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Tattoo Studio Owners who don’t tattoo

08 Nov

Excerpt from “This may sting a bit: 101 things your tattoo artist forgot to tell you and you were probably too afraid to ask”

page43:

This May Sting a Bit - CR Jordan

Ask if the owner of the shop knows how to tattoo

A possible sign that things are going to be run properly

at a tattoo shop is if the owner of the tattoo studio is a tattoo

artist himself. There are a lot of tattoo studios opening up that

seem to have non-tattooing owners. I have worked in some

of these types of tattoo studios, and things never seemed to

be running smooth. Such a studio owner has only one thing

in mind: making a profit. Most tattoo artists that open their

own studios do so out of love for the art and because they have

worked their way up to a point in their career where they can

actually afford it. A tattooing owner will know what type of

furniture to purchase for tattooing, what lighting is best, and

what proper sterilization/sanitation tools are required. There are

some things in a tattoo studio that shouldn’t be skimped on,

and the non-tattooing owner is more likely to try to save a few

dollars here and there by purchasing lower grade materials or

even passing on these needed items altogether.

I have also seen tattoo studio owners who, after opening

up their tattoo studio, feel that they can learn the trade and

start tattooing clients. This is when the portfolio will come in

handy. And it is always best to get a referral before you go to a

tattoo studio because even portfolios can be Photoshopped or

faked.

If the owner is not a tattoo artist, but has a really good

tattoo studio (which does happen), it is more than likely because

he is a good business owner or he has relied on an actual

tattoo artist to make these decisions. There are a lot of sanitation/

sterilization procedures that happen behind the scenes.

Just because the owner is a tattoo artist doesn’t mean these

things will be properly completed at the tattoo studio, but it

seems more often than not they are.

It has been my experience that tattoo artist owners are

more in tune with the industry, advancing their craft, recruiting

top tattoo artists to work for them, and many other things that

are good for you. This is just another question you can add to

your arsenal when you are shopping for a quality tattoo studio,

but it alone should not be a deciding factor.

1 Comment

Posted in Books and Media, Hot Products

Oh no – now I am a “knock off salesman” I can feel the flood waters coming down on me!

22 Sep

eMail I got shortly after blasting out the Rotary Special:

Really? You’re selling cheap knock-off machines?! I’m disappointed.

Please remove me from your distribution lists. Thanks for the book though. It was insightful for when I was starting out.

(I will not post the guy’s email address who sent this to me – but you can see my response below)

======================

Yes they are cheap machines -

not knock offs though -

And Cheap because the price is low -

They are actually pretty damn good -

and if you notice that I am selling them for very low price -

I am not getting rich off this stuff at all.

I got a few of these rotary machines -

all the guys at the shop played w/ them -

all the guys LOVE them -

and I am not talking about “like” they seriously love them…

which is why I decided to get a few hundred and give them away this cheap -

I want the feed back…

perhaps I can improve on these designs….

They are JUST as good as the $500 machines.

Just FYI

I also sell hand made coil machines -

for $150 – $700 a piece

But I wouldn’t advertise that to the people who purchased my intro to tattooing books – as it is not the same clientele

Tattoo artists who are just starting out don’t have $500 for a machine…

you can see the attached photos…

these were done w/ “cheap” knock off machines -

Beware of the “verbal hype” you hear behind these faddish machines – that are over priced and made in the same factory as the cheap ones.

I am glad you liked my book -

I hope you understand that my goal is to HELP out the lower end tattoo artists and those apprentices who are “breaking into the industry”.

I would love to see your shop’s website – or your portfolio sometime.

: )

Best of luck to you -

and I encourage you to try out these machines…

My goal is to be accessible to the people who buy things from me -

and answer everyone’s newbie questions – and try to be positive and help out

because I remember what it was like trying to get into the tattoo industry.

-CR Jordan

(currently in Afghanistan w/ the Marines)

No Comments

Posted in Books and Media, Hot Products, Talented Artists, Tattoos by Author

If you own Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo – Special Rotary Tattoo Machine Price!

