Tryin to find someone to tutor aspiring tattooists

hapenny

Hi, I am trying to find a reputable tattoo artist who offers training to aspiring tattoo artists. I have been searching for someone to show me the basics but to no avail and i have found going into tattoo shops and asking hasn't really helped me either. The only courses i have been able to find are in the UK and i really dont want to have to travel that far. Does anyone know of anybody who would be willing to set up a course like this (for a fair price of course!)

Baggio...

I doubt you'll find anyone to be honest (unless you travel).

There might be one or two tattooists out there willing train you for cash, but I'd say you'll have to pay them big bucks to do so. It's not really done that way.

You can either teach yourself (which is not the ideal, but there are many successful tattooists out there who are completely self taught). Or you can get an apprenticeship which is hard work... but you'll learn a million times quicker and best practice.

Lastly, most tattooists wont just train anybody up, usually you've got to know them on a personal level. Also, as there's a glut of tattoo parlors over here now, it doesn't make much sense to flood the market with even more amateur tattooists.

Just my thoughts.

gigawatt

yeah,I'm in the same boat as hapenny, it seems to be off to the uk for any kind of formal training, my interest in this started as my partner has large block black sleeves which need touching up. im a capable artist but no tattooists ive asked are willing to give me any advice! it seems to me it would make sense for someone with the ability to set up a course for a group of people.
there are a couple of reputable people in the uk doing it, ive found a chap who was a schoolteacher, became a tattooist and has been tattooing for 20 years now who is offering one day stints for 150 pounds. you can keep going back to him as you practice and progress and he'll mentor you over the phone after each session with any problems you experience. this seems like a fair deal to me and removes the mystique surrounding these mythical apprenticeships!!
I dont see what the big deal is with running a course like this in ireland. surely anyone with enough interest to go and do a course deserves a chance to learn correct techniques, and hygiene practices so they dont just pick up a gun and destroy themselves or somebody else. this is what will happen because its so impossible to find out any information here on how to do it corrrectly.
it seems to me that the sooner the industry is regulated with recognised courses and qualifications the better as it means that people wont put themselves at risk of a poor tattoo or worse still disease or infection!! i'd be really interested to know what actual tattoo artists think of this??

Hellrazer

gigawatt wrote: »

yeah,I'm in the same boat as hapenny, it seems to be off to the uk for any kind of formal training, my interest in this started as my partner has large block black sleeves which need touching up. im a capable artist but no tattooists ive asked are willing to give me any advice! it seems to me it would make sense for someone with the ability to set up a course for a group of people.

No 2/3 day course would ever make up for a formal apprenticeship.

there are a couple of reputable people in the uk doing it, ive found a chap who was a schoolteacher, became a tattooist and has been tattooing for 20 years now who is offering one day stints for 150 pounds.

Yep and hes frowned upon by regular tattooists.

I dont see what the big deal is with running a course like this in ireland. surely anyone with enough interest to go and do a course deserves a chance to learn correct techniques, and hygiene practices so they dont just pick up a gun and destroy themselves or somebody else. this is what will happen because its so impossible to find out any information here on how to do it corrrectly.

Lesson number 1 for free.

A Tattoo Machine should never be called a "GUN"

gigawatt

hi I appreciate your input, but firstly as I am not a tattoist I am not familiar with the correct terminology used by tattoists. in my opinion your comment just reinforces my point about tattoo artists having a closed shop mentality, which I find is almost bordering on a kind of snobbery!! is it the end of the world if I refer to it as a gun? Do tattoo artists snigger up their sleeves when they hear the ignorant and unindoctrinated riff raff referring to it as a gun?! lol
Also, you say the guy in the UK is frowned upon by tattooists but you don't explain why. As far as I can see it the only reason any person would frown upon another tattooist offering training courses is that you don't want other people learning as it only increases the competition!! you'd rather keep relevant information to yourself, even if the end result is someone with a bad tattoo or worse still an infection or scarring.
I never said that a 2 day course could replace an apprenticeship, it obviously wouldn't, but it would at least give some kind of a starting platform of basic hygiene and correct techniques so that at least the person wouldn't do any harm to themselves or another person through ignorance!

hapenny

Hellrazer wrote: »

No 2/3 day course would ever make up for a formal apprenticeship.


