Tattoo Artist

Tattoo Artist

Tatted Mom

Tucson, AZ

Female, 32

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.

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Last Answer on May 23, 2014

Best Rated

What is the best way to ask a tattoo artist if I want to listen to some music on my phone while he/she is tattooing so I can deal with the pain?

Asked by leroy almost 13 years ago

Just tell the tattoo artist that you want to listen to music on your phone. I have no idea why a tattoo artist would object to that. It's a very common request. Hell, I listen to music on my phone while I'm tattooing people sometimes. Many customers don't want small talk. They want to zone out, and that's understandable. Some want small talk to keep their minds off it. Just tell your artist how you like to cope with the tattooing process, and I'm sure they will be fine with it.

I got my rook pierced and it is mostly healed now, but is swollen. The swelling hardly hurts, my sister got her industrial pierced and the swelling was like scarring, I was just wondering if this will go away or if the swelling is permanent?

Asked by Shelby Jones almost 13 years ago

Swelling isn't permanent. If a piercing is still swollen and hurts weeks after it's done, it needs to be taken out. Chance are, it's infected, or wasn't pierced correctly. If there is swelling around the entry sites, it may be a keloid, or a pocket of oil that sometimes develops after a piercing. Keloids shouldn't be popped, and they can be treated with tea tree oil, but there's a chance they may never go away.

When it comes to blacklight tattoos, is it possible to use anythin like shading? I'm savin to get a tattoo and the idea is to have fire spring up over in blacklight - but I do NOT want cartoony. I want the fire realistically shaded. Is it possible?

Asked by Shine almost 13 years ago

Tricky question to answer. Tattoos can be shaded, yes, even if blacklight ink is used. Now, blacklight ink is brighter than regular ink, so, in my opinion, it can look a little cartoony just because it's a neon color. 

Please note, too, that blacklight ink is NOT FDA approved to be tattooed onto humans like those websites tell you. It's FDA approved to tag fish for classification purposes. AND, blacklight ink does NOT last as long as regular ink. My advice on blacklight ink is to pass on it. It's more expensive than regular ink, so the tattoo artist generally charges more, and it only sticks around for, on average, a year. I'd get a regular tattoo and forget about the blacklight ink.

I want to get a tattoo of the stars (like a nebula thats very colorful) but I'm concerned with the colors bleeding together and looking like a bruise. Is there a way to avoid that? If I got touch ups often or did it with lighter colors maybe?

Asked by Tattoo virgin almost 13 years ago

Colors don't bleed together in a tattoo, unless the tattoo was not done correctly. If you have purple next to yellow, the purple will forever stay next to the yellow, and not combine. Now, if the tattoo artist does the yellow first, then does the purple, and does not take proper precautions to protect the yellow during the tattoo process, then some brown may occur when the purple goes over the yellow. But, if it's inked individually, it will stay as two separate colors in the skin.

Hey! I was wondering if it is possible to tattoo over scars, and if so what kind of designs cover them up the best? Thanks

Asked by Mikka almost 13 years ago

It is possible to tattoo over scars, but you have to make sure the scar is fully healed. New scars are dark in color; a tattooable scar is light or white in color. If you tattoo over an area with a fresh scar, you run the risk of breaking open the old wound. You have to understand, too, when covering up a scar, that tattoo artists are able to disguise the abnormal coloring of skin where a scar is, but we can't take away the puffiness or shape of the scar.

Cover ups are best if the image used has a lot of lines and a lot of shade points; it makes it easier to cover whatever is underneath. Things like flowers, dragons, owls, etc, make for great cover ups, because the artist can layer ink and shade well.

How do I tell a shop manager that my tattooist put the wrong word on me? I had my drawing, everything was spelled right, everything was perfect as I've been designing it for years. Its a completely different word. I dont want him to think im a jerk.

Asked by Ashtoreth almost 13 years ago

You tell the shop manager that the artist screwed up. This is on your body forever. You won't know the tattoo artist forever, and if it goes unmentioned, he may screw up again in the future. 

I have a tattoo I need help with, but I'm on a budget. Is it weird or bad to go in and say I have X (~$300) dollars and I need this covered or fixed, and I am open to any and all ideas? Is it ok to ask them to try & keep it under a certain $ amount?

Asked by madh0us3 over 12 years ago

That's perfectly normal.