22 Sep

Do you have a serial number for www.TeachMeToTattoo.com?

If you do then you can take advantage of this special offer for Rotary Tattoo machines.

I am working on putting up the order website right now – but in the mean time these machines will go fast.

So email sales@tattoobooksonline.com and be sure to include “I want rotary machines” in the subject line.

Include your Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo Serial number and you will be emailed a PayPal order request for the machines.

You can order one machine for $35 plus S&H or $50 for both + S&H (a steal either way)…

Thank you for your purchase of my books! Get Rotary Machines for Cheap!

SPECIAL OFFER!

Get both Rotary Tattoo Machines

For $50.00 plus Shipping

As a special thank you for your purchase

I want to offer you these amazing rotary machines for a really insane price!

I personally use these soft hitting rotary machines when I do soft color tattoos, and I am including tips and tricks on how to use them in my new book as well as on the TMTT portal.

You can get them for $35.00 each or $50.00 for the set! *Plus S&H

Visit: www.TeachMeToTattoo.com/rotary50

Hurry up because I only have 200 machines at this price!

2 Comments

Posted in Books and Media, Custom Tattoo Machines, Hot Products

A scratcher was born

12 Aug

My friends Chris and Kyle and I stood there. The contents of the tattoo kit lay out on the kitchen table like a surgeon’s operating room tray. The tattoo kit came with a VHS tape called Tattooing A to Z. We popped it into the VCR. It had to have been recorded in the early ’80s. The quality was grainy and poor, and we couldn’t make out anything that the guy in the video was doing. There was very little “real” instruction and all the terminology was vague.

“Screw it. Let’s do this,” I said as I hit eject on the VCR. My buddy Chris was to be my first victim. And what exactly was the selected design for his first tattoo? A Chevy logo also known as the “bowtie” seemed easy enough to pull off for my first tattoo. I didn’t even make fun of Chris for picking out such a white-trashy tattoo. I was thrilled it was a simple design.

Long story short, the next day I tried to get a job at a tattoo shop and brought Chris to show off his bowtie as a sort of walking resume. The guy at the tattoo shop recommended that I throw away my tattoo equipment so as to never harm another human again. I also recall the tattoo artists at that shop “kindly” asking me to get off their property.

That was a real eye-opener for me because I realized that the guys at the tattoo shop, who were pretty much jerks, were actually protecting their trade. I started to think about it more and more. How was I supposed to get into this industry? How does someone become a tattoo artist? There is no school of tattoo, no college degree or vocational course available. I had hit a brick wall.

(from THIS MIGHT STING A BIT: 101 THINGS YOUR TATTOO ARTIST FORGOT TO TELL YOU AND YOU WERE PROBABLY TOO AFRAID TO ASK – by CR Jordan)

Four more weeks till this book goes to print. Just doing final edits and cover design. I know – I am like 6 months behind what I promised everyone!

3 Comments

Posted in Apprentice Theory, Books and Media, Hot Products

Tattoo Help from the TeachMeToTattoo.com Forum

26 Jun

I am new to this forum and have found it really useful! There doesnt seem to be the bitchiness that you normally find on these forums.

I just wanted to clarify the theory of “Stroke Length”. In the book it says that a liner should be fast and hard hitting with a long stroke length. So the machine will run fast due to a stiffer front spring and softer rear spring, it will hit hard due to the higher voltage? with regards to the stroke length, the book says that the greater the angle of deflection between the a-bar nipple and the falcrum point the longer the stroke length. so i should bend the a-bar upwards? i also read about “zeroing the spring out” does this mean i should bend the front spring upwards more so that there is still a dime gap when the a-bar is stressed? I have a Ronnie Starr mini liner the a-bar nipple is high but when i zero out the front spring and re-adjust so it is just touching the contact screw and then pull the a-bar down the gap is massive. should i be zeroing out the front spring?

REPLY:

While a softer rear spring on a tattoo machine will speed it up – it will do so at a lower voltage.
Those general rules apply to keeping every thing else the same.
Meaning if you change just 1 variable – then you will have the change noticeable.

