Tattoo Artists

Ever wonder how tattoo artists learn their craft? It takes years of study and training to acquire all of the skills a truly professional tat artist needs. Come find out what's involved.

Ever wonder about the tattoo artists behind the neon?

About Tattoo Artists

For every successful tattoo artist working today, there are hundreds of hopefuls waiting in the wings. Some of these tat enthusiasts will make it into this very tightly-knit community, while others never will. Let's examine the factors that make the difference:

Talent

No matter how much someone wants to break into the industry, nobody becomes a tattoo artist without first possessing some basic artistic talent. Every tat is a miniature work of art, so you need strong drawing skills to create one.

• Line drawings are the basis of every tattoo, and the first artistic skill that has to be honed before moving forward. An artist in training will literally spend thousands of hours practicing designs on paper to develop a sure and steady hand. If you can't master the technique here, you'll never make it to skin.
• Coloring and shading are next on the list. Although ink colors used to be limited in the past, today you can mix nearly any shade you want. It's the combination of coloring and depth that breathes real life into a tat, so it's not surprising that some of the greatest tattoo artists have professional training in fine arts.
• Grammar and spelling skills, although not particularly artistic in nature, are also necessary since they are often incorporated into tattoo designs.

Vision

Vision is something no true artist can get by without, and we're not just talking about 20/20 clarity here. Vision goes hand-in-hand with imagination. An artist must be able to take a client's idea or basic drawing for a tattoo and turn it into a sketch that captures the essence of what that body art will truly mean to the person receiving it.

Perseverance

Tattoo artists aren't made overnight. It takes years to learn the many facets of tattooing, along with a tremendous amount of personal dedication and commitment. There is no quick pay off here, just a lot of long hours and hard work learning to do something you truly love. This is where many would-be tattoo artists fall by the wayside - they give up and seek traditional employment.

Apprenticeships

It's no secret that a lot of tattoo artists were self-taught at the start of their careers. The desire to purchase a tattoo kit and get on with the real thing is sometimes just too powerful to resist.

These same artists will also tell you it's not the best way to go about learning the craft. You simply can't learn everything you need to know from a kit, and there's always the danger of hurting someone with your lack of true skills, knowledge and experience. The best way to become a fully-fledged tattoo artist is to become an apprentice.

Convincing an established tattoo artist to take you under wing is no easy feat. You have to convince one that you are talented, serious and committed to seeing the process through.

Here are a few tips to help get your foot in the door.

• Check out a few tat shops and find an artist whose work you admire.
• Have that artist tattoo you. This gives you a chance to get to know each other a bit, and also shows the artist you're not just blowing smoke.
• Talk to your artist about how he/she got into tattooing themselves and then let it be known how much you'd like learn yourself.
• If your chosen artist gives you the time of day after that, you'll need to provide a portfolio of your artwork. If your drawing skills aren't up to snuff, you'll be told you're not ready. If your artists sees potential in your work, you might be on your way.

If you're lucky enough to get an apprenticeship, either for free or for a fee, don't assume you'll begin tattooing clients right away. In fact, you may not touch a client for months or even the entire first year, and this is the way it should be.

Every apprenticeship is unique, but in most cases you'll have to work your way up the ladder - starting with unpaid grunt work around the studio, learning safety and sterilization techniques, and observing your mentor in action. During these months you'll also be given drawing assignments that your mentor will mercilessly critique until his/her standard of perfection has been met.

If you make it this far, one day you'll move forward to learning about the tools of the trade, and creating some real tats, even if your first client is only a grapefruit. Tattooing citrus peel isn't exactly like working with skin, but it does give you a feel for working with the needle before you graduate to real flesh and blood.

Finally the day will come when you are allowed to put needle to skin. If your mentor is truly impressed with your skills, you may just get the ultimate honor of tattooing him/her yourself.

Becoming Licensed

Once your mentor considers your apprenticeship fulfilled, you are almost ready to begin your career. For this, you will need to be licensed.

Laws governing tattoo shops and artists vary from one municipality to the next, but they are generally built around health and safety issues.

To be licensed you will have to pay a fee, and be tested on your knowledge of:

• Blood borne diseases and how they are transmitted
• Proper sterilization and aseptic techniques to protect your potential clients and yourself

Expect to have to renew your license annually, and keep up with continuing education as regulations change.

Conclusion

The road to becoming a tattoo artist is a long and hard one, but well worth traveling if you simply can't imagine pursuing any other way of life. In the end, it's really a labor of love.

External Links

• health departments TatSmart.com, a listing of state health departments

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• Free Tribal Tattoo Flash
• How Many Tattoos Are Too Many?
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• Design Your Own Tattoos
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• Celebrity Tattoo Pictures

• Miami Ink Tattoo Shop Website
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• Tattoo Parlors
• Tattoo Skin Care Products
• Tattoo Conventions