Replies
Your effort is commendable. My name is XXXXX from XXXXXX Tattoo in MN. I've been tattooing for 5 years and am one of the lucky ones. The main reason I got an apprenticeship was because the guys wanted to get into my pants. Whatever. Within 3 months I was running the shop and doing tattoos I shouldn't have been doing, so I was thrown into it very fast. It's all about who you know, how good of an artist you are, and a lot of luck. Most people would have given up by now, so it's obvious you want to do this pretty bad. My advice (like you haven't had enough of that!) is to stop tattooing until you have an apprenticeship, or at least an advisor. Your beginning tattoos are not going to be of the best quality, but at least you'll have some help. There are artists out there that will help as long as your art has potential. I don't know what your art looks like, but I have seen some people try to tattoo that couldn't draw better than kids. Ask for honest opinions on your art work - that's the main thing I look for in an apprentice, and it's hard to tell people what they need to improve on. I could babble on forever, but I must get back to work. My site is cactustattoo.com if you want to check out my work, and feel free to write back. It sounds like you have the drive it takes, and hopefully things will get easier.
hi,great questions i was in the same place you are but i wasn't around anyone or close to a place that even had a apprenticeship .It was not even leagal to tattoo in Indiana so I read and read and then went for it going on 10 years ago I tattooed an friend and family and let them be very very critical of my work and figured out how to corect what i was or wasn't doing right.If your an artist use your skills. Any tattoo equipment can be fine tuned to give great tattoos but you art skills will make the work you do impressive.no one can show you how to do there style or if there even is a style. Indiana legallize tattooing 3 years ago when i left my $12 an hour job and opened my shop in a small town trust your ability most tattooist in your area are going to be so compettive with each other and new artist that want to do tattoos and enter THERE trade BLA BLA BLA keep trying to go for quest
Dude, you are so right! I've been going through the same shit here in Cincinnati, Ohio (most fucking conservative town I've ever been)! I hear the same thing, even from the guy who does my tats. He's been tattooing for 30 years and he says you don't have to be an artist, which I do not consider myself as one, but I've been around the scene for about 5-6 years and I'm educated and totally professional. Then, I really hate the newbies (tattooing for under 5 years) saying you "have to be an artist or you won't go anywhere." I have all the stuff too (books, flash, etc.). I think they're actually afraid they might have some "real" competition now that the business is getting bigger every year. I wish I had an answer for both of us. Good luck to you.
I thought I would drop you a line since it sound like you are truly trying to do things the right way and getting very frustrated. I have been tattooing for about 4 years and own a shop in Florida. About every shop you go into having a different philosophy, to some extent this is true, but I think people may have said things to you just to get you out of the door. I know it is hard as hell to get an apprenticeship, I have people asking all the time and I turn them down for a variety of reasons. (Which I will go into in a bit) You said one shop told you to order equipment and then another shop told you it was garbage. First off, no responsible tattoo artist would ever tells someone to go buy equipment and have at it. If you wanted to be a barber, no one would tell you to just buy scissors and have fun. If you wanted to be a mechanic, nobody would tell you to get a set of craftsman tools and start pulling cars apart. Tattooing is the end of the process, not the beginning! Whoever told you that should be shot. As far as what you ordered being garbage.... It may not be the best, but I'm sure it's salvagable. Every artist has their favorite type of machine (and I'm sure you have noticed, we are an opinionated bunch) and some people will immediately call anything else crap. Same thing goes for different brands of ink There is a difference in quality, but I am sure what you got is usable. Machines can also be modified to make a better machine out of a not-so-great one, but that is way too much to explain. About you tattooing on yourself...the reason why most shops will show you the door is because of the perception that you want to skip steps. An apprenticeship is a very long process that requires time, dedication, and patience. Before anyone picks up a machine to tattoo, they should have spents many months learning about a sterile chain of events, they should be able to take apart and put back together their machines and have a full understanding of how they work. They should be able to build needles perfectly, every time. They should have copied line drawing and colored flash until their hands cramped. I get people in my shop all the time who tell me they want to apprentice, but what they really want is to start tattooing next week, so they can make the big bucks and look cool in front of their friends. I am not directing this at you personally. I don't know a damn thing about you. I am just telling you what every shop owner sees every day. I have been working