[Mister Bent]

Originally Posted by urs

I imagine that this lack of tattoos would kind of mar my credibility as a tattoo artist - what do you think?

By the time you actually get to be an artist you likely will have tattoos, because you could well be practicing on yourself. At least that's been true among the artists I've met. You'll also tattoo a lot of friends (at least those willing to have potentially really shitty work on them!)

It takes a lot of time and work to become an artist, including working as an apprentice in a shop. Having the art skills is one thing, being able to handle a tattoo machine and applying needles and ink to live flesh is a whole other ball of wax. A lot of people practice on oranges and grapefruits before ever touching human flesh.

I think actually getting your own tattoo would be an obvious first step in deciding whether this is an avenue you really want to explore. FYI, not everyone experiences the endorphin flood - I don't, but I do enjoy getting tattooed.

Also, I don't know about selling your designs - a lot of artists like to do the work themselves, and I've never heard of this as its own avenue in the tattoo world - doesn't mean it doesn't happen, though.

Good luck to you!