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

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 11 years ago

That's perfectly normal. 

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 about 12 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.

Hullo! I got a tattoo on the outside of my foot two weeks ago. I was able to go almost a week and a half with keeping it uncovered, but now I need to cover it. I've used gauze and bandaids - both had ink on them when I took them off. Advice?

Asked by Nichole over 12 years ago

You should not re-cover a tattoo after the first few days, and especially not 2 weeks later. However, to answer your question, tattoos can take up to a month to heal, depending on the area of the body, and ink can purge from the skin at any time during the healing process. The only concern is when the tattoo scabs and the scab rips off before it's ready; then you might be left with an empty spot where the ink came out completely.

I'm going to get a half sleeve done of a scroll with a map of the world on the scroll.I am going to mark everywhere I've been in the world and continue adding as I travel.I want the continents a solid color, but will that cause trouble for the marks?

Asked by James over 12 years ago

If the continents are a light color and the marks are dark, then you should be fine. In fact, I'd probably do the marks in black just in case. Keep in mind, though, that you don't want to fit too much detail into a small space, because over time the ink will expand under the skin. While your idea sounds awesome, I would worry a little about fitting all of that into a half sleeve. Maybe consider making it a back piece? If you are determined to make it a half sleeve, just keep it simple so it holds its purpose over the years.

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 about 12 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.

Can I go to a tattoo artist and ask him/her to draw me up a tattoo and not get it that day but to leave and think about it because I have a general idea but I need an artist to help me with the design.

Asked by Skylerrose about 12 years ago

You can always ask an artist to draw you up something, but keep in mind 2 things:

1- They will probably charge you a deposit to do a drawing. That money will then be applied to the tattoo when you have it done.

2- You will more than likely not be able to leave with that drawing, or even take a picture of that drawing, to help you "think". This protects the artist's custom drawing, and ensures that they will be inking it, after putting the time and effort into drawing it.

why do tattoo shops need to make a copy of my id?

Asked by Brad about 12 years ago

To have proof that they checked your age. If the ID is fake, then they can produce the photocopy, showing that they checked your ID, and to them, it seemed real. This releases them of liabilities later on.