Get a Great Tattoo – A Definitive Guide
Hi! My name is Steven and I’ve been helping manage a tattoo studio for the past 7 years. Over that time I’ve met and worked with a varying degree of artists. From ones that just got their start with us, to some serious veterans and everything in between!
Differences in Perspectives
Outside of experience, quality and skill levels, I’ve noticed that there are two different parallels regarding how they generally operate.
The Professional Artist
On one end of the spectrum you have a full blown Artist.
- This person generally has put in a lot of work over time. They’ve gathered the clientele that seek them out for the artwork they produce and are inspired to work with those kind of designs specifically.
The Technician
On the other end you have the Technician.
- An artist in their own right, over time they have crafted their skill set to take on most anything thrown at them. They have their own favorite styles they love to do and still make room for other requests that they are familiar with. Given the chance they’ll gravitate towards what they do best, but they also make time to be of service to their clients.
No two artists are the same
Some will be on one end of the spectrum or the other. Some will even blend the lines of limitations by being open for all requests and seeing where they fit with your ideas. They’ll listen to all the requests they get and try to incorporate their own flare into the bigger pieces, and ‘just get it done’ for the smaller ones.
Knowing who they are, what they’re about and what artwork they enjoy creating will lead you to a beautiful tattoo you will be proud to wear and show off to the world.
The Good & The Bad
- The utmost professional tattooer knows their limitations regardless on which side of the fence they are on or decide to straddle.
- It’s the unprofessional ones with poor work ethics that float amongst them within the industry. The ones that disrespect the craft, the industry and in the end – they disrespect you.
The road bumps people find
When they are not the right Artist for you:
The Artist that said no / didn’t reply
- Did you look at their available portfolio? Usually they’ll have their artwork collected and presented online somehow. Via a website, a social media outlet or even a booklet found inside their studio or at their booth (think convention). They cultivated their available artwork to entice you to ask for something similar or show you that they are capable and proud to produce artwork in similar styling’s.
Example: The Artist enjoys creating pop culture celebrities that look like Simpsons characters. And that’s all you see in their portfolio. Asking them to do a realistic black and grey statue masterpiece wouldn’t necessarily be for them. If you wanted that statue looking like a Simpsons character, then they’d be your artist all day. But don’t be upset if the request is not something they would be comfortable doing and pass on the project.
Don’t get discouraged. Keep going and research someone new.
When it Goes Off Road
They said yes when they shouldn’t have:
- You reached out to someone that is willing to take on whatever you want to do.
- Maybe you were discouraged with someone’s process, their wait time or worse, you simply got turned away. You search for someone to tattoo your idea starts again. Whatever the case, do not throw away the research stage in your search for the next tattooer. Avoid looking for ‘YES’.
Example: You finally found someone who will say yes to your idea – a realistic rose. You walk in get the tattoo. You look down afterwards and find yourself unhappy with the results.
Now you wonder what you can do with this cabbage looking tattoo and now a whole new era of your tattoo experience begins. The search of a cover-up artist starts and that’s a whole other blog.
Did you do your research by checking on what they create / enjoy creating?
Be sure to research the person whom you talk to next. If you don’t see a realistic flower (this example) in their portfolio – it probably means they haven’t done one or they are not yet comfortable with doing them. It feels good to find someone to say yes, but why are they saying yes? Are they only interested in your money? Are they using you as a guinea pig while they ‘try something new’ when their fundamental skill level isn’t there?
In the end, they should be up front with you. Hiding the fact they don’t know what they’re doing and taking your money is dishonorable.
Don’t Get Discouraged
And don’t put all your eggs in one basket. If someone doesn’t take on your project don’t take it personally.
There are over 100 different artists in our city. And they are all different. Different experience levels, different personalities, different styles of artwork and different work ethics.
There may be many good reasons why an Artist would say no to a project. Maybe it’s the placement you wanted. Maybe your idea was something that fit within their repertoire. Or perhaps they did their 10th realistic rose that week and were getting exhausted by the thought of doing another.
Earn a Great Tattoo
There are even more great reasons why they’d say yes to you. Part of it has to do with your level of understanding. The willingness to listen to your choice artist and their opinions and suggestions will go a long way. The best tattoos that both they are proud of and you’re proud to wear, come from the same place. It’s an understanding that they’ve earned your trust and they didn’t let you down.
Creating great art is the ultimate goal in the end. It only happens when you and your artist are able to work together. We hope that your tattoo journey is an honorable one on both sides of the table.
Check out the artists below! If they inspire you, feel free to reach out and hopefully it all works out!
If you love or hate this article or have any questions you can always reach out to me directly at my email stevenp@gypsycattattoos.com
To start your next tattoo journey, you can also find all of our available artists at our website www.gypsycattattoos.com You’ll also find info on our piercing services and an opportunity to sign up for our news letter.
Talk to you soon,
-Steven