Receiving a prison sentence might seem like a slam door shut to your future, but for those who chose the hard-knock life and ended up forfeiting their freedom for it, life goes on.

At least the tattoo parlor lights always stay on in the prison black market.

We had some questions about this illegal artistry, so we turned to our prison contact Leon Kingsley** who revealed to us how inkwork is done in the not-so-free world.

The lack of proper equipment only further shows the dexterity of the artists, and like in the real-world, creative competition behind bars has risen to another level — these tattoos no longer look like the standard prison ink.

The most important part of the process is getting your hands on a tattoo gun. Kinsley sent us some pictures of what the finished homemade device looks like, but in order to get there, you have to collect some contraband materials.

Kingsley says you first need a motor, which can be taken from a CD or tape player. These things can be purchased at the prison store (commissary). Once a motor is attained, the inmates tie it to an empty pen barrell.

For the needle, the artist will pull the spring out of a stapler, or a combination lock by breaking it, and stretch the metal out with heat or fire. Then, they sharpen it with sandpaper. The sandpaper is attached to the motor, which causes it to spin around and sharpen the metal quickly.

"That's where the needle runs through — the pen — so that you can hold it like you're holding a pen," Kingsley tells us on his smuggled cell phone.

For sterilization, Kingsley says they "put fire on it, and anything that's on it, is going to die anyway."

Surprisingly, he says the inmates' new tattoos rarely ever gets infected.

"The tattoo man knows what he's doing, that's how he makes his money."

For the ink, the tattoo artist needs a boot polish can — which can also be purchased from commissary — which he then fills up with baby oil. A small hole is put at the top of the can, and a wick is inserted through. The oil is used to burn the wick, and soot will appear encrusted to the top of the can.

Finally, this soot is scraped off, placed on white paper and patted to remove any remaining baby oil residue.

The artist then takes the powdered soot, places it inside the top of a toothpaste tube, add a drop of water and ink is created.

Here's where it gets tricky: For all of this to work, fire — or heat — is needed for both the needle and the ink. Kingsley says to get this, they need to "pop a socket," then stick a pencil and wire up to it, which will create a spark. They then place tissue paper against the spark and — voila! — fire is made.

And if the tattoo man wants to create his artwork away from the prying eyes of prison guards, he can do so with a battery pack — again, purchased from commissary — which will run the tattoo gun.

The jailhouse black market might amass extreme returns, but when it comes to artwork, the prisoners don't try to beguile one another out of their "savings." Maybe it's in the name of art, or getting a tattoo isn't as high on the list of necessities as nicotine or connecting to the outside world through smuggled smartphones.

Kinsley says you might pay more than $1,000 for a "sleeve" — a collection of tattoos that covers a person's arm — in the real-world, but behind bars, you can get it for around $100.

All transactions are finaled over prisoner credit cards.

Kinsley shares an open cell with 40 other people. He's serving a 10-year state sentence and 110-month federal sentence and has about five years left to serve.

**Leon Kingsley is not his real name.

