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Learning to tattoo…
Question:
Hi folks, I love tattoos and I quite good at drawning… so I am thinking more and more to become tattooist. So I’d like to get some advice on the best stuff to use for tattoo (the machine mainly) as well as what you think is the best way to go in the business. Thanks for any help…
Response:
Eternity ‘ecrit: >Hi folks, >I love tattoos and I quite good at drawning…
Many students at the school where I teach use the term drawling. I guess, drawning is just as good a term. And you’ve got a better excuse for not saying drawing as well. >so I am thinking more and more to become tattooist.
Wonderful! >So I’d like to get some advice on the best stuff to use for tattoo (the >machine mainly) as well as what you think is the best way to go in the >business.
Please file my advice under the "any help" section of your replies. Visit the nearest shop and make friends, E. Ask questions. Don’t be a pest, but be present. Be available. Get a tattoo. Open your eyes. Soak it in. >Thanks for any help…
You’re welcome. — Curt http://www.curtjames.com/
Response:
"Eternity" wrote … > Hi folks, > I love tattoos and I quite good at drawning… > so I am thinking more and more to become tattooist. > So I’d like to get some advice on the best stuff to use for tattoo (the > machine mainly) as well as what you think is the best way to go in the > business.
check google for tattoo apprenticeships & or machines. it’ll save everyone some time & skin.
Response:
> Hi folks, > I love tattoos and I quite good at drawning… > so I am thinking more and more to become tattooist. > So I’d like to get some advice on the best stuff to use for tattoo (the > machine mainly) as well as what you think is the best way to go in the > business. > Thanks for any help…
what you want to do is grow one of your fingernails as long as possible. Make sure you use nail hardener so it will be strong and won’t break. then file it into a point. use this to jab your skin in whatever design you wish. then dip the bleeding skin into a vat of ink. charge $5 a pop for others. there you go. Cylence
Response:
>what you want to do is
Right. You’re walking on thin ice. I think I’ve got the nonsensical posting area completely covered, sister. Move on. — Curtlence
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>what you want to do is grow one of your fingernails as long as >possible. Make sure you use nail hardener so it will be strong and >won’t break. then file it into a point. use this to jab your skin in >whatever design you wish. then dip the bleeding skin into a vat of >ink. charge $5 a pop for others. >there you go. >Cylence
Didn’t you say something about wanting to educate the fashion victim navel piercing neophytes in the world. Maybe you should come up with a different name for each personality so we can know what to expect. Chumley The Happy Clown
Response:
> And you’ve got a better excuse for not saying > drawing as well.
Yes, I am not english-native speaking…. > Visit the nearest shop and make friends, E. > Ask questions. Don’t be a pest, but be present. > Be available. Get a tattoo. Open your eyes. > Soak it in.
I’ve already got tattoos… How could I like that, if not ? Be available is not enough… do you think it’s easy to find somebody ready to transmit his/her knowledge ?
Response:
> what you want to do is grow one of your fingernails as long as > possible. Make sure you use nail hardener so it will be strong and > won’t break. then file it into a point. use this to jab your skin in > whatever design you wish. then dip the bleeding skin into a vat of > ink. charge $5 a pop for others. > there you go. > Cylence
It’s really great to see how open-minded you are ! Never heard so much bullshit in my life… Who’s the fuck spoken about money but you ?
Response:
Eternity responded: > Ask questions. Don’t be a pest, but be present. > Be available. Get a tattoo. Open your eyes. > Soak it in. >I’ve already got tattoos… How could I like that, if not?
I liked tattoos long before I ever went under the gun, er, excuse me, machine. >Being available is not enough… do you think it’s easy to >find somebody ready to transmit his/her knowledge ?
I’m sure it’s not easy. If you don’t believe that building a rapport with an artist is a possible approach for you then try the direct approach. Draw, draw, and draw some more. Compile your portfolio (I imagine now that you’ve done this as well) and contact every tattoo artist in your area. "I want to learn to tattoo. Here is some of my art. Would you have time to look at my portfolio and offer advice?" If your area has not enough tattoo artists then slowly expand your traveled territory with your house being the center of a large circular blanket that eventually covers the planet. You will find a tattoo artist who will help you, Eternity. Be persistent. Do not take no for an answer. Persistence is the key. — Curt http://www.curtjames.com/
Response:
> > Ask questions. Don’t be a pest, but be present. > Be available. Get a tattoo. Open your eyes. > Soak it in. > I’ve already got tattoos… How could I like that, if not ? > Be available is not enough… do you think it’s easy to find somebody ready > to transmit his/her knowledge ?