For a typical liner – you will want a longer stroke, and a heavy to medium hit.
But this depends on what type of lining you do.

Longer stroke would involve the distance that the A-bar nipple moves (ie: the figure 8 or “ghost) while running.
There are a few ways to achieve this.
Add tension to your rear spring – and open the contact screw is the best – easiest way in my opinion.
(so by adding tension to the rear spring you could simply add a heavier gauge metal spring and not bend – or you could use a lighter gauge and bend it a bit more to increase tension)

Lots of ways to add tension -

I prefer to not line so much when I tattoo, but when I do – I like a hard fast liner w/ medium to short stroke. But I have found that most artists prefer long stroke medium speed – medium to hard hit.
I try to tattoo very fast though – it is really a personal style and preference thing.

In my school of thought – you should not be a slave to the machine.
You should know how to make your machine run a certain way
and know which way you like it to run for a certain job you want to accomplish..
this way you do not have any rules for tattooing – except the ones you create yourself.

hope this helps!

If you enjoy the book: Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo – please help me out by posting a review on http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Fundamentals-Modern-Tattoo-Jordan/product-reviews/0615281478/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&qid=1309086277&sr=8-1

1 Comment

Posted in Apprentice Theory, Books and Media

Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo

27 May

Steven says:

Thank you very much. I had what was most of an apprenticeship before the

artist teaching me moved to another state. I never reached the actual

tattooing stage before he left though so I’m still learning a lot on my

own. The book I read was fantastic and it ended up teaching me a lot that

was not mentioned during my apprenticeship. I am very grateful to have

stumbled upon it. I have a few questions still but I’ll save them for

another day if I can’t find my answers on the tattoo forums in the portal.

No Comments

Posted in Books and Media

Sneak Peak

24 May

Advanced Tattoo Apprentice

CR Jordan - The Advanced Tattoo Apprentice

2 Comments

Posted in Apprentice Theory, Books and Media

Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo – Another Happy Customer!

24 May

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written and insightful, May 23, 2011

By texastrainer – See all my reviews

This review is from: Basic Fundamentals Of Modern Tattoo (Paperback)

I purchased a starter tattoo kit after 20 years away from holding a tattoo gun in my hand. My intention was to imply finish and fix a few tattoos that hadn’t been fixed or finished. When my kit arrived “Tattoo Basics” was included. I’ve had the book about four weeks and have read it almost five times now. It is extremely easy to follow and very well written. Since getting it I’ve been inspired to take my tattooing a bit further than originally intentioned. I am breaking down machines and studying the geometry of them and really trying to study the technical side beyond the art. I think it prepares an apprentice or anyone looking to tattoo to not only be safe, but also educated in their pursuit. I’m hoping for a second in the series. – Mark

5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written and insightful, May 23, 2011By texastrainer – See all my reviewsThis review is from: Basic Fundamentals Of Modern Tattoo (Paperback)I purchased a starter tattoo kit after 20 years away from holding a tattoo gun in my hand. My intention was to imply finish and fix a few tattoos that hadn’t been fixed or finished. When my kit arrived “Tattoo Basics” was included. I’ve had the book about four weeks and have read it almost five times now. It is extremely easy to follow and very well written. Since getting it I’ve been inspired to take my tattooing a bit further than originally intentioned. I am breaking down machines and studying the geometry of them and really trying to study the technical side beyond the art. I think it prepares an apprentice or anyone looking to tattoo to not only be safe, but also educated in their pursuit. I’m hoping for a second in the series. – Mark

