When you offer up a patch of your skin to a tattoo artist, there is a certain risk involved; spelling mistakes, hastily translated phrases into Mandarin characters, poorly rendered portraits of beloved relatives, all etched permanently into an arm, shoulder blade, or neck. Acting as a physical canvas to an aspiring artist doesn’t always allow for second chances to start over.

But what if trainee tattoo artists could hone their skills before begging a friend to offer up some supple flesh as a place to get creative, if there was somewhere where the tattooist could familiarise him or herself with the texture of skin without putting a needle to the real stuff?

That’s the concept behind a new sketch pad for tattoo artists called The Skin Book. Created by Tattoo Art Magazine, the book is made of virtual vellum, with the pages swapped out for a synthetic human skin on which the artists can doodle and practice without inflicting serious pain and irreparable damage to somebody.

The book was created with the help of the Brazilian advertising agency Lew’Lara TBWA, and there is no word yet on whether Tattoo Art plans to produce The Skin Book in bulk and sell it to prospective artists to allow them to create a portfolio. But the idea has already developed a viral following online.

Check out the video below: