machine and technique for body skin
  • You will leave with a portfolio of fine line body work
  • Many PMU artists take their first fine line bookings within weeks of completing

Read: PMU Artist to Fine Line Tattoo Artist, Is the 4-Day Masterclass right for you? →

If You're an Existing Tattoo Artist

Traditional tattoo artists looking to add fine line as a specialism find the 4-Day Masterclass gives them a proper foundation, not just a surface-level introduction. The techniques covered are specific to fine line and deliberately different from what you currently use.

Will this make you better at traditional tattooing? Not directly, but many students find that the precision discipline of fine line improves their overall line control and attention to detail. What it will do is open up a new client demographic that traditional tattooing doesn't reach: clients who want delicate, detailed work and are willing to pay for the best they can find.

  • Your machine confidence speeds up day one considerably
  • You will learn a different approach to voltage, cartridges, and speed
  • Fine line clients are typically a different demographic to traditional clients
  • You leave with a specialism you can promote separately from your existing portfolio
Not Sure Which Course?

4-Day Masterclass vs 10-Day Beginner Course

Both courses are CPD accredited and include live model tattooing and a tattoo kit. The difference is where you're starting from.

Feature 4-Day Masterclass 10-Day Beginner Course
Price£899£1,599
Duration4 days10 days
Prior experience neededMachine experience requiredNo experience needed
Suitable forTattoo artists, PMU practitionersComplete beginners, career changers
CPD Certificate✓ Included✓ Included
IPC Level 2 CertificationNot included✓ Included
Professional Kit✓ Included✓ Included
Live Model TattooingDay 4Multiple sessions
Mentorship Group Access✓ Included✓ Included
Business & Instagram Module✓ Included✓ Included

Not sure which course is right for you? Call us on 0161 806 0501 or read about the 10-Day Course →

Upcoming Dates

Book Your Place

View All Dates →
EssexMon 16 – Thu 19 Feb 2026
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LondonMon 16 – Thu 19 Feb 2026
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DublinMon 16 – Thu 19 Mar 2026
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GlasgowMon 20 – Thu 23 Apr 2026
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EssexMon 20 – Thu 23 Apr 2026
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LondonMon 20 – Thu 23 Apr 2026
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BirminghamMon 4 – Thu 7 May 2026
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EssexMon 18 – Thu 21 May 2026
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LondonMon 18 – Thu 21 May 2026
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DublinMon 22 – Thu 25 Jun 2026
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BirminghamMon 6 – Thu 9 Jul 2026
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GlasgowMon 20 – Thu 23 Jul 2026
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EssexMon 20 – Thu 23 Jul 2026
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LondonMon 20 – Thu 23 Jul 2026
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DublinMon 24 – Thu 27 Aug 2026
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BirminghamMon 7 – Thu 10 Sep 2026
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GlasgowMon 21 – Thu 24 Sep 2026
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DublinMon 21 – Thu 24 Sep 2026
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EssexMon 21 – Thu 24 Sep 2026
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LondonMon 21 – Thu 24 Sep 2026
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GlasgowMon 16 – Thu 19 Nov 2026
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EssexMon 16 – Thu 19 Nov 2026
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LondonMon 16 – Thu 19 Nov 2026
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DublinMon 7 – Thu 10 Dec 2026
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Common Questions

4-Day Masterclass FAQ

Existing tattoo artists and PMU practitioners who want to specialise in fine line. Prior machine experience is required. If you have no tattooing experience, see our 10-Day Complete Beginner Course.
£899, which includes your professional tattoo kit (yours to keep), CPD accredited certificate, all consumables, live model tattooing, and ongoing lifetime support.
Yes. Day four includes a supervised live model session. You will tattoo a real client under direct expert supervision. There is no substitute for working on real skin.
Monthly at six locations: Manchester, London, Essex, Birmingham, Glasgow and Dublin. Courses run weekdays, 10am to 5pm each day. Full venue details are sent upon booking.
Yes. You receive a CPD certificate upon completing. This is accepted as evidence of training when registering with your local authority to tattoo commercially in the UK.
Yes, PMU artists are very well suited to this course. Your machine experience, skin knowledge and precision all transfer directly. The course focuses on the specific adjustments fine line body tattooing requires compared to PMU work.

Taught by CPD-certified instructors with 5+ years of fine line specialisation, led by Dennis Lamey, founder of Fine Line Tattoo Academy and 40+ year industry veteran.

Meet the team →

Ready to Book Your Place?

Courses run monthly in Manchester, London, Essex, Birmingham, Glasgow, and Dublin. We keep our class sizes small.