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TattooNOW's ideas about getting good tattoos.
Ok, we all know art is subjective, but for better or worse there are BAD tattoo artists and BAD tattoos. Just like there’s good rock and roll and bad rock and roll, except if you get a bad tattoo, you will have to work harder to make it great. I am lucky to have learned this lesson after getting 2 mediocre tattoos, and have since been collecting fantastic ones, if I don’t say so myself. I have also been working with some incredibly talented artists on this website, and in doing so I have become quite the tattoo snob. This is a good thing, because tattoos are forever, and if there’s one thing to be a snob about, it’s ink. In any event, between the real world where people often ask me about tattoos and who to get them from, and this website, I often find myself giving folks advice about tattoos. Which is kinda fun for me, because as my friends will tell you, I have opinions and I like to talk. Often I do get frustrated, however, because there are very few places to learn about tattoos (there’s no “Getting Tattooed 101” in school) so I hear the same questions and comments again and again. So, this series of articles will hopefully answer some of your questions and spew forth my opinions on how to get a good tattoo.
First, my experiences. I got my first tattoo when I was 17 at a studio where a brother of a friend went, not realizing there was a difference between artists (I was young!). The second tattoo I got because a tattoo shop opened half way in between my walk from home to work. Again, I didn’t realize there were good artists and bad artists and I really wanted another bird tattoo. So, after getting two not so fantastic tattoos, I began to do my research a little more. A good friend, Keefer, kept talking about Sean O’Hara and how he was cranking out the fantastic tattoos. I was unsure at first, after all, my buddy’s brother thought the first studio I went to was hot shit too, so I held out until I saw a backpiece full of colorful comic book characters. When I saw the art that was possible in tattoos, I knew I had found my guy. Now, I was still not out of my 20s, so the next few tattoos were good, but alas, I would do things differently if I had a blank canvas. Lucky for me, Sean opened what would become one of the nations best tattoo studios, and, with one exception, all of my regrets are now covered up with great tattoos by very talented artists.
Ok, so I’ll start with one statement I hear almost as often as “Does it hurt?” (too obvious for the first article). Folks often ask where I go to get their tattooed. I tell them Transcend Tattoo or Hope Gallery in New Haven, CT. It’s an hour and a half drive for me, but the tattoo artists are some of the best on the east coast. When hearing I drive so far (I used to hitch hike it back in the day!) they inevitably say, “I don’t need a good artist I just want a simple design.” Like driving 90 miles is too far to insure a fantastic tattoo that lasts a lifetime!? I always have to hold back a “Are you stupid??? Of course you need a good artist!!! Do you know what a bad tattoo artist is capable of doing to a simple tattoo????”
Tattooing is not easy. It takes a lot of skill and practice to learn how to apply a good tattoo. The artist needs to learn how to tattoo the ink in the right layer of skin, what angle to hold the machines, how to tune and operate the tattoo machines, how to sterilize their equipment, and a zillion other details that I have no idea about. Often it takes years to get all the details down, and one things is for sure, you don’t really want to be that experiment as your tattoo artist is learning. Sure, this brings up the point about how an artist will learn if they don’t have anyone to practice on. I reply, don’t worry, they will learn, there are tons of folks who won’t know the difference. In any event, my advice is thus. Finding a good tattoo artist to apply your tattoo is always very important. If the best guy or gal in your area is too far of a drive you should do one of two things. check out our list of custom tattoo artists and check out the portfolios of folks near you. If you don’t know anyone in your area, email us and we will tell you who we would go to. If they don’t give you someone close to home, then I would buck up and drive. For every hard working talented tattoo artist, there are 10 more who are either learning, or are past the point of learning and don’t know any better. If the choice is driving a few hours to get to a talented tattoo artist or going to some random artist in your home town, grab a few CDs and have a fun road trip. If you live in the middle of nowhere, then make arrangements to take a tattoo vacation.
Again, if you are looking for a solid tattoo artist in your area, browse our custom tattoo artist list and email us if you cant find anyone and we will do our best.
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