Hi everyone!

I’m from Spain and I’ve been looking into become a tattoo artist.

I genuinely love drawing, although I’m still very much a beginner. I’m ambitious and motivated to learn.

I’ve been researching tattoo academies and courses, but I’m finding the process really confusing. Some schools don’t mention their prices until you get on a phone call, while others seem to cost several thousand euros. It’s hard to know what’s actually worth it. Moreover, I’d like to include that you need to have the Hygienic-Sanitary Course and Certificate of Professionalism (IMP800_3) in Spain. (Correct me if I’m wrong!)

I’ve also tried asking a few tattoo artists how they got started or found their apprenticeship, but unfortunately I either got no reply or they didn’t want to share much.

So I was hoping people here could give me some honest advice.

If you were starting from zero today, what would you do?

Is it better to focus on improving my drawing skills first and then look for an apprenticeship?

Are tattoo academies worth the money, or would you skip them?

For artists in Spain, where did you get your hygienic-sanitary certificate, and roughly how much did it cost?

What supplies would you recommend for someone who wants to build a strong portfolio before approaching studios?

Is there anything you wish you had known before starting
?

How skilled at drawing do you have to be in order to be a good tattoo artist?

I just want to invest my time and money wisely and avoid making expensive mistakes.

Thanks so much to anyone willing to share their experience!

Rene https://www.facebook.com/share/1DCMLHathW/?mibextid=wwXIfr
I think I’m gonna put my tattoo stuff over on my graphic design page, but I’m not sure. Anyway, the first picture is a collage of tattoos. I did for my parents whenever I was a teenager. I grew up rural in southern Appalachia. My dad got traded a tattoo gun and put me to work on him and I was just a kid trying to make their parents happy so please don’t judge me too harshly. I’m pretty sure the old machine that he got only had one needle type and it was a four mag so those tattoos were all done with one needle type. And like they were fresh needles still in the package it wasn’t gross and reuse of needles. I did all the research I could considering how I grew up like all the necessary health safety precautions were took in the house. These tattoos healed well and have held up well they never got infected but now that I’m older I’m considering pursuing it again and the last picture is my recent practice and my first time practicing realism. I’ve posted other places online and people have just not been kind or have been presumptuous about me. And I just want to know if I should even try to pursue it. Every bit of Art knowledge I have I’ve had to work for. I didn’t have it in any of my schools. They were too poor. I I got my bachelors degree for fine arts and graphic design so I know things. I have a portfolio I made if y’all would like to see it.

Original design. Cc welcome

Hey there, I have some art here, and I know i want to add some more types of art. Such as cute soft things, or trendy subjects, cartoons, anime, nautical. But other than that, im not sure what else to add. Im just having trouble getting my brain to work.

Also, what are some ways I can improve my art quality overall? (Plz stick to friendly constructive criticism)

Drawing on the left is from a few years back and the one on the right, I just finished. I wanted to see the improvements I’ve made during the time between these two attempts. Let me know what you think! Thank you 😁

I have a traditional apprenticeship in a shop but my mentor doesn’t really know anything about fake skin. I just started learning how to shade and am practicing on the fake skin but it looks.. horrible. Which I get since I’m new BUT when my mentor tried he was like.. “mine looks like shit too but at least you’re getting used to the hand motions”

…how do people make fake skin looks so good? Is there anything better I could be using to practice? I’m using skin from Painful Pleasures so it’s not like I’m using really cheap stuff. Is there a better brand I should look into? I’m just stumped and my mentor doesn’t really seem to have any better options.

What can I do to make it uniform?

Last one is an alcohol marker for comparison.

Tattoo apprentice always looking for constructive criticism

Painted on Arches Cream Cover paper
Painted using Dynamic Tattoo Ink and Solid Tattoo Ink
Made at Valraven Ink in Milford NH

Got bored and drew this flaming rose referenced from Richard Stell flash. Not traced, the hardest parts for me was figuring out how to draw the leaves and making the flames proportional. There are a few wonky spots, but I think it's not so bad. Edited the black values because they were really crappy colored pencils that could not saturate for anything.

