How to Become a Tattoo Artist
Posted on April 28th, 2009 by RJ
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Mastering the art of tattooing is no walk in the park. You should have raw talent, a lot of discipline and immense creativity to find success in this field. Since tattooing is an art form, it has a lot of rules to be followed. If these rules are not followed, you could be facing a lot of problems ahead of you like lawsuits worth millions of dollars, a tarnished image and the misfortune of transmitting a potentially deadly disease to another individual. If you want to become a tattoo artist, here are some helpful tips that can get you started:
Exercise your artistic skills.
There are many ways to jumpstart your creativity. Look for art books, join sketching or oil painting classes and ask your fellow artists for more activities to help you tap into your artistic side. These exercises will surely help you understand the basics of form and color.
Devote some time in collecting all your best works and make a portfolio. This is a collection of your art works put together professionally. This will help you attract the attention of potential employers.
Get an apprenticeship.
An apprenticeship will give you valuable experience and knowledge related to the tattoo business. Under this set up, you get to work for someone for free and learn from them as you go along. Ask your friends for any potential tattoo parlors who are open to apprenticeships or you can approach any tattoo parlor owners to show your portfolio.
Observe your teacher and the people who work in tattoo parlor shops. Share your ideas and offer your services for an opportunity to help them in their business while you get a chance to learn more about tattooing.
An apprenticeship officially ends when the shop owner or the teacher decide that you are ready to tattoo professionally. You can opt to work for the shop that offered you apprenticeship or you can take your skill to another employer. You can even open your own tattoo parlor.
Lean more.
Once you have impressed the tattooists working around you, they will surely be keen in sharing their techniques and may even hire you eventually. Show them that you are passionate about your craft. There are also many seminars, conventions and workshops available for you to improve your skills.
To be able to penetrate into the business and be successful in your craft, you should be open to changes and new ideas and methods that may come along the way. In the end, it is by following your passion that will take you to where you want to be.
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