NO, it isn’t easy to find someone to teach you – that’s why you need to be available. Tattoo artists are not going to apprentice someone they don’t know. You need to find an artist in your area whom you like and respect and start to hang out. Listen, watch, learn, ask the occasional question. I don’t know who replied to you originally – you snipped that part – but what they said goes. DON’T be a pest, i.e. ‘Hi, i love you stuff and i wanna learn, what are you doing, how do you do that, what’s this, what’s that…’ If you can be helpful in the studio, that’s great, but don’t usurp someone elses’ postition. Get MORE tattoos, from this artist. Draw. Learn about drawing. And color. And shading. And perspective. And anatomy. Learn, learn, learn. Learn about sterility and how to keep you work-space clean and how to clean your equipment. Maybe offer to learn how to make needles nad then MAKE them, offer to sweep up and run errands and get coffee. Basically, when you demonstrate that you are mature, reliable, interested, and have a modicum of talent, if the artist you have chosen is willing, you will most likely become an apprentice. Where are you? Good luck. TQ
Response:
> >what you want to do is > Right. You’re walking on thin ice.
::puts on cement boots, stomps around:: WEEEEEEE::crack, SPLASH, swims around:: > I think I’ve got the nonsensical posting > area completely covered, sister.
Sorry, but I don’t go for incestual pedophiles. Cylence
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->what you want to do is grow one of your fingernails as long as >possible. Make sure you use nail hardener so it will be strong and >won’t break. then file it into a point. use this to jab your skin in >whatever design you wish. then dip the bleeding skin into a vat of >ink. charge $5 a pop for others. >there you go. >Cylence > Didn’t you say something about wanting to educate the fashion victim navel > piercing neophytes in the world. Maybe you should come up with a different name > for each personality so we can know what to expect.
Ok: we’ll call the real world me by my real name, Colleen. My inner psycho bitch is called Cylence. Cylence
Response:
the end of my last reply to you was meant for another post. Cylence, who is not Curt’s sister
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>> Didn’t you say something about wanting to educate the fashion victim navel > piercing neophytes in the world. Maybe you should come up with a different >name > for each personality so we can know what to expect. >Ok: we’ll call the real world me by my real name, Colleen. >My inner psycho bitch is called Cylence. >Cylence
I’m waiting for the fragmentation to reach 20 before I really buy any of it. So were you abused as a child, I mean severely physically mentally and sexually abused? Just curious. Chumley The Happy Clown
Response:
C> Ok: we’ll call the real world me by my real name, Colleen. C> My inner psycho bitch is called Cylence. & your "inner psycho bitch" only comes out on the internet, huh. how very strong & impressive of you. lish "MY MOM WAS ALL ‘YOU’RE NOT TAKING THE CAR’ 36.9% / 30 RANA 125 / 68
Response:
> I liked tattoos long before I ever went under the gun, > er, excuse me, machine.
So how many (hours, days, weeks, months, years) did everyone take from the time they first thought "gotta get me a tattooie" to actually doing the deed? Data point #1: fifteen years. — Skookums Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Response:
>So how many (hours, days, weeks, months, years) did everyone take >from the time they first thought "gotta get me a tattooie" to >actually doing the deed?
*** Data point #2: Same day. — k e i t h . a l e x a n d e r http://www.nootrope.net http://www.modernamerican.com aim: nootrope9 — e n d . t r a n s m i s s i o n —
Response:
> C> Ok: we’ll call the real world me by my real name, Colleen. > C> My inner psycho bitch is called Cylence. > & your "inner psycho bitch" only comes out on the internet, huh. > how very strong & impressive of you.
I threw it in my best friend’s chick in college. Her name was colleen too. She was pretty crazy, but had *amazing* tits. Sure, my best friend was mad…but he understood. You really had to see those boobs. —–. — "Hell, rocket science isn’t even rocket science" –A NASA rocket scientist, undernet, circa 1996
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.> I threw it in my best friend’s chick in college. Her name was colleen too. lish "your perversity was so refreshing. 36.9% / 30 RANA 125 / 68
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| | > I liked tattoos long before I ever went under the gun, | > er, excuse me, machine. | | So how many (hours, days, weeks, months, years) did everyone take | from the time they first thought "gotta get me a tattooie" to | actually doing the deed? | | Data point #1: fifteen years. About 7 years. Patrick http://iam.bmezine.com/?Patrick http://www.iland.net/~drgnswrd/
Response:
> .> I threw it in my best friend’s chick in college. Her name was colleen too.
