Tattoo starter kits

I Concur

Hey! I was thinking about getting a tattoo starter kit and learning to tattoo at home because getting an apprenticeship is nearly impossible. But looking at forums everybody seems to be against it!

Help!!

bodice ripper

it is the wrong thing to do. by throwing your hands up and saying "getting an apprenticeship is too hard" you are accepting that you will hack you potential career out of the flesh of unsuspecting people. your trial and error will be someone else's problem or the rest of their lives.

PeakOutput

bodice ripper wrote: »

it is the wrong thing to do. by throwing your hands up and saying "getting an apprenticeship is too hard" you are accepting that you will hack you potential career out of the flesh of unsuspecting people. your trial and error will be someone else's problem or the rest of their lives.

thats not what he said

im not saying i agree with it but he COULD be tatooing dead pig while he works on his art skills and it MIGHT show his dedication when the next apprenticeship position shows up

also all star ink in limerick were looking for an apprentice recently and i havnt heard if they found one or not give them a call, they have high standards though so hope your good

bodice ripper

PeakOutput wrote: »

thats not what he said

im not saying i agree with it but he COULD be tatooing dead pig while he works on his art skills and it MIGHT show his dedication when the next apprenticeship position shows up

he said learning to tattoo at home. drawing on a dead pig is not learning to tattoo. I think you are cutting too much slack here.

also, I can assure you, showing up looking for an apprenticeship with home made tattoos in your portfolio is a bad plan.

I Concur

Well i was going to practice on pig skin or that fake skin. If i was gonna do a apprenticeship i'd have to quit college! I thought myself how to draw so why can't i do the same with tattooing? I wouldn't touch anyone until i thought i was good enough and i'd tattoo myself to make sure i was good enough!

Atavan-Halen

Wait until you are finished college then if you still want to do it then go looking for an apprenticeship. It really is the only way to learn. You have to know how much pressure to apply, how to shade in, proper techniques and so much more that only a professional with years of experience can teach you. It takes a lot of time, dedication and hard work for little money so wait until you do have the time and means to do it.

Will

Do not drop out of college to get an apprenticeship ever! I was considering doing so and am thanking my lucky stars that i didn't. Degree in the long run will be far more beneficial if things don't go to plan

Pierced Off

As a studio owner, all I can say is if someone applies to me for an apprentice position and tells me that they're self taught with an eBay tattoo kit, they generally go right to the bottom of my pile.
Just as I don't want someone who's read a first aid manual at home removing my tonsils, or a guy with a Haynes manual putting a new gearbox into my car, I don't want someone who's watched the repeats of Miami Ink tattooing my paying customers.
Before we even think about showing an apprentice a machine they must learn about hygiene, sterilisation and cross contamination. They need to know what makes a macine run, the difference between a shader and a liner, why some needles are rounds and others flat. In other words theres a lot more to being a tattoo artist than just watching a dvd, and grabbing some pigskin. If you truely want to be a tattoo artist then you will find a way to get there. It may mean moving and it will certainly mean sacrifice but if its what you really want to be then isn't a little sacrifice worth it?

achakwhite

Now a days people like to do something new and that is why they are trying to learn new things. It is good to know that you also wants to learn tattoo painting and it is really good and easy as well. I hope that you can learn it very soon and can make pretty tattoo. I am also thinking little bit about learning so please tell me your experience aboutit after learning so that I also can start.

Jimmy Bottlehead

achakwhite wrote: »

Now a days people like to do something new and that is why they are trying to learn new things. It is good to know that you also wants to learn tattoo painting and it is really good and easy as well. I hope that you can learn it very soon and can make pretty tattoo. I am also thinking little bit about learning so please tell me your experience aboutit after learning so that I also can start.

I wanna be a surgeon, fancy being my test subject? I'll make pretty incisions while I learn, promise.

I Concur

Pierced Off wrote: »

As a studio owner, all I can say is if someone applies to me for an apprentice position and tells me that they're self taught with an eBay tattoo kit, they generally go right to the bottom of my pile.
Just as I don't want someone who's read a first aid manual at home removing my tonsils, or a guy with a Haynes manual putting a new gearbox into my car, I don't want someone who's watched the repeats of Miami Ink tattooing my paying customers.
Before we even think about showing an apprentice a machine they must learn about hygiene, sterilisation and cross contamination. They need to know what makes a macine run, the difference between a shader and a liner, why some needles are rounds and others flat. In other words theres a lot more to being a tattoo artist than just watching a dvd, and grabbing some pigskin. If you truely want to be a tattoo artist then you will find a way to get there. It may mean moving and it will certainly mean sacrifice but if its what you really want to be then isn't a little sacrifice worth it?

You make a very good point! Cheers for the advice!

I Concur

One more question.

Can you get work experience in a tattoo studio? I have to do 2 weeks work exp as part of my course.

Star Lord

Chances are slim, and if you do, it'll be at the desk I'd say.

Pierced Off

I Concur wrote: »

Can you get work experience in a tattoo studio? I have to do 2 weeks work exp as part of my course.

We have taken secondary students on work experience (builds good relationship with local community) but never anyone from college.
Usual work experience is.... heath and safety, cleaning. Go to the shops, cleaning. Draw some pictures, cleaning Lunchtime, go to the shops again, have lunch, clean up after lunch. If they're lucky, and the customer agrees, they might get to see a tattoo being done, but they are told not to forget that the client is paying a professional to tattoo them so they don't want to listen to someone asking 20 question during their time.
Miami Ink it ain't. One of the good things we have found out about work experience is it turns people off becoming tattoo artists quicker than anything else we've ever seen. Amazing what a dose of real reality, as opposed to TVs version, does to a person.

I Concur

Pierced Off wrote: »

We have taken secondary students on work experience (builds good relationship with local community) but never anyone from college.
Usual work experience is.... heath and safety, cleaning. Go to the shops, cleaning. Draw some pictures, cleaning Lunchtime, go to the shops again, have lunch, clean up after lunch. If they're lucky, and the customer agrees, they might get to see a tattoo being done, but they are told not to forget that the client is paying a professional to tattoo them so they don't want to listen to someone asking 20 question during their time.
Miami Ink it ain't. One of the good things we have found out about work experience is it turns people off becoming tattoo artists quicker than anything else we've ever seen. Amazing what a dose of real reality, as opposed to TVs version, does to a person.

Sure i won't mind that... I'm a very neat person so cleaning is no problem to me And drawing is what i enjoy doing

funkt

im no real artist but 2 of the best tattoo artists i know are self tought started on themselfs and eventualy friends alot of their early work wasent great and one of them said that he has coverd up some of the original tattoos he plasterd on his buddies
both these dudes have their own shops now and are doing very well
but im sure for every one of these lads that it turnd out well for thares 100 that it didnt
rele its up too you to make a decision to go for it or not i wouldnt see the harm in getting the gun and practicing on pigskin twud give u an idea how it works

Star Lord

funkt wrote: »

i wouldnt see the harm in getting the gun and practicing on pigskin twud give u an idea how it works

It'd give them a bad idea of how it works, and they'd have to forget all that and learn from scratch again once they got into proper tattooing.