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

If I had an artist do my tattoo, and go to another artist to get it touched up and they use different inks, will you be able to tell in the tattoo after the touch up? And will it look bad?

Asked by Kayla Kibbe over 12 years ago

Different inks can result in differences between the old tattoo and the touchup. It could blend fine, and it could be a trainwreck. It all depends on the artist's ability to match the color or blend the old tattoo into the touch up work.

Can i present a picture of a tattoo i like to an artist or does it have to be a drawing?
http://www.tattoostime.com/nautical-compass-tattoo-for-men/
was thinking of getting that as my first tattoo but cant find any drawings like it.

Asked by Josh almost 13 years ago

You can present anything to a tattoo artist that gives them an idea of what you are looking for. I had a customer bring me the plaster stepping stone that had her son's handprint in it as a reference one time. I've been brought pictures, drawings, t-shirts, birthday cards- just about everything.

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.

I asked a tattoo artist to fill in a little gap between two lines of an old tattoo (about 16 years old) and he drew a line to fill it in. Now the line is super dark compared to the rest of it. How long will I have to wait until it fades to match?

Asked by Cathy almost 13 years ago

A while, probably. When I'm asked to add a line, or touch up a single line of an old tattoo, I usually go light, so the tattoo inks blend together in a matter of months, or, I touch up everything in the area to match my new ink. 

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 got a tattoo yesterday on the inside of my left foot. It's a quote done in dainty script. But its not THAT small. One of the words, "with" has a lot of ink around it. When you look up close you can read it, but from far away it's a blob??????

Asked by Amanda almost 13 years ago

I'm missing a question somewhere. If you are asking if the the ink around the word 'with' can be removed, the answer is no. If the rest of the tattoo is fine, but the 'with' looks thicker than the rest, then your tattoo artist "blew" the word 'with', meaning they went too deep into your skin and the ink spread. There's nothing you can do about blown lines in a tattoo, sorry.

i just got my first tattoo on my wrist a week ago now red bumps, blisters, or zits have been appearing everywhere on that arm. it is infected?

Asked by adam over 12 years ago

Sometimes red bumps on and around the tattoo can be ingrown hairs from where the tattoo artist shaved the area, or people sometimes have a reaction with the A&D ointment used during the tattoo process. If the bumps form white heads, and are located on the actual tattooed area, with no bumps around the tatttoed area, I'd see a doctor.