How to be a Professional Tattoo Artist
Jul 17th, 2010 by admin
As tattoos become more popular these days, more and more people are getting tattoos or talking about getting one. This is great for the industry and even better for those who would like to get involved in the tattoo industry. But don’t think that becoming a professional tattoo artist is easy. There really isn’t any such thing as easy money by becoming a tattoo artist.
Many tattoo artist aspirants believe that purchasing a D.I.Y. tattoo kit from the advertisements of tattoo magazines is the starting point towards becoming a successful tattoo artist. Be aware that this equipment is of inferior quality and lacks precision. What next? Find a person to practice. And the result is dozens and dozens of people with awful tattoos and terrible scars and who will put you in their hate list forever. Furthermore, a true artist will be reluctant to take you under his wings because he is going to have a headache trying to guide you back on the right path.
The alternative is to pay a fee to a tattoo artist or shop to teach you the trade. So what is the type of fee to pay? As far as I know there are no reputable artists teaching you all he know for a fee. A true artist is not a true blooded businessman. If an artist is willing to teach you for a small fee, then consider this. Is he willing to part with all he knows for what you are paying? In one Asian country, the majority of tattoo shop websites advertise tattoo courses for a very small fee. But the problem is that after completing the course, you will have to come back for one refresher course then another and another. And I understand that after completion several such courses, you will not be able to tattoo properly. So the chances are you will be paying good money to some businessman who is just trying to make a fast buck.
So then, how to become a successful tattoo artist? For starters, you’ll need talent. You will never make it in the tattoo industry by tracing or stenciling, you will need to be able to draw great designs. To even get considered as a tattoo artist, a portfolio is needed. This will require you to draw lots of great designs to build up a portfolio. Your portfolio is proof that you have the skills that are needed to succeed in the industry. Without a portfolio, don’t even bother. I remember one South American guy asking me to train him to become a tattoo artist. And he said money is no problem. I told him that money is not an issue, just draw me a colored dragon and then a reaper. He came back after one week, and said he couldn’t draw a proper dragon or reaper. So end of story.
Once you have a portfolio to showcase your talents, you will need a mentor, someone who is willing to teach you the trade and share their secrets with you. Now this is the tricky thing, tattoo artists don’t like giving away their secrets. Simple reason is because many of them have been let down by their apprentices. Just take the case of my mentor. He has taken more than 20 people under his wings (all without any fee), but today only 3 of his graduates still “recognise” him as mentor. What happened to the rest? They have their own shops, but tell their customers that they can do the same quality of work as their mentor (also my mentor), but their prices are cheaper. So you know how much it hurts to be treated like my mentor? If you do find someone good, a real professional who is willing to tell you anything at all about the industry, then be grateful.
To train as a tattoo artist, you will need proper, high-quality equipment such as a precision tattoo machine, power supplies, shading equipment, needles, medical equipment and sanitation supplies. You will also need to know about cleanliness and what can and can’t be reused, as well as how to clean and sterilize your equipment. The popular professional tattoo artists are successful for a number of reasons, but mainly because they are clean and very talented.
You can succeed in the tattoo industry, but you will need to be talented, self-driven and dedicated. If you want to make lots of money as a tattoo artist, you are wasting your time. Become a tattoo artist because you love the art and love to create breath-taking pieces of body art. Be prepared to work for free and, most of all, if you get someone to stop and share a secret or two with you, take their advice. You will definitely need it.
What you do is you apprentice and work for a tattoo artist for very little pay. You do this so that he/she can take you under his/her wing and show you how to take your artistic skill and transfer it to the art that is called tattooing. If the master you’re apprenticing for is good, then along the way you’ll also learn about how to run a shop, what it takes to succeed, and what NOT to do…
How long does it take? Well…that depends on how fast you pick it up and how good your master is. It’s not uncommon for tattoo artists to apprentice for more than one artist in their careers…and each apprenticeship can last for several years.
This is not to discourage you…but the guys on Miami Ink didn’t just “decide” to become rock star tattoo artists one day. They scraped just to get by for many years before they became successful…and, chances are, you’ll have to, too.
Kelvin Eng
http://www.articlesbase.com/art-articles/how-to-be-a-professional-tattoo-artist-209088.html
Youd think a Miss America swimsuit winner would feel completely confident about her body, right? Not always! So I decided to write the book I wish Id had as a teen and in college an honest, funny, practical, medically accurate, totally reassuring guide to how womens bodies actually look, smell, feel, behave, and change. Alongside real-deal photographs of women just like you and me (no airbrushing, no supermodels, no kidding) youll find medical pictures of things you need to be able to recognize, true confessions by yours truly, and the encouragement you need to appreciate the uniqueness, strength, and beauty of your body.