No Comments

Posted in Books and Media

Tattoo Forum / Book Review

12 May

Ryan From Pittsburgh Hello, fellow artist my name is Ryan and I’m a 28 year old with two little girl (19Months and 2Months) with a full time and part time job. I seriously just woke up one day about two weeks ago and was like “I’m going to tattoo”. So I don’t know if it was a dumb move or smart but I instantly bought a apprentice tattoo starter kit that came with a copy of the Apprentice Tattoo Basics book. I seriously didnt put it down and prob read the whole thing in about two hours and loved it & the author (in a non-gay way). I actually owe the author a “Thank You” in my opinion because I was on the path to being a “Scratcher”. In my mind I really wasnt going to apprentice (not that I didnt think it was important) but I thought I was to busy to get a apprenticeship somewhere. Besides filling me in with the basic fundamentals (like it says on the cover) it really pushed how inportant it is to be clean and how important it is to live by the pencil. So I took a blood borne pathogens course & test (which was like common sense to me) and really just started drawing anything I could. I could have one of my babys in my arms and a pencil in my hand. So within a week I had a decent portfolio of my own pencil drawn clip art and certificate (these two things in my opinion are not hard and everyone even a Scratcher should do). I can say I seriously hit the jackpot for my area with my tattoo artist. Chris Blick the owner of American Tattoo here in Pittsburgh and I’ve been going to him for about 10 years now and in the past 4 years I go the first Monday of every month (since he has about a year long waiting list). Him and his shop are very well knowed in this area and nationally. I can also say my work I have from him is beyond amazing and I’m hoping to win some awards at some tattoo conventions I plan on attending in the near future. Well, this past Monday was my usual monthly tattoo appointment and I went in kinda spying on his set up from his inks to his cleaners. I didnt know if I was going to tell him or not about my new addiction I mean at this point I have only tattooed fruit/pig skin and I was more scared of being tagged as a “scratcher”. But he started talking about different needles configurations to one of his artist who works for him and I butted in the conversation with a little bit of knowledge of needles and from there I just spilled my guts to the guy. But the number one thing I think he really liked and knew I was serious was when I told him I have my blood borne pathogens certificate. He totally opened up to me the instant he saw that I was somewhat educated in the field and answered every single question I had and gave me a biohazard bin/plastic sleeves for my cords. He also welcomed me to come to his shop to watch him. It actually worked out nicely because my baby momma #1 (yes, I have 2) had a appointment the next day with one of his other artist. So being on good terms with her I asked if she cared if I came just so I could see Chris again. I told Chris I was thinking about tattooing myself and he said he thought I was a good enough artist that I would be fine and if I wanted to do it there I was welcome to. So I went to the works on my lower leg and learned more than I ever thought I would. Some of the angles were tough for me to hit because I couldnt see the needle but I got a really nice and solid outline. I can’t wait to color it in and possibly add both my daughters name in script. Script kinda scares me right now though and it is prob the #1 thing I should start practicing more of. Anyways, my tattoo artist was really happy with my work on myself and once again said come down whenever you want. So I told him I dont have alot of free time due to having kids and working but I wanted to do this more than anything and he said I could apprentice there as long as I realize that I can’t take up the customers time since they are paying good $$$ to get ink done. I have SO MUCH TO LEARN but I would have never dreamed of being on the right track that I am on now in so little time.

2 Comments

Posted in Books and Media

Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo Review

05 Feb

Hi Charles, many thanks again for being very helpful as usual.

I will go ahead with the poisoning then !

Many thanks!
Bettie

This is my review:

Excellent book, perfect for beginners, very detailed, it covers many aspects of tattooing, from tuning a machine to hygine standards, very easy to understand, even if you are not familiar with the subject.
Most importantly, it is realistic about becoming a pro tattoo artist and doesn’t promise you to turn you into a tattooist over night!
I am a beginner myself, but I was able to improve a lot thanks to the tips in this book and the forum.
I would also like to mention that Charles is extremely helpful and one of the very few tattoo artist I dealt with, who is actually happy to share his tattoo knowledge, instead of hiding it….!
I rate this book 10/10!!!!!!!

1 Comment

Posted in Books and Media

Become a Tattoo Artist

Archive for the ‘Books and Media’ Category

Tattoo Studio Owners who don’t tattoo

Oh no – now I am a “knock off salesman” I can feel the flood waters coming down on me!

If you own Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo – Special Rotary Tattoo Machine Price!

A scratcher was born

Tattoo Help from the TeachMeToTattoo.com Forum

Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo

Sneak Peak

Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo – Another Happy Customer!

Tattoo Forum / Book Review

Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo Review

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