Look for a semi-prompt return… —–. — "Hell, rocket science isn’t even rocket science" –A NASA rocket scientist, undernet, circa 1996
Response:
.> Look for a semi-prompt return… huh-helllllll yeah. JUST EVERYONE ELSE WAIT. all will be revealed in due time. it’s so awful! lish "she’s so mean, & i’m so not anything; 36.9% / 30 RANA 125 / 68
Response:
> .> Look for a semi-prompt return… > huh-helllllll yeah. > JUST EVERYONE ELSE WAIT. all will be revealed in due time. > it’s so awful!
I’m still getting my gumption up. I think im going to have to get really baked… 8D —–. — "Hell, rocket science isn’t even rocket science" –A NASA rocket scientist, undernet, circa 1996
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->> Didn’t you say something about wanting to educate the fashion victim navel >> piercing neophytes in the world. Maybe you should come up with a different >name >> for each personality so we can know what to expect. >Ok: we’ll call the real world me by my real name, Colleen. >My inner psycho bitch is called Cylence. >Cylence >I’m waiting for the fragmentation to reach 20 before I really buy any of it. >So were you abused as a child, I mean severely physically mentally and sexually >abused? >Just curious.
Daddy, why does your love have to hurt? Joy
Response:
> I love tattoos and I quite good at drawning… > so I am thinking more and more to become tattooist. > So I’d like to get some advice on the best stuff to use for tattoo (the > machine mainly) as well as what you think is the best way to go in the > business.
Okay, here’s a serious reply. I may get flamed to death, but whatthefuck. 1. The tattooing field is extremely overcrowded and extremely competitive right now. Fortunately, present demand is high, but if demand drops, there will be a lot of tattooists forced out of the field simply because there won’t be enough money in it. 2. In spite of the large numbers of tattooists working today, the number who are first-rank is small. The average tattooist is probably competent but few are outstanding. 3. Tattooing is just another branch of commercial art. That is, you create graphic work to the customer’s requirements, not as a matter of self-expression as in the fine arts. 4. Tattooing is a nasty occupation that requires hour after hour in close physical contact with the clientele. I sometimes suspect that it is psychologically far more wearing than the rather fleeting skin-to-skin contacts experienced by professional sex workers. 5. Customer demands are in accord with point #2. Most customers are looking for fairly routine work, few are interested in really big pieces, imaginative pieces, etc. Opportunities to do big work are few and far between. And here’s my advice on breaking into the field. Again, I expect to get flamed to a crisp for my heterodox opinions: 1. Make sure you have adequate capital. Undercapitalization kills more young businesses than any other. 2. Your *first* purchase should be an autoclave, and make sure it’s a good one. The first thing you should master is hygiene. You can always go to art school to improve your drawing skills; you can always find a tattoo apprenticeship to improve your technical skills; but if you get hepatitis C, you are dead. Your clients may forgive you for being a butcher who uses barbed needles, but they won’t forgive you for infecting them with hep C or some other infectious disease. 3. Plan on being a "scratcher" working out of your basement, say, for a few years. Tattoo your friends, relatives, cow-orkers, and anybody else interested for free. (Generally, not charging absolves you of a lot of legal responsibility.) Take advantage of them to experiment like mad with techniques, designs, and all else. But remember the preeminence of hygiene, and make sure that even if you are scratching away in a basement that it’s a clean, tidy basement. Again, capital rears its ugly head. It costs money to set up a space for tattooing, even a very small one for essentially hobby use, if it’s to be done right. 4. As for drawing flash, try copying designs you see in magazines, books, and on the web. Copy, trace, copy, trace, until you have mastered the various styles. 5. Pay close attention to tattoo illustrations, esp. those by big names, and ask yourself "just how did he achieve *that* effect?" You may be surprised just how complex tatouage is, viewed strictly as a rather recalcitrant artistic medium. 6. At some point, you will *have* to apprentice. A vague wish to take up a kewl occupation will not teach you the real ins and outs. Tattoo apprenticeships are hard to get and expensive, so you have to be able to make your tattoo master *want* to take you on. Hence, my recommendation that you scratch for a while first. 7. The way to really make money in tattooing is to own a studio or two. See point #1 regarding the risks of undercapitalization. Be sure you have access to hard-hitting, no-nonsense business consultants so your business plan is exposed to searching scrutiny. Otherwise, you discover that your "field of dreams" lays an egg and the delights of bankruptcy become yours. 8. And buy a decent camera (digital or film) and make sure that *every* piece of work you do is documented before it walks out the door. A good portfolio of your actual work may be the key to getting an apprenticeship with a big name. Flame away, gang. — Skookums Victoria, British Columbia, Canada