The tattoo industry...

[Ursy]

I'm thinking of a career change - I want to do something more in tune with my own creativity. In short, I'm thinking of becoming a tattoo artist...

Anybody know anything at all about the tattoo industry? Even if it's just you telling me what it was like when you got your tattoo? I'd like to hear about all aspects of it - just want to get a feel for it is all, and learn a bit about it before I find out the nitty gritty about apprenticeships and such.

Another thing, I don't have any tattoos yet... maybe I will someday, but I haven't come up with the right concept for something I want permanently on my body just yet.

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

[Chancie]

I think you would be an fabulous tattoo artist.

I have two small tattoos and a long tattoo with many parts, and

I love getting pierced and tattooed.

But, I do think it's hard to grok the experience without having a tattoo yourself.

It really does hurt, even though the shooting endorphins part is very nice.

[Ursy]

Originally Posted by Chancie

I think you would be an fabulous tattoo artist.

I have two small tattoos and a long tattoo with many parts, and

I love getting pierced and tattooed.

But, I do think it's hard to grok the experience without having a tattoo yourself.

It really does hurt, even though the shooting endorphins part is very nice.

Hello Miss Chancie! <3
Thank you for the wonderful encouragement, I really appreciate it!

Yes, I think I might need to grok! But It's so hard coming up with something... maybe I just need to bite the bullet and decide on a design, and get one done. I never even thought about the endorphins part being very nice, hmmm - interesting!

[Bit]

At the place where Gryph got his latest tattoos, there were books full of designs and the walls were covered with even more--evidently there is a big market for tattoo designs in various categories. You might check into selling your pen and ink designs as well as becoming a tattoo artist.

Gryph says they have a special transfer ink that they use to get the picture's outlines onto someone skin, and they don't use the tattoo gun until the design is in place. When he had designs custom drawn (rather than using the stock pics on the wall), the artist drew the design on tracing paper, then used transfer paper and a stylus to get the outlines onto his skin before using the tattoo gun to permanently ink them.

Hope this helps! Gosh, I can just see your fairies being a big hit!

{{{{{{{{{{{{{Urs}}}}}}}}}}}}}}} xoxoxoxoxox

[Ursy]

Thank you Catie hon!

Maybe I can even just design tattoos without having to do the needle and ink stuff myself - 'cause that would be a bit of getting used to, since I'm a bit wussy about needles... or even if I could use that as an income while doing an apprenticeship - that would be great.

Thank you and Gryph for the info... much to think about!

xo

[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!

[Linus]

I actually talked with my artist in Toronto when she did my work about how she got into the business. She had a Fine Arts degree from the Ontario College of Arts. Additionally she told me that the ink behavior of tattoo ink is very different from that of pen and paper ink. It "bleeds" different (and no this isn't actual blood in this case but ink behavior).

You will need a portfolio of work (whether on skin or paper to show your creativity. I would suggest finding an artist near you and talking with them about how they got into the business and any advice they could offer. Bring any artwork to show them what your skills are now and if they would be good to transition to tattooing.

[Ursy]

Thanks for the advice everyone (both by posting here and in the reps), I really appreciate it. You've all given me things to think about that I hadn't considered/been aware of before.

[pajama]

First. Don't go get a tattoo just because you think you need one to be an artist. Tattoos should be special to you (because they are 'forever') so if yo want to wait for the right one, then do. One of the best artists I've ever seen, has ZERO tattoos himself. He is highly respected in the area and has done tattoos for alot of name musicians.

I see you're from Australia, I don't know what their laws/requirements are. Here in TN anyone wanting to be an artist has to apprentice for two years. This is even if you've been an artist for years somewhere else. You still have to apprentice in this state to get a license from this state. (Lame law IMHO.)

Part of being a good artist, that comes with the practice of the apprenticeship, is knowing how deep to lay the ink. I say this because if you lay it too shallow, it will fade quickly. If you lay it to deep, it may cause unwanted scaring (believe me, I know). So not only is the ability to draw and have a steady hand important, you have to know the neuances of the flesh you are working on. Scar tissue, moles, etc hold ink differently and feel different to lay the ink in. Another skill, is knowing how to blend the ink with water to get shades of gray. It amazes me to watch my artist do this and shade my pieces.

While you could draw art and sell it (the art on the walls and stuff is called Flash btw), there really isn't that much money in it. The big money comes from building clientel that have you work on them for years (like me). I'm quite sure that my mermaid half-sleeve put the downpayment on my artist's home. LOL I probably have over $5-6,000 invested in my skin. Or like one of the guys in my local shop does, he won't do big pieces, he just does the frat boys and sorority girls that want little cherries, or their frat letters, or the blue birds, etc. Small, quick, and around $70-100. He knocks out 4 or 5 a night and is done for the day.

I think if you are an artist of other mediums, tattooing is a good way to help pay the bills.

Hope this helps.
A (whose been a collector for 20 years)

[Nawen]

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?

I don't know about other people, but to me - it wouldn't.

My first piercer had only earrings and was some 50 years older than us (a group of us went to get pierced). My friends had some reservations, but I was confident because I saw how he handled the tools and talked about aftercare. Plus he didn't want to do some things and this read to me like 'he knows his limits and what he's good at'.

With my second piercer... Young, pierced, tattooed.
Pierced me and used sterile needles and everything... but didn't talk about it, didn't assure me that it is so.
Aftercare? Told me just the basics. And this time, I had complications. I didn't know what to do, what was happening to me, going to someone else and asking for help was extremely rude ('Hey, I thought they were better than you and gave them money, but they weren't, hah, so help me out of the goodness of your heart'), but I had to do it... And this made me paranoid about the things I had been previously sure of - was the needle really opened just for me? was the equipment really sterile?

I'd choose a non-body modified artist that knows their job and makes me sure of it over the body-moded one that doesn't any time.

[Ursy]

Good point Nawen, and thanks for sharing your experience

I agree Pajara2, I know I would like a tattoo one day, but because it's forever, I want to be really sure. And wow, hadn't even thought about depth of laying the ink... that was really useful to read.

Thanks Mister Bent - I imagine I'll be practising a lot on oranges and the like. Could become an interesting art form in itself!

Linus - great info, thanks for sharing. I found the idea of the ink behaviour very interesting - I'll have to google it and see if I can find more info on it.

Maybe I ought to start thinking more seriously about my own forever tattoo...

[dark_crystal]

Sorry if this is off-topic, this was the closest thread i could find.

I have an appointment next week to get my four existing tattoos "freshened."

Do you tip 20% like at a restaurant?

When i got them originally, i just tipped the difference between the original estimate and the final bill (by which i mean, however much i brought with me)