around this business for 10 years and have seen very few people who are truly willing to go the distance. This is a profession where we are marking people for life. Our mistakes are permanent. This is an awsome reponsiblity. If the kid at the Burger King has a crappy day and burns the fries and gives you the wrong burger, it doesn't really matter. When we screw up, it matters. People are also trusting us with their health. Most professions that deal with bodily fluids like we do spend a lot of time in school. It takes close to a year to be a phlebotamist (I probably misspelled that one, but its the person who takes blood from people), same thing for nurse's aides. I am truly impressed that you have gotten books on a number of subjects, especially about sterilization and bloodborne pathogens. Most people consider this the boring stuff and aren't very interested. You are also doing the right thing by getting tattooed and watching closely. A good portion of an apprenticeship is spent just pulling up a chair and watching. I don't know what part of Virginia you are in or the quality of artists around you, from some of what you have told me I am suspicious. Be very discriminating about who you learn from. There are a lot of people in this business who haven't learned much themselves. If you have been reading all the tattoo mags you say you have, you should have a pretty discriminating eye by now. Look up where some of the tattoo conventions are and see if you can get to some, especially the larger ones that attract some of the big names. Call ahead and make an appointment to get tattooed by one of the people whose names you see all the time in the magazines, who are respected by their peers. Check which have seminars. A couple of years ago at a miami convention I spent a couple of hundred bucks on a seminar by Brian Everett on portraiture. It was some of the best money I ever spent. Often Lyle Tuttle does seminars on building and maintaining machines.I haven't gotten to take it yet, but I am sure 2 hours with Lyle would teach more than years of muttling through on your own. The APT (Alliance for Professional Tattooists) does regular seminars on the health aspects of tattooing. Look up the APT's web site, if I remember right, they have a lot of info on what to look for in getting an apprenticeship along with other info. Finally, I don't know what your living situation is, but maybe you need to go farther from home. People go away to college all the time. Same thing. From a shop owner's perspective what I look for is willingness to learn, dedication, patience, maturity and humility. I actually had one guy come in asking for a job because last year in jail he had cut his friend's chest with glass and rubbed ink into it. "Man, it was cool as hell, as good as anything you could do". He was shown the door with lightening speed. People are always showing me some god awful crap they did themselves and telling me how great it is. Once someone does this, they are out of the running. If you think you know everything, you won't learn They also do not realize that they are completely insulting the artist. It took me a lot of time and hard work to be able to do the quality of work that I do and some little snot ass comes in here and has the cajones to compare his crap to my work! (once again, please do not take this personally, if it doesn't apply, I am just trying to explain why you may be getting an unfriendly reaction) . As I said before, a bunch of people think an apprenticeship means they will tattoo next week and aren't really willing to lay the groundwork. I also turn people down for reasons that have nothing to do with them. Most shops only want an apprentice if they are going to be able to use him later as an artist. After all, I am not going to teach you all my tricks, so that you can work for my competitor down the street. That would be pretty stupid of me. So you feel people out to decide if they are going to stick around a long time. It's also depressing to train someone and have them decide they want to move across the country. Part of it also has to do with personality. I am looking for someone with customer service skills, but also somebody I can stand spending a lot of time around. Someone would have the best chance of getting an apprenticeship out of me, if they came in with an incredibly positive attitude, showed me a portfolio of decent (I don't expect masterpieces) drawings, and acted like they would be willing to do damn near anything to get in the door. Downplay any work you have done on yourself or your friends. I want to see someone who understands delayed gratification! Tell me how hard you are willing to work to learn. If someone showed me a certificate from the APT course, I would be convinced they were serious. (Not too many people want to spend a hundred bucks and blow a whole day learning why they shouldn't answer the phone with their gloves on) I want to see humility, especially from someone who has bought equipment and started tattooing without training. Don't tell me how good it is. Tell me you took some bad advice. Tell me you know the work you do is no where near what you see in the magazines and that you want more than anything in the world to be able to learn how to do it right. Convince me you will be an asset to my shop. I certainly have gone on, haven't I? I set out to just write a quick note and got carried away. I hope there is something in here that is useful to you.