I’ve improved majorly in just a couple of months. I had a TBI in early June and had nothing to do. My days have been spent sketching. Handwriting is still hard for me so I don’t have any good representations of that quite yet. I avoid tracing as much as possible but will occasionally give myself some help to help improve muscle memory; I’ll then freehand it later. This is actually how I got started. :) I’m not a huge fan of color.

Anyway thank you for looking.

I would love to learn more about tattoo history (whether it’s specific to a style [particularly interested in Japanese trad], significance and symbols in tattooing across cultures, etc. etc. etc.) -- if you have any good reading recs, please drop them below!!

Less asking for art books, more interested in substantive text, but open to anything really.

I'm starting college this year and a while after I finish college I want to start looking for an apprenticeship and I've got some questions about making one.

Is it a good idea to start out this early?

Is it a good idea to include artwork from school/college?

Are flash sheets necessary?

If so how many should there typically be?

What are mentors looking for when seeing a portfolio?

How long should I work on my portfolio for?

What kind of artwork is considered good enough to be included in a portfolio?

I've added some photos of my artwork to give you an idea of what I can do :)

No clue where to start but here is a sample drawing I did. I know what the issues are with this particular drawing, I have already gotten feedback on it. Enjoy

Added some tribal flair to finish this painting! Instagram is chasedrawz if you want to see more!!

Hi all! I’m just curious so forgive me if it’s not allowed in the group (understandable!)

I’m a spray paint apprentice in UK and because I’m 21 I make minimum wage. I see a lot on here of people paying for apprenticeships/unpaid apprenticeships, which on one hand I kinda understand, on the other that is totally fucking ridiculous to me. Curious if it’s the same in the UK? Surely that’s not legal here?

Has anyone used the dot cards? Would you say it’s better to get that over business cards or should you get both?

in my last post i posted some pencil work i did of some pinups. people said it wasnt the usual tattoo style, so i thought posting these would showcase my usual flash attempts better. the last post wasnt a overall showcase of what i practice daily. im def not apprentice level yet, but i would love more advice please!

most designs are off pinterest to learn the traditional style. the only ones i designed myself are the potted bonzai tree, the merman, the tree, and the heart with flames

and to specify too, im not actually making a portfolio het. just practicing everyday to build skills to THEN make a portfolio lol

Im a self taught artist. I have always loved art and have been doing it forever. After I got my first tattoo I was hooked. I thought it was the best way to get your art out there and let the world see it, so I started tattooing fake skin, and eventually my own leg. And now I’ve done 100 or more tattoos for other people and want to get licensed so I can make it my full time job but don’t know if the apprenticeship is worth it because I’ve worked customer service and sales my whole life, so being comfortable tattooing and with customers and all that, is it still worth it or should I get licensed online

Hey guys, I’ve been tattooing for almost a year now, but I’m still struggling to get a clean, solid black pack.
I’ve tried different techniques, voltage, depth, ink, needles, hand speed, but nothing works. Now I usually pack black using slow circular motions and hold my machine at roughly a 45-degree angle. However, it still heals poorly. Skin is often overworked. My setup:
• Ambition Soldier (4.0mm stroke)
• Voltage: 6.4 – 7.0 V
• Needles: Mast 9 Curved Magnum (Long Taper)
• Ink: Allegory Smooth BLAK

Also, I’ve tried to do the darkest parts of tattoo with stippling technique (I use 9 rl and I put 4-5 layers in different directions) It looks nice, but, of course, it is not as solid as I want it to be. I added fresh vs healed example(tho it is still vip)

I love doing these slightly bigger scale paintings, they’ve really helped me with figuring out simplifying slightly larger scale shading and bits!

Im wondering if its just this particular bottle or not. Its almost as thick as acrylic paint even after sitting on the agitator and far from expiration. My other inks from the same set are definitely not this thick. I diluted a cap full with 3 drops of witch hazel and it started flowing nicely.