Best Tattoo Flash Design Software: Create, Display, and Sell Flash That Actually Books
Flash is the engine of a busy tattoo shop. It fills walk-in gaps, gives indecisive clients something to choose from, creates social media content, generates passive income through online sales, and keeps your creative juices flowing when you’re not working on custom pieces.
But designing flash effectively — creating pieces that look great on paper AND work as tattoos, arranging them into sheets that sell, and getting them in front of clients — requires the right tools.
I went from drawing flash on paper, scanning it, and taping prints to the shop wall to a fully digital workflow that lets me design, arrange, display, and sell flash from my iPad. Here’s everything I use and recommend.
The Flash Design Workflow
Before tools, understand the workflow:
- Design individual flash pieces — digital drawing on iPad or traditional on paper
- Arrange pieces into flash sheets — layout tool or Procreate canvas
- Display at the shop — printed sheets on walls, binder, or digital display
- Display online — Instagram, website, booking platform
- Sell (optional) — digital downloads, prints, or exclusive booking-only flash
Each step might use a different tool, or you can do it all in one app.
Design Tools for Creating Flash
Procreate — The Standard ($12.99, iPad)
I already covered Procreate in depth in our drawing apps guide, but for flash specifically:
Why it’s perfect for flash:
- Create each flash piece on its own layer — rearrange and resize freely
- Symmetry tool for mandalas and symmetrical designs
- Quick duplicate for creating variations
- Export individual pieces or full sheets
- Time-lapse recording for social media content
- Tattoo-specific brush packs available
Flash-specific Procreate tips:
- Canvas size: 4000x5000px at 300 DPI for a standard flash sheet
- Template approach: Create a template canvas with borders, your logo/watermark, and guides for piece placement. Duplicate it for each new sheet.
- Color palette: Create and save a “flash colors” palette with the ink colors you actually have in stock. No point designing with colors you can’t tattoo.
- Export format: PNG for digital display, PDF for print quality
Clip Studio Paint — Best for Line-Heavy Flash ($4.49/mo, iPad)
If your flash is heavy on clean line work — traditional American, Japanese, or fine-line styles — Clip Studio’s line stabilization and vector layers are superior to Procreate for crisp, clean lines.
Adobe Illustrator — Best for Vector Flash ($22.99/mo)
For artists who want infinitely scalable flash (resize from a 2-inch wrist piece to a full back piece without quality loss), Illustrator’s vector tools are the way to go. Overkill for most artists but ideal for geometric, ornamental, and bold traditional styles.
Paper + Scanner — Still Works
Plenty of amazing flash artists still draw on paper. If that’s your process:
- Use quality paper (Bristol board or marker paper)
- Scan at 600 DPI minimum (a basic flatbed scanner runs $60-100)
- Clean up in Procreate or Photoshop (adjust levels, clean background)
- Arrange digital scans into sheets using Canva or Procreate
No shame in analog. Some of the best flash in the world is drawn on paper. Digital just makes the arrangement and distribution steps easier.
Sheet Layout Tools
Procreate (Same App, Different Canvas)
Most artists design flash pieces individually, then create a new canvas and drag pieces in to arrange them into a sheet. Works perfectly fine for most needs.
Canva — Best Free Layout Tool
Price: Free | Pro $15/mo Best for: Arranging flash pieces into professional-looking sheets with titles, pricing, and branding
Canva isn’t for drawing flash — it’s for laying it out. Import your finished flash pieces and arrange them into a polished sheet with:
- Your studio name/logo
- Piece numbers or names
- Pricing for each piece
- “Available for booking” text
- Your booking link or QR code
- Consistent borders and spacing
Canva makes flash sheets look professional without design skills. Use their pre-made poster or flyer templates as starting points, or create a custom layout.
The free plan handles this perfectly. Pro ($15/mo) adds background removal and more export options but isn’t necessary.
Adobe InDesign — Overkill but Professional
If you’re producing flash sheets for print sale or want magazine-quality layouts, InDesign is the professional standard. But for 99% of tattoo shops, Canva or Procreate does the job.
Displaying Flash
At the Shop
Printed sheets on the wall: Still the classic approach. Print your sheets at a local print shop on heavy cardstock. Frame them or pin them to display boards. Cost: $5-15 per sheet.
Flash binder: A portfolio binder (like an art portfolio case) with printed flash sheets in plastic sleeves. Clients flip through while waiting. Easy to update — swap out booked pieces, add new ones.
Digital display: An iPad or wall-mounted screen showing a rotating slideshow of flash. Modern, easy to update, and clients can zoom in on pieces. Use Apple TV or a Chromecast with a photo slideshow app.
Flash wall with individual pieces: Pin individual flash designs (not sheets) directly to a corkboard or display wall. Clients can literally take a piece off the wall and say “I want this one.” Satisfying tactile experience.
Online
Instagram: Post individual flash pieces or full sheets. Use the caption to include pricing and booking link. Tag with #tattooflash #[city]tattoo and style-specific hashtags.