I read your letter in the recent issue of "Tattoo" and thought I'd throw you my two cents. My fiance is a tattoo artist and I'll tell you how he got started. You mentioned the word "apprenticeship" but it doesn't seem like you have been actively seeking one. Judging by your letter, you have been going to various shops and asking for advice, rather than seeking to form the partnership that an apprenticeship encompasses. You also don't mention whether or not you have artistic talent. If you can't draw, that's the first thing you need to learn. You state that you designed flash for some friends... did you ask the tattoo artist's opinion of your drawing talent? Being able to draw well is step one. Step two is finding an artist you would like to apprentice with. This can take time. My fiance began apprenticing in Germany with a guy named XXXXX. It kind of fell in his lap so to speak. He and some friends had gone into the shop to get tattoos (my fiance had desinged them.) XXXXX flipped through his portfolio and immediately offered XXXX a job as an apprentice. You have not been as lucky. First you need to find an artist whose work you respect and admire and who runs a clean shop. This process can take a while. You are going to have to prove to this artist that 1. You have artistic talent, 2. You are eager to learn about tattooing, 3. You are completely committed and will do whatever it takes to learn. Only eight months into his apprenticeship, XXXX left. When XXXX moved back to the US, he did what I just mentioned and it took him a little over a year to find someone to finish his apprenticeship. Now... here's the way most apprenticeships work. You pay either all or part of your apprenticeship fee up front. In most cases, part of that money is used for the purchase of your equipment. (By the way, most mail order companies sell really crappy equipment, so more than likely you do have $800 worth of crap. Before you throw your machines away, have an artist check them out... they are probably garbage, but maybe you got lucky and ordered from a better company.) Yes, scratching on yourself does create bad habits. This doesn't mean that a tattoo artist can't work with you, but you may have some habits that are going to be hard to break. That makes the apprenticeship more difficult for you and the teacher. Chip dedicated all of his time to his apprenticeship because he felt it was best for him. I agree that an apprentice should focus all of his or her energy on learning, however, that isn't practical for everybody. I was working full time at a decent job and made enough money to support both of us. If you don't have someone to help support you and are not independently wealthy, than obviously you will have to work and apprentice at the same time. Some artists will refuse to apprentice people on a part time basis, and that is their right. You will simply have to find someone who is willing to accommodate your needs. Bear in mind that it may be months before you actually tattoo anybody when you're an apprentice. You begin with grunt work tasks like scrubbing tubes, making needles, cleaning the studio, and making stencils. You will watch, learn, and discuss. You should be taught proper sterilization methods, cross-contamination prevention, proper after care regimen, how to clean, tune, tear apart, and rebuild your machines. When you're ready, you'll begin to tattoo.... on fruit. XXXX has tattooed many a grapefruit and orange. They teach you how to work with a curved surface, such as a person, rather than a flat surface like paper. Aside from pig skin, they are the closest substance to human skin and are far less expensive than pig skin. When you graduate from fruit, you will practice on people. Uusally you recruit a few friends who are trusting enough to let you practice on them. When the artist is satisfied with your proficiency, you can work on customers. As you see, it will be long time before you make any money at all. While working with the artist, you will pay him a certain percentage of your income. You will pay this until you've paid off your apprenticeship (the percentage is in ADDITION to the fee). Once you've paid your fee, you are free to leave his or her shop and go elsewhere. This was how XXXX did it, and now he runs his own shop and loves it. Obviously, you have the desire. Hopefully, you have the talent. Let me know if you have any other questions and I hope that maybe this will help you along the path towards becoming a professional.
