Become a Tattoo Artist

Tattoo Studio Owners who don’t tattoo

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:17:30 +0000

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.

Its old, I re-posted it, and its still relevant! Read it

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:01:06 +0000

Saved by the bell (the tattoo years) [from www.ArizonaTattooMagazine.com]

Hello my fellow Arizonians, no Screech is not going to pop out of Kelly’s ass with a Seth Ciferri shader…sorry.

There are a lot of tattoo “schools” sprouting up all over the US of A lately. Seems like every time I run my handy dandy search engine on the internets, I get a new batch to browse. Now, in the professional tattoo industry (I use the term professional loosely) there are what would appear to be two distinct camps that have formed. The first tribe would have you believe that the only way to become a tattoo artist is to do a proper good old fashioned apprenticeship, while the other one is pounding forward on a new trail to develop some tattoo learning centers.

I am all for the apprenticeship and I am also all for the school concept. There are some dangerous limitations and complexities that arise in both scenarios. So if you are a professional artist and you are offering up that coveted apprenticeship, or you have decided to be the dark sheep in your neighborhood and you are going to take the leap of faith and attempt the unthinkable…listen close.

I have a few rants for both of you!

If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it still make a sound? If an apprentice makes a perfect 7 mag in a studio but his mentor is nowhere to be found, will it ever make it to the autoclave? Who cares! That’s right, haven’t you heard? Tattoo shops are all about anarchy! Seriously though, for those of us who have all but worshiped the idea of some day working in a professional tattoo studio – just getting up the nerve to walk in there and ask for some advice is nerve racking enough? Most kids on the street just know one thing: I am good at art and I want to tattoo (I guess that was 2 things actually).

So of course the desperate kid is going to do whatever it takes to just get his foot in the door. It is when the mentor starts to abuse this power that he holds over his apprentice that the dark side really appears. I mean, I get the fact that you have to pay your dues and prove your loyalty to the studio and its plethora of rotating staff… I really do. Artists have to really think about a few things though.

If you are a professional artist and you think you have some stuff that you might want to share with a budding young talent, ask yourself these questions:

1. Do I show up to work every day (on time)?

2. Am I a good role model with some type of ethics in my work standard?

3. Do I even have time to explain stuff to an apprentice, or am I going to keep the guy doing busy work for a few months until he bugs out?

4. Is my skill level even at that where I think I am worthy to call myself a teacher?

If you can nail all of these with a yes then you have my official blessing to carry on (for what that is worth). If you answered no to just one of these, then do everyone involved a favor and don’t waste some budding young artist’s time. Actually I take it back, that type of situation will just build character… hmm maybe I have to rethink my entire position on this issue and have a little internal debate…. Be back in a bit.

[30 minutes later]

Okay, so… where was I? Oh yeah – tough love. Like I as saying before, you have to beat the metaphoric piss out of your apprentice, and treat him like trash. You have to make him do every daunting and unappealing task that there is in the shop. You have to make him draw 100s if not 1000s of pieces of flash over and over and over, because he obviously doesn’t have any artistic ability. You have to promise yourself to teach him about nickel gap shader tricks, only after his 10th month as your slave. You might even have to make him sign a contract that says he will not even try to tattoo at any other studio within 100 miles of the one you are at this week (because you care about him). You should also give him all your old broken gear that you obviously treasure with all your heart, and you could fix any time you want – you just don’t “feel” like it.

So you guys wonder why these kids are so anxious to go to some tattoo studio (with an extra room in the back) that calls itself a learning establishment. The sad thing is that these schools are run by the types of tattoo artists that just got into the business to make a buck anyway. Did I mention that it is my opinion that there are three types of people in the tattoo industry?

Type A person: was mesmerized the first time he stepped into a tattoo studio – and had that dream to one day be humbled as an employee of one (well maybe not that innocent, but I am sure Type A person still gets a hard on every time he takes his tattoo machines out of their holding area). Type B person: heard that his friend Jose got a “kit” from that magazine ad, and has already made ten-times as much money as he spent on that kit (he saves money on needles if you know what I mean). Type C person: might be the worst type of person in the tattoo industry, a former piercer turned tattooer!

I’m only kidding about that last one.

Do you see what I am trying to tell you here? There are only a handful of really PROFESSIONAL professionals out there. You guys really want to complain about the tattoo school scenario, but you are letting Person B open them up out of your own ignorance and self-absorbtion (and possible insecurity).

What do we have to do to legitimize the profession? Seriously.. it starts with the apprentice. Apprenticeship is the way to go, we all know that – but why can’t school be the way to go? I know I have a lot of questions and not too many answers. I am not pretending to know it all. I do know that these half ass schools are going to make a whole bunch of really interested kids really annoyed.

This is all happening while the pros sit back in their studios and just watch the train-wreck… but I guarantee the animosity is there in the real studios, and if you put your ear to the door you might just hear something like, “I wonder how much they are charging people to rip them off for that talentless school?”

We all know how cut throat this industry is. It’s like high school, especially in the concentrated areas. So, whether you are in “tattoo school” or “tattoo high school” – pick your poison. I am not bashing the tattoo schools – I just have yet to see a really good one. And by good, I am not even talking about the caliber of the artists. You will see some pretty crappy artists teaching at graphic design universities… it’s not about being the best artist in the world at a tattoo school. The best artists really have no place teaching school, they should be creating awesome works of art for clients.

