Tattoo Basics
If you want to get the perfect tattoo, finding the right artist is just as important as finding the right design. After all, a poor quality artist will take your perfect design and ruin it...permanently.
So before you let an artist loose on your skin, it's vital to ask them questions about their work. Spending time talking with a tattoo artist will allow you to discover a lot about their abilities, their professionalism and their attitude towards hygiene.
Here's a list of the most important questions to ask.
1) How long have you been a tattoo artist?
This is an important part of working out the strength of a tattoo artist's reputation. In general, the longer they've been in the business, the more experience they'll have and the better their reputation. Artists with a bad reputation don't tend to last that long.
It's also a good idea to check whether there have been any complaints registered against either the artist or the studio with the Better Business Bureau in the last 3 years.
2) What are your qualifications?
As with all professional trades it's important that tattoo artists are properly qualified. Tattooing is a precision job that involves the use of needles, so it's vital that a tattoo artist has been professionally trained and has a thorough knowledge of hygiene procedures.
Unfortunately, there's no universal training requirements for tattoo artists. Regulations vary from country to country and state to state. Some places have stringent training requirements while other places allow virtually anyone to set themselves up as a tattoo artist.
So the quality of an artist's training and professional qualifications play in important part in determining their overall ability.
3) How many tattoos have you done?
This is a good indication of an artist's level of skill and experience. Tattooing is an art, and the more designs a person has created, the better they're likely to be. The answer to this question also allows you to work out roughly how busy the artist has been, which is again closely linked to their popularity and reputation.
It's also a good idea to find out how many tattoos they've created in the past year. Ideally, you should look for someone who has completed several hundred designs. Too few tattoos in the last year may indicate that they are;
a) unpopular (perhaps due to a poor reputation), or
b) working part time, which could indicate that their design skills are a bit rusty.
4) Can I see some of your previous work? Can you provide references?
An artist who doesn't have a portfolio of their work or appears evasive when you ask these questions should be avoided at all costs.
Top quality artists will be able to provide you with pictures of their work and references from previous clients that they have worked on. In fact, some artists may even be able to show your some of their past work in the flesh.
But whether you see pictures of their work or the real thing, make sure that you see their work after it has healed properly. This will allow you to see the completed product in all its glory.
Click here to read the second part of this article about How To Choose A Tattoo Artist and discover questions number 5-10.
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Choosing A Tattoo Artist - Ten Questions To Ask
So before you let an artist loose on your skin, it's vital to ask them questions about their work. Spending time talking with a tattoo artist will allow you to discover a lot about their abilities, their professionalism and their attitude towards hygiene.
Here's a list of the most important questions to ask.
1) How long have you been a tattoo artist?
This is an important part of working out the strength of a tattoo artist's reputation. In general, the longer they've been in the business, the more experience they'll have and the better their reputation. Artists with a bad reputation don't tend to last that long.
It's also a good idea to check whether there have been any complaints registered against either the artist or the studio with the Better Business Bureau in the last 3 years.
2) What are your qualifications?
As with all professional trades it's important that tattoo artists are properly qualified. Tattooing is a precision job that involves the use of needles, so it's vital that a tattoo artist has been professionally trained and has a thorough knowledge of hygiene procedures.
Unfortunately, there's no universal training requirements for tattoo artists. Regulations vary from country to country and state to state. Some places have stringent training requirements while other places allow virtually anyone to set themselves up as a tattoo artist.
So the quality of an artist's training and professional qualifications play in important part in determining their overall ability.
3) How many tattoos have you done?
This is a good indication of an artist's level of skill and experience. Tattooing is an art, and the more designs a person has created, the better they're likely to be. The answer to this question also allows you to work out roughly how busy the artist has been, which is again closely linked to their popularity and reputation.
It's also a good idea to find out how many tattoos they've created in the past year. Ideally, you should look for someone who has completed several hundred designs. Too few tattoos in the last year may indicate that they are;
a) unpopular (perhaps due to a poor reputation), or
b) working part time, which could indicate that their design skills are a bit rusty.
4) Can I see some of your previous work? Can you provide references?
An artist who doesn't have a portfolio of their work or appears evasive when you ask these questions should be avoided at all costs.
Top quality artists will be able to provide you with pictures of their work and references from previous clients that they have worked on. In fact, some artists may even be able to show your some of their past work in the flesh.
But whether you see pictures of their work or the real thing, make sure that you see their work after it has healed properly. This will allow you to see the completed product in all its glory.
Click here to read the second part of this article about How To Choose A Tattoo Artist and discover questions number 5-10.
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