AriTattoos

Thanks for the good advice CL

Some harsh mofo's out there. I know it sucks that everybody and they baby-momma thinks they are a tattoo artist but don't take it out on me =)

I searched for an apprenticeship but did not have good luck. I am not going to let that stop me, so I took as ethical of a path I could.

Also, I clearly see the "easy" comment can be offensive but I found alot of good tatt artists do art in multiple forms of media like I do. If you are a painter and decide to airbrush, you just need to learn how to use the tool. Artists will create art no matter what tool they use. I didn't mean to say tattooing is easy, but watching some dude tatt me made me realize I can handle it.

My story is funny to me, obviously, or I wouldnt emphasize how ridiculous those other situations were, I dont like to tattoo "Money Over Bitches" on people if you havent figured that out. I am in the intro thread so I am doing an Intro. Sometimes your path can be interesting like a Legend like Dan Dringenberg for example.

Designing commercial art pays the bills but it won't let me fullfill my creative needs. So plz don't hate on me because I am just jealous that some of you are able to do both. I am never going to stop tattooing because its just too damn fun!

Im tatted all over the place from neck down, and the only place I ever had the white dots is my inner left bicep.

The only thing different about that tattoo ( besides being the best 1 i have ) is that the artist used dry aftercare.

Instead of A&D, aquaphor or a brand name aftercare, my tattoo was wrapped up dry beneath saran wrap and suffocated for 48 hours. This is the cleanest heal of any tattoo on my body.

About 6-8 weeks later i had the white bumps exactly as described above. I think they went away after about 2-3 weeks.

Funny part is that its a tattoo of a fish and the white bumps looked like "ick", a parasite that appears as white bumps on fish =)

LOL (i actually did laugh out loud... well medium loud) very funny but you know its ridiculous to not have photoshop.

Obviously nobody NEEDs photoshop to tattoo, but its such a powerful tool, there is no way to create variations in design and color with the speed photoshop can provide. Especially with compositions, you can scan in your design and experiment with the different elements and make several versions of the same piece of tattoo request in moments that would take hours to do by hand.

Somehow good time charlie's managed to be in business before Photoshop existed, i acknowledge that.

I can scan in a sketch and print it at an exact size, rather than dick around with enlarging the % on a copy or thermofax machine. Its funny watching people struggle using the enlarge on a copy machine and trying to get their art at the perfect size.

I find photoshop is almost mandatory, recently i did a traditional clipper ship tattoo and was debating back and forth on the background treatment. I showed my client 3 different backgrounds with the main content of the tattoo on a different layer, she instantly knew which 1 she liked best.

Also, I have been a graphic designer my entire life so scanning all my pencil sketches into photoshop and taking it from there has always been a successful process for me, so why change now? =)

Its clearly ethically wrong to tattoo someone else's tattoo art....

What needs to happen is some lawsuits. The 1976 Copyright Act states that any work for hire belongs to the person who commissioned it.

Sorry to use Kristel as an example but since she is ripped off so often i find it appropritate:

Let's say , hypothetically, Kristel Oreto tattoos somebody and we see the exact same tattoo on a reality show, her client can sue the artist who copied it.

In my interpretation of this law, ( i am not a lawyer btw but I took copyright law in art school) the client owns all copyright rights to an original commissioned piece of art installed on their body and retains the right to sue anyone who uses it without permission.

Now if the ripoff artist contacts Kristel's client and gains permission, then they should have legal right to reproduce it.

Obviously that will never happen but according to the law, the tattoo artist does not own any rights at all unless the copyright is expressly written as belonging to the original tattoo artist, or if the tattoo was free it would not qualify as "Art for Hire"

Now the copyright office in congress does not mention tattoos at all, but it is art and should qualify. ( in my mind =p )

Rib tattoos definately hurt. I would place it at 8 or 9 as far as tattoo pain goes. My knee, foot, and right on the shin hurt way more though.

The expression that people use around Florida is that a tattoo feels like having a sunburn and then having a cat drag its claws across the sunburn.... your analogy is missing the part with the cat claws =)

I think thats actually a pretty accurate desciription of the pain if you've never been tattooed.

My only advice is to go bigger than you're planning.

I also agree that Women are tougher at getting tatted for whatever reason.

Since its going to be covered under clothing don't wait.

Your face neck and hands can wait until after you're 30 =)

Hello,

My name is Ari and Ive been tattooing on and off for the last 4 years.

I only have about 400-500 tattoos under my belt so I have plenty to learn as far as tattooing goes.

I have been in the graphic design and sign industry from age 18-34 and have a Bachelors Degree from the Art Institute of Ft Lauderdale, so I have been a professional artist my entire adult life.

I did not get a traditional apprenticeship. My neighbor tattooed me and once I saw how "easy" it was ( I paint, sculpt, do portraits with pencil, carve wood, airbrush etc. so tattooing is just different tools and media to install on, imho) I knew I had to learn. Unfortunately he ended up in prison shortly after a couple dozen tatts, and I found myself without guidance. I searched for an apprenticeship in a shop and found people either didnt want an apprentice, or they want over $2k to teach you.

Living in South Florida presents a challenge to my career. There are so many tattoo shops and freelance artists out there, that the amount you can charge for a tattoo is sadly a joke.

I have worked at 3 different shops, but find I make more money as a graphic designer.

Yes, there are a bunch of great shops in south florida, but it isnt easy to get a job at the top shops unless your portfolio is mind blowing.

Without naming names, at least half of the tattoo shops here to me are pure garbage.

I prefer to do artwork, but in south florida, alot of people want Names or text tattoos... alot.

Im not flaks, boog, or big sleep so I use Tattoo-style fonts when doing lettering jobs.

None of the shops I worked at even had photoshop.

Let that sink in for a moment....

I ended up doing lettering from the same 4 script fonts from microsoft word!!!!!!

1 of the places i worked at was in a flea market and was never visited once by any type of health inspector. I dont even know if carol city has one, because Miami-Dade county is pretty disgusting place... no offense if you are from here like I am.

The guy would have us painting and doing construction work for him during downtime, well we found out he was saving all the work for himself to do late nights, and telling the artists who worked for him there was no work.

Anyways I have been doing tatts for extra cash by word of mouth and not sure how to proceed.

I am starting a family and do not want to work till 5 am or hang out with junkies, yet i Love tattooing exponentially.

I know there are shops out there that work normal hours and don't have partying as their main priority, because I go in them to get tattooed.... however these are the top shops, and although I personally feel above average ( for Miami I am definately ), I don't think I am on the level of these budding superstars. I plan to tatt my friends and neighbors and build my portfolio until destiny reveals itself.