Lesson Three
A great place to start is by finding an apprenticeship opportunity at a well-established tattoo studio. If you are unable to get an apprenticeship, find a comprehensive online tattooing course to start learning. Draw every single day, you cannot get enough practice. Study artists whose work you admire, copy them in your drawing practice until such time that you are able to formulate your own style.
Do research on tattoo machines and other equipment used in the process. Deep dive into tattoo videos on YouTube, there are tons, watch all of them. Ink Master and all the other shows are entertaining, but sometimes highly unrealistic. Don’t use these for learning. They are more for motivation to get your artwork to those levels.
There are a number of artists who have created online tattoo courses. It may be worth your time investing in some of these and getting to understand how different artists operate. Apprenticeships are by far the best way to get acquainted with the skills needed to become a tattoo artist. It is a hands-on, practical learning experience. Just make sure that your mentor is someone whose art you actually admire. There’s no point learning under someone whose work you do not enjoy.
In the beginning you will have to do a lot of free tattoos. Do not be afraid to invest time and money into this. This is your ultimate schooling. Nothing prepares you more for tattoos than actually tattooing on human skin.
Just start. Don’t ever stop, EVER!
Utilise all of the free social media platforms to market your services. Be nice to people, even when they aren’t nice to you. Patience will get you to the finish line, even if it seems too far away. Slow and steady.
Do not get roped into being “fast”. Your work will do the talking for you, so make sure your work is at the highest level you are capable of producing at the time.
What is the best method in learning the skill of Tattooing?