Tattoo (breaking into it)

NakedZergling

Hi let me first say that i'm an artist who has been very interested in the art of tattooing. I'm NOT someone who watched miami/la ink and thought "thats cool"

I'm 30 (in October) level headed, educated, and an artist. www.JayOgdenArt.com
I just say all this because i know there's lots of young people out there who aren't artists and think this is quick and/or easy.

I have been seeking an apprenticeship and i may have one starting in JAN 2011. I understand many times you have to pay for this, and it can take years to complete the apprenticeship.

I want to learn the right way, and from what i've gathered

1) basically all the kits on ebay are usually garbage, and not worth buying because i would have to relearn how to use a quality machine.
2) working on your friends in your house might get you "experience" but it's dangerous and unprofessional.
3) in my state i need to take a blood born pathogen course.

So is there anyone here working in the field? and if so i'm wondering about what i should be doing between now and Jan (when i should be starting)

Are there website/forums i should be reading?
Is there a type of machine you reccomend (both to get and to stay away from)
What inks are and are not recommended?

Any other advice would be AMAZING.
Thank you.

Fantasma

Perhaps you should stop by a couple of Tattoo shops and talk (in a friendly manner) to the artist giving service there. Be honest, offer them a beer or two. Ask for advice.

I read somewhere that a true tattoo artist is the one who can even manufacture his/her own tools.

Esh

I would imagine the guy you're apprenticing to should be telling you all this.

Did you do research on where you're apprenticing? There are A LOT of terrible shops out there that do terrible work. You really need to make sure where you're learning from is top notch.

Infidel

Practicing on your friends is not a bad thing. It's not professional itself but so what? Most of the pros I know have done it, giving friends cheap/free tattoos. It's pretty normal.

Half of my friends are in the body mod biz. It's a who-you-know kind of industry, so get the favour of some established artists and make connections. Assuming that's how you already got your apprenticeship, you should be fine.

Honestly, if you trust who you are working with, they will be able to answer any further questions you have, so relax and grats. ;-) If you don't trust them on this kind of stuff, you shouldn't be working with them. They'll show you what materials to use and how to proceed in a sanitary and safe fashion.

edit: Esh hit the same point.

mts

practicing on your friends in a shop is ok.

practicing on your friends in your kitchen is not.

beware places where you have to pay for an apprenticeship. its likely just a way to scam you out of money.

just go to a shop near you with an artist that is good and get well known.

Improvolone

From my gf who used to be a piercer:

Don't tattoo people in your home, but get a list of contacts for people who would be willing to let you tattoo them and call them when you're apprenticing. The list of people who are willing to let someone practice tattooing on them is pretty fucking small. Get your list going ASAP.

If you don't have a noticeable amount of tattoos, its going to be harder to get credibility.

Look into how to do flash and get as much flash done as possible for your portfolio.

Anecdotal: 30 is late to get into this business and it is not a business that will allow you to really raise a family. Its a weird party type lifestyle. All of the tattoo artists that my gf knows with families are miserable with their job and wish they did something else with their life. My friends boyfriend is in his late 30s, has been tattooing for awhile, doesn't have a family, and seems relatively happy from how little I know him. If anecdotal evidence means anything to you, this is not the have a family type job.

Slo

Its also anectdotal evidence to not have a family.

AtomBomb

When my wife was getting a tattoo once I noticed the shop apprentice practicing on a grapefruit. Seems like a decent way to get a feel for the tools.

Esh

Improvolone wrote: »

From my gf who used to be a piercer:

Don't tattoo people in your home, but get a list of contacts for people who would be willing to let you tattoo them and call them when you're apprenticing. The list of people who are willing to let someone practice tattooing on them is pretty fucking small. Get your list going ASAP.

If you don't have a noticeable amount of tattoos, its going to be harder to get credibility.

Look into how to do flash and get as much flash done as possible for your portfolio.

Anecdotal: 30 is late to get into this business and it is not a business that will allow you to really raise a family. Its a weird party type lifestyle. All of the tattoo artists that my gf knows with families are miserable with their job and wish they did something else with their life. My friends boyfriend is in his late 30s, has been tattooing for awhile, doesn't have a family, and seems relatively happy from how little I know him. If anecdotal evidence means anything to you, this is not the have a family type job.

I know of plenty of tattoo artists who have families and are happily raising them and who do not engage in the lifestyle you're alluding to. The party lifestyle your friends are leading is their own choice and has nothing to do with any sort of overarching tattoo scene.

Maybe it has something to do with where you live and the quality of the tattoo scene there?

Improvolone

South Florida

Yea, Florida is to blame for quite a lot...

Esh

Improvolone wrote: »

South Florida

Yea, Florida is to blame for quite a lot...

Yup, that's it's exactly.

NargorothRiP

my tattoo artist has been tattooing for 20 years has two daughters in their twenties and a son who is 18 months. you make whatever you want out of any job unless your job is being a drug mule or a cartel soldier.