I read your letter to Tattoo magazine and I had to e-mail you. I understand your plight more than you will ever know. I moved from another state,where my best friend ownes three tattoo shops and I had an apprenticeship on a silver platter to a place where I knew no one and was turned away at every turn. Either some motherfucker wanted an ungodly amount of money to apprentice me or they told me my artwork was worthless. But finally after two years of searching I found a really great artist and now friend that took me under his wing,and the funny thing is that I live in a really small town that I never thought would have a worthwhile tattoo shop and boom my boss opens up one right near my house. Iguess what I am trying to say is that it will come just don't give up!Keep working onyour artwork and do what you can,if it is something you really want go for it. It will work out for you if you have faith in yourself. I know I sound like some hokey inspirational speaker,but what I'm saying is true. Well,take care of yourself and keep slingin' ink!
I saw your letter in tattoo mailbox I don't usually respond to these but your letter explained how I felt when I first started tattooing. I am not famous by any means but I have owned a shop in New Hampshire which I closed due to inexperience in the business end of the profession not because of my work. Lets face it I just couldn't save money for the slow times. so I went underground here in Massachusetts and I am doing very well. I went through all the same feelings no one to help show you what to do. First of all no one can tell you how to tattoo- noone will ever see through your eyes. the only thing someone can do is show you how to correctly use your equipment how to set your needles so they do the work but not to far as to catch the skin. tune your machine so it runs smooth no skipping. the gun should run faster with your liner and slow deliberate strokes with a long throw with your shader so the color sets in nice with out tearing up the skin the rest is up to you. the more tattoos you do the easier it becomes. i started with spaulding equipment light weight guns which i still use upgraded my power supply but most important is to make sure you have an autoclave sterilizer of your own. i know they are expensive but definitely a must and learn how it is used and understand it. This alone will separate you from the local scratcher who is doing it out of their house for $20.00 for a tribal arm band. I don't know if this helps at all but if it's really what you want to do then have a little confidence in yourself. Listen cavemen didn't go through apprenticeships listen to yourself. Jesus Christ I sound like a fuckin' motivational speaker--- have some fun lighten up. Just think broads will pay you for them to get half naked.
Hi there! We read your article on the tattoo magazine and we understand your problem...wath make us a little bit confuse is that you listen everyone but your self...believe in wath you can do donīt listen other people that want's to make you fell little... We're a group of three persons from Lisbon in Portugal and like you we're fresh...in tattoing We've folllow in love with tattoing in august of 2000...In Portugal it isn't like in U.S.A....we don't have information about tatto's and the stores don't sell to the one's that wan't to start..so one weekend we pick up our truck and we went to Spain ( Madrid ). There we can buy almost everything...so we bought a starter kit... From that day on we 're trying to learn the most on the art of tattoing...There are a lot of friend's that are helping us by giving there body to the lions...for FREE!!!!!! We're sending this mail to you also to make you an S.O.S. request: can you help us...we're fresh meet and in Portugal the Professional Tattoist are canniball's...We'd like to know more about you and about your experience on this matter... We'd like to buy a book to learn a bit more, but in Portugal we can't find one...and in Spain also not... We've a dream: OPPENING OUR ONE TATTOO STORE AND PIERCING!!!! We like to know your name and age...and what do you do for living...If you like and want we'll be very happy to receive some work's that you've done... Please wright us...and tell us how do you do.... If you want to make us a visit in Portugal you can contact us
j,ai lie ton message sur mailbox tatoo .pour tes questions voici quelque basse la premiere est le dessain cet ca qui donne a ton travail toute ca force ,par la suite la dexterite et par la suite la confiance en toi . s,est un travail qui demande baucoup de pacience. jespere que tu a pu comprende .salue Doris et Hervey
i haven't been trying as long as you have, but i'm experiencing the same set backs. i am from virginia as well, but am now in alaska due to my job. if your anywhere near Lynchburg, try XXXXXXX tattoo or XXXX. XXXX is the best place to go though. I've had most of my work done there and they've won over 80 awards if I'm correct. XXXX XXXXXXX is the owner, a really great guy. Also a XXXXX XXXXXX who works there may be willing to help in one way or another. if you find out any secret key inside send me a line and vice versa.