Youd think a Miss America swimsuit winner would feel completely confident about her body, right? Not always! So I decided to write the book I wish Id had as a teen and in college an honest, funny, practical, medically accurate, totally reassuring guide to how womens bodies actually look, smell, feel, behave, and change. Alongside real-deal photographs of women just like you and me (no airbrushing, no supermodels, no kidding) youll find medical pictures of things you need to be able to recognize, true confessions by yours truly, and the encouragement you need to appreciate the uniqueness, strength, and beauty of your body. 
A professional tattoo artist should have a tattoo?
I am wondering for the professional tattoo artists, have to have tattoo themselves on their bodies, when they do the tattoo business or else show off tattoo to their customers?
Does it effects any to the customer if the professiona artist does not have his/her tattoo on the body?
Asking to both of the tattoo artist and the the customer who did or intends to do the tattoo…..
Would you take your car to a mechanic who doesn’t drive?
Would you take your dog to a vet that doesn’t have any pets?
Would you buy a gormet meal from a skinny chef?
You get the idea. If they’ve never felt what it feels like to get a tattoo, how can you expect them to know what they’re doing to you? They may be technically competant, and great artists, but could hurt your skin terribly.
Hope this helps!
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i think no need to have tattoo. I dont thing tattoo can effect to the costomer but you not look nature if have tatoo. So, not have tatoo is good.
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never trust a tattoo artist who has no tatts, i myself have five tatts and would never think of getting one from some one who doesn’t have one.
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It would be good if the professional tattoo artists have tattoo on themselves too to encourage support. However, tattoo is a permanent feature thus one needs to think carefully before having one. In this regard, it is alright even for professional tattoo artists not to have any on them.
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I would expect a tattoo artist to be apart of a lifestyle that involves tattoos so I would expect him or her to have one. I would want to know why he or she doesn’t have one. On the other hand, if I see pictures of how good their work is it wouldn’t matter.
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I know quite a few tattoo artists, and have a couple tattoos myself. Tattoo artists generally have so many tattoos because as they’re learning, they have to practice, and no reputable artist/’teacher’ is going to let a newbie practice on his/her customers without knowing they know their stuff. Yes there are other methods of practice, but at some point you have to tattoo a real person, there’s just no realistic alternative. Generally you start with small tattoos on yourself, move up to something a little bigger, branch out to your friends and once ready, start tattooing customers. They also may become guinea pigs for their friends, which will add to the number of tats, and of course there’s just the fact that many just have a true passion for tattoos and want to keep getting more. It’s a rite of passage in becoming a tattoo artist, so for that reason, no I don’t think I’d be comfortable having someone tattoo me that doesn’t have any him/herself.
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Well, technically, no. I mean, it’s not like good artists are likely to work on themselves. I think it’s more like musical folks are more likely to work in a music shop/on radio/in the biz, geeks tend to be in the computer field, etc. A tendency and preference for the given topic helps you excel and beat out the people not that into it. Sharing interest between work & play helps out a lot to have more of the topic. For example, my home office has 5 computers in it and I work in the computer industry. Where I work definitely plays into that.
Long & short is I’d be surprised to find an artist without, but it’s not required.
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No because it’s not like they can tattoo themselves. Maybe they love the artistic point of view and want to be able to show they’re ability for art on someone’s skin but not their own.
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I would be very very concerned about his or her passion of tattoos if they did not have one.
it would be like a dentist with no teeth….
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It wouldnt bother me if my artist didnt have any tattoos. Being a great artist doesnt mean you have to love the ink yourself. When you see my artist you would never be able to even tell he has any, his are all in places covered with clothes.
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i wouldn’t get a tattoo from a tattoo artist who had no tattoos on themselves, that’s just weird. but i don’t think it is necessary for them to have tattooed themselves. my artist has lots of tattoos by various artists and he has tattooed himself a few times.
the best way to show off your art is to have a portfolio of tattoos that the artist has done compiled in a book. that way people can flip thru it and see what the artist is capable of.
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Wow……. all of you would be missing out on at least one GREAT tattoo artist…… I happen to know that Kristina’s artist has no ink on him……
strange but true http://www.daweitattoo.com/
that’s my story and I’m stickin’t to it
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I personally wouldn’t trust a tattoo artist or piercer with out some mods themselves. They may have tattoos that are more discrete locations but generally all tattoo artists sport at least one visible tattoo.
Just like how I wouldn’t trust a dentist with bad teeth, I wouldn’t trust a mechanic who couldn’t operate a car…you get the idea.
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Hey – who gave Rider a thumbs down??? My artist is known worldwide for portraits and realism and has no tattoos. He used to be an art professor in China…has a very light hand and does awesome work…in fact….28 more hours until my addition!!!
http://www.daweitattoo.com
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