Yep and hes frowned upon by regular tattooists.




Lesson number 1 for free.

A Tattoo Machine should never be called a "GUN"

does it really make that much of a difference? ive heard people calling real guns a "piece" or a "shooter" but its still quite obvious about what they are referring to! seems like splitting hairs to me, and to be honest i cant see why a guy who is tattooing 20 yrs and helping people who want to learn the trade is "forwned upon", do you have to be a stone mason to learn how to tattoo by a competent tattooist? guess ill just keep looking!

Hellrazer

gigawatt wrote: »

hi I appreciate your input, but firstly as I am not a tattoist I am not familiar with the correct terminology used by tattoists. in my opinion your comment just reinforces my point about tattoo artists having a closed shop mentality, which I find is almost bordering on a kind of snobbery!!

There is a closed shop mentality in trying to get an apprenticeship--Believe me Ive been there.But I don think its snobbery--A tattoo apprenticeship takes years and they dont want someone trying to teach this stuff in 2 or 3 days.

is it the end of the world if I refer to it as a gun? Do tattoo artists snigger up their sleeves when they hear the ignorant and unindoctrinated riff raff referring to it as a gun?! lol

Actually they do.And believe me you walk into a shop looking for an apprenticeship and call it a gun youre straight away on a bad footing.

Also, you say the guy in the UK is frowned upon by tattooists but you don't explain why. As far as I can see it the only reason any person would frown upon another tattooist offering training courses is that you don't want other people learning as it only increases the competition!! you'd rather keep relevant information to yourself, even if the end result is someone with a bad tattoo or worse still an infection or scarring.

Youve answered your own question there.You cannot teach an apprenticeship in 2-3 days.And the reason its an apprenticeship is because they dont want some scarring someone or giving them a deadly--thats right deadly disease.

I never said that a 2 day course could replace an apprenticeship, it obviously wouldn't, but it would at least give some kind of a starting platform of basic hygiene and correct techniques so that at least the person wouldn't do any harm to themselves or another person through ignorance!

You want to start out on the right foot--Go do a Blood borne patogen course and cross contamination course and then get your portfolio together and then start searching for that elusive apprenticeship.If you have your stuff together you`ll get one.

gigawatt

thanks for your response and your comments are definately helpful i really appreciate the positive input. Like i said i want to get this right from the start.
i do find the thing about the gun a bit funny to be honest, it reminds me of horsey people who snigger at learners when they refer to a bay horse as a brown horse! it seems that it is a silly way that people use language to define themselves as part of the clique! :rolleyes:
anyways enough of that rant, I'm really interested in the courses you mention, where does the average joe soap go to do them? they sound very medical!

gigawatt

hapenny wrote: »

does it really make that much of a difference? ive heard people calling real guns a "piece" or a "shooter" but its still quite obvious about what they are referring to! seems like splitting hairs to me, and to be honest i cant see why a guy who is tattooing 20 yrs and helping people who want to learn the trade is "forwned upon", do you have to be a stone mason to learn how to tattoo by a competent tattooist? guess ill just keep looking!

definately agree!, seems that i've got more chance of becoming a templar knight than a tattooist.... lol

Baggio...

hapenny wrote: »

does it really make that much of a difference? ive heard people calling real guns a "piece" or a "shooter"

As HR said, go around the local shops and ask them about their "guns". You'll get an interesting reaction.


Also, how much do you think you can actually learn form one of these (money making) "courses"? Its not as if they are going to provide you with a host of cadavers to learn the trade, and that's the only way you can learn, by actually doing it.

Also, if you don't have an apprenticeship how are you going to get access to sterilized equipment? Okay, you can buy clean needles, but how are you going to clean your grips and everything else that goes with it?

Oh, I'm sure you guys can draw, but can you actually draw? What are you doing to improve your art skills?

Lastly, you mentioned a "reasonable" price - what does that mean, what's reasonable? considering you are getting the life skills to make a career for yourself, how much is that worth? Just look at other courses who offer training for highly specialized skills. If you want those skills you'll just have to pay the price (which will probably be hard work in the end ).

gigawatt wrote: »

thanks for your response and your comments are definately helpful i really appreciate the positive input. Like i said i want to get this right from the start.

Good luck with that!