Flash materials?

I was wondering what some of you use to make your flash? Meaning particular paper, colored pencils/ marker, etc... The reason I ask is, I use plain printer paper and Prisma brand colored pencils and my color work comes out grainy or textured. I cant seem to find the right combination to get smooth uniform color and gradations. And they dont come out smooth in greyscale work either... Thank you for any help you can give.

I would recommend using "Bristol board" with prismacolors. Bristol you can buy in pads at any art store and it comes in two versions: Smooth and Vellum. You'll figure out what you need from the description. But honestly plain old printer paper is what I've always used. I save the bristol for serious stuff. Prismas are very soft lead pencils. Which in this case is good for you. They do make a "Blender" pencil which you can use to, well, blend colors and smooth things out. If it looks grainy perhaps press a bit harder? Or try using a smudge stick. It's hard to give color tips without seeing what you are working on...

I also meant to say, I think a lot of flash and tattoo work looks like it was drawn with a colored pencil... But you can do tattoo flash with anything really. I've seen tattoo recreations of crayon drawings, photography, watercolor... My preference in art has always been thick black lines and solid colors, and that is my preference in tattoos as well.