Are you dreaming of becoming a tattoo artist? Do you love drawing and want to open your own tattoo shop? No problem! But like any profession, the job of a tattoo artist involves some difficulties and daily small risks that we want everyone to be aware of before starting. Favvosee has listed all the useful information you need to know before becoming a tattoo artist.

Investing in your tattoo equipment

You will at least need one tattoo machine, a set of inks, and disposable items (needles, gloves, rubber bands, paper, and pencils). Favvosee has a tattoo kit suitable for beginners, with aircraft grade aluminum body and easy-to-operate friendly to newbies. Many professional tattooists use and test the product in real life.

Being good at drawing is not enough to be a great tattoo artist

To become a tattoo artist, obviously you need to have a natural talent for drawing, but there is a huge difference between what can be drawn on a piece of paper and what can be tattooed.

Like anything else, it takes practice and over time your work will improve, but it is important to start with small tattoos, such as wrist tattoos.

To become a tattoo artist, you will certainly need experience. To practice, you must tattoo on flesh. Some people start practicing on tattoo skin.

This is a common practice, but it will never give you the reflexes, sweating and breathing that you will face in the professional reality and unpredictable events of human skin. You will be forced to start as an apprentice, that is, with little or no pay.

At Favvosee, we often meet tattoo beginners who share their learning process. Offer services at low prices or for free, in order to continue training as much as possible. Unless you are really rich, you will be forced to find a job to live on. Have done waitressing, salesperson or teacher.

Your working tools move, breathe, and evolve

The skin wrinkles, changes, tans, and has scars. When you paint on the canvas, you can keep it the same for hundreds of years. But the appearance of tattoos will change over time: even two weeks later, when the skin heals, the tattoo will change.

There may be some people who don't take care of or don't take care of their tattoos, which will change the visual effect of the tattoos: the color may fade or the design may change.

You have to be very vigilant after tattooing (protect your tattoo from sunlight for three weeks, use only low-allergy products), but sometimes things can go wrong, unfortunately, this is part of the job.

You feel like a therapist or psychologist

Sometimes your clients will tell you the most painful moments of their lives and ask you to turn them into very personalized tattoos. These people will remember, in addition to the artistic design of the tattoo, that the process also has a therapeutic effect.

To be a good tattoo artist, you must forget your troubles and think only of the person in front of you. It is very important to worry about her and what she will put on her.

When you design tattoos for your clients, there is a stronger emotional exchange.

There are two traditional models in tattoo shops, which differ from each other. First is walk-in: in the store, customers mainly request tattoos on the spot. They choose pre-made designs and you will never see them again after the appointment.

Then there are salons that specialize in personalized tattoos, where artists work upstream with their clients to create original and unique works. There may be a delay of several months between the first appointment to discuss the design and the final tattoo.

Errors may occur

When you start, some of your lines may be incomplete or irregular. Even then you can make mistakes. Unfortunately, it happens and it is part of the job. Spelling errors are not impossible, which is why it is necessary to check with the client multiple times.

If a mistake happens, it cannot be undone. You need to apologize and offer to cover it for free.

You Must Learn to Stay Focused

A basic quality of a tattoo artist is knowing how to stay focused on his work. You must reach a zen-like level of supreme calm. Some tattoos require hours of work. When you think you are done, you still have all the things to do.

You may panic, which is normal, but you must learn to refocus on the millimeters of skin you need to ink.

You Must Listen to Your Body

When you work, you are basically in a seated position, with your back bent and not moving too much. And for more than 10 hours a day. Back pain is common to all tattoo artists, as is tendonitis in the wrists.

Even after years of work, you will still find flaws in your tattoos

If you are self-critical like most artists, this job will inspire you. I wish I could change some details, even in my favorite tattoos.