in regards to your article in tattoo mag. i myself am a scratcher, for most if not all of the reasons you stated. i am a 19 male from Texas and have always been interested in tattoos. as soon as i turned 18 i received my first piece of work. i fell in love, and knew there was nothing else that would satisfy me, but becoming an artist. at first i was into getting an apprenticeship, but soon found out the price of just one month. who in the hell has that kind of money. especially since all you are actually going to do is clean up their shit, and watch. my opinion is that if i want to watch, then i am going to go pay less, for me another tattoo, and i can study the artist then all i want to. well in my opinion, i think it is the shittiest thing to charge out the ass to let someone learn. if i am an artist and i am proud of my work, then i want to let others learn from me, because i am not going to be here forever, and i want to pass down what i know. there is coming a day, when all the artists are going to be gone, and since no one was able to pay to learn, the tattoo art will be lost...... ...forever. so, i have been on a tattoo mission for 2 months now, i bought a starter kit, and have been tattooing anything or anyone that will allow me to. granted it is harder than i thought, i have done about 75 tattoos, and everyone has been happy with what i gave them. some of my work is actually better than some work i have seen from a studio. well so my advice is keep scratchin' have fun and do your best, together we can kick this tattoo worlds ass on scratch at a time
dear Scratcher i read your letter in tattoo mag. I am thinking about starting to tattoo also,I was hoping you could help me out with your exp. I am thinking about buying a starter kit ,is it worth it ,which kind I am planning on reading all the manuals and books I can ,in fact exactly what you did I planned on doing scratching on self,talk to exp. tattooist and so on .maybe from your begining exp. you can set me on right track ,because im lost already, did not make it as for as you ,thanks
hello,my name is XXXXX.i too am on the same quest(an apprenticeship)i completly understand ure frustation!!ive been "scratching"now about a year,&get alot of static when i try to inquire about tattooing,i have found that it is doublly hard to get ure foot in the door being female.tattooing is my passion,&when i read ure letter in this months issue of tattoo,i thought i would just drop a line to let u know that somewhere out there ,somebody shares ure feelings about this.ive met a few tattooists online that have been really helpful,but not many.if ya ever wanna chat,give me a hollari'm always looking to meet people that share my interests!i am attaching a pic of me,& my dawg,jack so that u can put a face to the words.i hope to hear from you~~~~~~~on the flipside,sugga!!
Dear Scratcher, my name is XXXX and i`m from Germany. I read your letter in the "TATTOO MAILBOX" #2/01.I have the same problems like You. I also want to become a tattooartist but there is nobody who want to help me on this way. (please excuse me but my english is very bad, i hope that you understand me or maybe you speak german ? ) I am 28 years old and i have a few tattoos on my body. 16 years ago i began to draw pictures on my arms and the arms of my friends, it was the first step for my love to create pictures on bodys. Later i start to create Flashs and than i got my first tatto. After that i knew that i want to do that on my own and so i bought some books about tattooing. I always tried to find a teacher who shows me some things about the technoligy and how to handle a machine. But i have not found somebody. 4 weeks ago i bought a tattooequipment and i started verydeepscratching on my own leg, now i know it was too deep ;-) After that i inked some friends and my girlfriend and i became better and better. I am trying every day to get more practice. I know that i canīt ink difficult things, not now but in a few time. I can do easy things like black tribals and my "victims" love them and they want more. The only help i get is the help of my friends and my girlfriendīs family. The proffesionel tattoartists are still ignoring me. They tell me that they can teach me only in a fulltime job but i have a job. Iīm a bricklayer and i have not the time to spent the whole day in a tattooshop and tide up and do other goofy jobs for less money īcause we (my girlfriend and me) need the money to live. So i am trying to teach me on my own. Do you still have the same problems ? What was the answer of your letter in the mag because i would like to know what they say about your problems. I would be glad if you answer me