Chop Logic

I'm not a tattoo artist, but I have some friends that have guns and whatnot. They have practiced on themselves with small tattoos, practiced on each other, this one kid I know actually got quite good at it and can now give professional looking black tattoos. I have not seen his color work.

I also work in an art store, and I have noticed tattoo artists coming in and buying clear and translucent vellum or mylar. They say that they sketch out something, and then can keep going over it with layers of mylar (its like tracing paper but less clear) to eventually get a finished tattoo design.

Thats all I know. If you went into a tattoo shop at off hours and asked I'm sure they would be cool with it. Just make sure they aren't busy or working on something otherwise they'll just be trying to get rid of you.

precisionk

My brother is a tattoo artist. Basically he started an "apprenticeship" at a shop. This consists of getting lunch, cleaning the shop, taking care of customers. Don't expect to just outright start on people right away. It can take years before you do. As he took his "hazing" like a champ, he got to sit with the artists and learn the finer points. Then he got to practice on a grapefruit. After that, he graduated to a piece of a pig skin. After that, the shop insisted he tattoo on his own leg so you can understand what it takes to keep focus on lines as well as the pain. Once he did that, he was able to start taking customers on his own.

Took about 2 years from start to finish.

Infidel

It's kind of funny the comment on family, since all the artists I know are married and have at least one kid (my closest friend just had his second, cute baby boy) and I'm the one without family.

Dr. Frenchenstein

its probably going to depend on how busy the shop is, how many artists they have, etc as well.

I know my most recent artist goes to shows, and rotates around the country all the time. i don't know how common that is though.

citizenMckee

My brother decided to do the same thing around your age NakedZergling. So far it has worked out really well. When he started he was an experienced artist and went to a 2 week training course in New York to learn and practice. You get to practice on fruit and real people that do not mind getting a newbie tattoo because it is either free, or incredibly cheap to get done. After that was finished he got a space in a local salon owned by friends and it has been solid since. Sorry I can't help with any equipment questions, I can't recall that off the top of my head.

Pheezer

Dr. Frenchenstein wrote: »

its probably going to depend on how busy the shop is, how many artists they have, etc as well.

I know my most recent artist goes to shows, and rotates around the country all the time. i don't know how common that is though.

It depends on how good the artist is, and how interested they are in fame. There are certainly very good artists who don't bother with that at all, and very average artists who spend all of their time doing it, but I think the idea there is that the better artists go to these to show off, raise their profile, and graduate to charging more to do more complex work.

There's certainly a circuit for high profile artists, and they certainly get to charge more than artists who don't tour and elevate their reputation in that manner. Which makes for good incentive to do so, though it's all in your personality. Some folks don't want that attention (though all artists, tattoo or otherwise, tend to be of the disposition to enjoy accolades from what I've seen), and some folks try too hard for that.

Not a necessity though unless you want to be the rock star tattoo artist who charges more than anyone else in town.

Infidel

Workaholics in any profession.

ruzkin

Don't practice on your friends. Go to the butcher, buy some cuts of pork with the skin still on.

Grenn

Hey Zergling! I know quite a few tattoo artists and worked in a studio for a while as an apprentice.

You absolutely don't need to worry about machines and inks anytime soon - as previously mentioned, you will probably be working the desk and doing a lot of cleaning and manual work at first. It's almost a tradition to give apprentices a lot of hard work initially to test that they are actually committed to becoming an artist. You'll also be learning a lot about how a studio runs.

If you stick with it, you'll likely move on to cleaning bars (the machine 'grip'), soldering new needles, and autoclaving stuff. You'll do a lot of that before you get to tattoo anything.

Much like Luke during his Jedi training with Yoda, you may become dismayed at the length of time spent on the early 'boring' stuff. Again, this is usually a test of your commitment. Stick with it!

Stay positive, enthusiastic, and willing to work hard. Keep drawing and keep up to date with styles and artists. There are actually a lot of differing trains of thought around certain elements of tattooing & equipment, especially when it comes to things like aftercare. Learning as much as possible will always be advantagous to you. Just soak in as much as you can really and ask plenty of questions. (Oh, and you're correct regarding avoiding any of the 'full tattoo kit' crap on ebay and other sites.)

Eventually you will move on to the good stuff, and can look forward to the day when you have to do your first tattoo on yourself and your hand will not stop shaking.

Good luck!

ihmmy

Esh wrote: »

I would imagine the guy you're apprenticing to should be telling you all this.

Did you do research on where you're apprenticing? There are A LOT of terrible shops out there that do terrible work. You really need to make sure where you're learning from is top notch.

limed for truth... I've met a couple folk who said they were tattoo apprentices, and I thought "cool" until I found out which shop... if the shop you pick is known as the local Hepatitis centre, it's perhaps not the best place to do an apprenticeship...