The tattoo techniques are what needs to be taught in a clear and concise manner to the tribal covered grasshoppers of Arizona. It is really hard to run a professional school when you are lacking in professionalism. You can have all the talent in the world when it comes to tattoo, but if your customer service blows – you will more than likely loose clients.

It is about time that the entire tattoo industry takes note and grows the F up.

PS – You can grow up and still have that MoHawk!

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

admin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:45:02 +0000

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)

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

admin — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:17:39 +0000

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!

A scratcher was born

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 21:37:17 +0000

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!

Should you become a tattoo Apprentice?

admin — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 11:37:24 +0000

Is it Hard to become a tattoo apprentice? YES!

Are there opportunities to learn how to tattoo in your local area? YES

Do you have to look for them? YES

Here is a post from the TeachMeToTattoo.com Forum

Viper65

Posts: 19

Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 11:12 pm

Thu Jun 30, 2011 9:58 pm

apprentice or not?

Let’s see…..sweep the floor, take out trash, scrub the toilets, clean the counter tops, do any other

Bullshit jobs that some lazy a$ doesn’t want to do, share all your work for someone

To potentially steal it? All to learn how to tatto, probably from some idiot that can’t

Draw a stick figure…nah….ill pass. I just don’t get it….do you seriously think your mentor

Will really share his secrets? I’m a artist and have a few of my own and I don’t care

If you come clean my house every day of the week…your not getting them.

[SPONSORED BY BASIC FUNDAMENTALS OF MODERN TATTOO - Tattoo TextBook]

My Reply to this post:

Viper,

Most skilled professions require that the individual who wants to learn them goes to a vocational school. There are no real secrets in the tattoo industry any more. The information is available for sale in countless books and DVDs. You could consider these things tattoo secrets I guess. If you are an artist and you utilize your apprentices for labour and you are not teaching them anything then you are a pretty lame example of a mentor.

Tattoo apprenticeships are not really supposed to be slave labour. The reason so many of the old school artists would haze their apprentices, using them for excessive chores and things outside the shop was because tattoo was once a VERY guarded profession. The artists did not poses very much artistic skill, only technical knowledge. There is a big difference in tattooing. You should be an artist before you become a tattooist. If you are very secretive and guarded about your profession it is typically because you are worried that the apprentice is actually a better artist – and if he grasps the technical skills that you might have – then he might open his own shop or take clients from you (insecurity leads to secrecy).

The reason that I advocate an apprenticeship is not because I feel that you have to “earn your stripes” so to speak, but you can not learn all of the technical stuff simply from books and DVDs. You might get the gist of it – but you really need to see the hands on first person view of it. This can just as easily be done by paying an artist to tattoo your arms for 20 hours while you take notes mentally. I have had a few apprentices, and I am not an amazing tattoo artist by any means. I look at it as a symbol of success if my apprentice is better than me after 6 – 12 months of actual tattooing. I tried to take on apprentices who were already established artists and had a giant ability – they just needed to know the technical aspect.

That should be the mentality of the mentor who is training an apprentice. I am friends will all the individuals who (I like to think I helped) I have trained. I believe that says a lot about the way they apprenticed under me. Sure they were setting up my tattoo station for a long time, and broke down the station – an cleaned the bathrooms. I was lucky and I had a really good mentor myself – who never asked me to clean or break down anything… it was implied. I always had everything done before I was asked. This was because I was so eager to learn the trade and improve my own skills.

I have a degree in graphic design, which cost me around $50,000.00 – I have another degree in Information Science, which cost about the same. I could have just as easily worked for a graphic design studio and looked over a senior artist’s shoulder and done all the “bitch work” in the studio. Either way – you have to pay to learn. The apprenticeship is not meant to be degrading, it is a way for the artist to have hired help in the studio – the payment is information and education. If you are an apprentice and you are constantly being told to do things – then you are not a good apprentice. If you are a mentor and you are not sharing any “secrets” then you are not a good mentor.

You get what you put into this industry, and to me it is more important to share the information and make friends – than it is to belittle someone and make them my shop slave, running my personal errands. With that being said, any one of the individuals who at one point called themselves my apprentice – would gladly run to the store for me – or run personal errands (had I ever asked them to). That type of respect is earned, and it takes a certain level of life experience to respect the apprenticeship process and maturity to call yourself a mentor.

There is a lot more on this thread you can Read More Here.

Why is a tattoo apprenticeship important?

Tattoo Help from the TeachMeToTattoo.com Forum

admin — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:09:29 +0000

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

Why share so much about my own personal tattoo timeline?

admin — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 18:04:05 +0000

The reason that I feel it is important to share my journey in tattooing with people who are thinking about getting a tattoo (or even thinking about becoming tattoo artists) is because most clients don’t seem to grasp how hard it is to break into this industry properly and how much effort and time is dedicated by those who want to learn this craft. Most artists literally spend years trying to learn this skill in an unpaid apprenticeship where the only payment is little nuggets of information that are like tools in themselves. So much time is dedicated that when it is all added up, the tattoo artist is really just trying to break even by making up for lost time during his first few years of tattooing professionally.

Excerpt from my new book: “This Might Sting a Bit” 101 Things your tattoo artist forgot to tell you & you were probably too afraid to ask

Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo

admin — Fri, 27 May 2011 16:28:28 +0000

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.

Sneak Peak

admin — Tue, 24 May 2011 12:57:00 +0000

Advanced Tattoo Apprentice

CR Jordan - The Advanced Tattoo Apprentice