Your website: Dedicated flash page with all available designs. Link each to your booking page. Update regularly — remove booked pieces, add new ones.
Booking platform: Porter and TattooPro both support flash galleries linked to booking. Client browses flash → clicks one they want → books the appointment for that specific piece. Smooth.
Selling Flash Online
Flash sales can be a significant passive income stream. Options:
Etsy — Largest Marketplace
Fees: $0.20 listing fee + 6.5% transaction fee Best for: Reaching the widest audience of flash buyers
Etsy is the biggest marketplace for tattoo flash. Sell digital downloads (PDF flash sheets) or physical prints.
What sells:
- Digital flash sheet downloads: $30-100 per sheet
- Physical prints (signed): $50-200 per sheet
- Exclusive flash packs (bundle of 3-5 sheets): $100-300
- Individual flash designs for other artists: $15-50 each
Tips for Etsy success:
- Watermark everything heavily (artists will steal otherwise)
- Include a license statement — “For personal tattoo use only. Not for resale or redistribution.”
- High-quality mockups and previews
- Consistent branding across all listings
Gumroad — Simplest Digital Sales
Price: Free (10% transaction fee) | $10/mo (5% fee) Best for: Selling digital flash directly from your website or link-in-bio
Gumroad is dead simple: upload your files, set a price, share the link. Buyers pay and download. No storefront to manage, no inventory to track.
Big Cartel — Free Small Store
Price: Free (up to 5 products) | From $15/mo for more products Best for: A simple standalone flash shop
If you just want a basic storefront with 3-5 flash sheet products, Big Cartel’s free plan works.
Your Own Website
Squarespace and WordPress both support digital product sales. Add a “Shop” page to your existing portfolio site, upload flash sheet PDFs, and sell directly. No third-party marketplace fees.
Flash Pricing Strategy
Flash for In-Shop Booking
Price your flash based on size and complexity, not time:
| Flash Size | Typical Price Range |
|---|---|
| Tiny (coin-size, 1-2 inches) | $80-150 (shop minimum) |
| Small (3-4 inches) | $150-300 |
| Medium (5-7 inches) | $300-600 |
| Large (8+ inches, half-day piece) | $500-1,000+ |
“First come, first served” flash creates urgency. When you post a flash sheet, announce “each design is one-of-one — once it’s claimed, it’s gone.” This drives fast bookings.
“Open flash” can be tattooed on multiple people. Less urgency but more volume. Good for simpler designs that work on anyone.
Flash for Online Sale
| Product | Price Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Digital flash sheet (PDF, 4-8 designs) | $30-100 | Most common format |
| Physical print (signed, limited edition) | $50-200 | Higher margin, shipping hassle |
| Exclusive digital pack (3-5 sheets) | $100-300 | Bundle discount drives volume |
| Individual design license | $15-50 | For other artists to tattoo |
Flash Day Events
Flash days — where clients can walk in and choose from pre-designed flash at set prices — are one of the best revenue events a tattoo shop can run.
How to run a flash day:
- Design 20-30 flash pieces specifically for the event
- Announce 2-3 weeks in advance on Instagram, email list, and Google
- Set a flat price or simple tier structure ($100/$200/$300 by size)
- First come, first served (or allow pre-booking for premium pieces)
- Dedicate a full day (or weekend) to flash only
- Multiple artists can participate with their own sheets
- Post content all day — stories, reels, client reveals
Revenue potential: A single artist can do 6-10 flash tattoos in a day at $150-300 each = $900-3,000 per artist per flash day. A 3-artist shop can pull $3,000-9,000 in a single day.
Flash day frequency: Monthly or bi-monthly works best. Too frequent and it loses its “event” feel. Too rare and you miss out on consistent revenue.
My Flash Workflow
- Sunday evenings: Sketch flash concepts in Procreate (30-60 min)
- Throughout the week: Refine and finish designs between appointments (10-15 min per piece)
- When I have 6-8 pieces: Arrange into a flash sheet in Procreate, add my logo and pricing
- Announce: Post on Instagram, send to email list, add to booking platform gallery
- Quarterly: Upload sheets to Etsy for passive income sales
- Monthly: Host a flash day with the accumulated designs
Total time spent on flash per week: 2-3 hours. Revenue generated from flash per month: $2,000-5,000 (between in-shop bookings and online sales).
Frequently Asked Questions
What software do tattoo artists use for flash sheets?
Most tattoo artists use Procreate on iPad for designing individual flash pieces, then arrange them into flash sheets using Procreate, Canva, or Adobe Illustrator. Procreate’s $12.99 one-time cost makes it the most popular choice.
How do I sell tattoo flash sheets online?
The best platforms are Etsy (largest marketplace), Big Cartel (free for up to 5 products), Gumroad (simple digital sales), and your own website. Price digital flash sheets at $30-100 and physical prints at $50-200.