I'm a tattoo artist who underwent a standard apprenticeship under a certified tattoo artist. I am an artist first, tattooer second, which means I put creativity and art into my tattoos, not just the 'you pick it, we stick it' type of tattooer. Apprenticeships for tattooing vary by state, according to the laws. I'm also a trained body piercer, as well. Any questions about the job or apprenticing, I'd be happy to help!
PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT price tattoos. Seek a shop for that.
Ask whoever you are apprenticing under. If you are going the 'self-taught' route, then I suggest you apprentice in an actual tattoo shop.
You definitely need to wait until the tattoo is finished healing. If a tattoo is gone back into before it's ready, it's like dragging a needle on the outside of a filled water balloon; things may go fine, but you may hit that sweet spot that causes the skin to break open and bleed out, resulting in loss of ink, too.
That's normal. The skin will push out excess ink during the first few days of the healing process. If it scabs, don't mess with the scab, though, because pulling that off could result in pulling necessary ink out of your tattoo.
Nope, not at all. Many people surf the internet and find already-done tattoos that they like. Taking them to an artist and asking them to reproduce that tattoo exactly is insulting, but tellling them that they like the style of the tattoo and want something custom drawn that has that feel or look, is perfectly fine.
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Meter Maid
Personal Injury Lawyer
Cover it up. There's no erasing in tattooing.
Yes and no, lol. If the piece is a custom piece, the artist should have you stop by a day or so before the appointment to see the drawing, so they can make any necessary changes to it before the day of the tattoo. Do many artists conduct business this way? Unfortunately, no. Many of them, depending on the tattoo, don't draw them up until the week of the appointment. I've seen a lot of artists (the busier ones), sit down on a Sunday and draw out all of their tattoos for the week, regardless of whether the appointment is that Monday or Friday. Each artist has a method to their madness.
Whatever you'd like. I can price tattoos that I'm going to do, but I have no idea what to price art. It's completely up to the person doing the art and the person buying the art.
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