Career as a tattoo artist

by Payal Dwivedi, Youthens · 30/07/2016

Having tattoo in body is becoming famous day-by –days especially we can see it in youths mostly it’s like becoming a fashion most of the youths keen to have tattoo in their body not only this many of them has open their showrooms of tattooing too. Celebrities to big- big names always interested to visible fashionable in front of others. So, one can easily have a bright scope and career opportunities in this wide and popular stream.

What is tattooing?

Tattooing is one of the oldest art forms known. It involves creating permanent or temporary words, symbols or images on the skin. The art is performed by piercing the skin with a small needle, through which, ink is injected into the skin.

Skills required for being a tattoo artist

-Patience

-Creativity

-Flexibility to create any design asked by the client

-Determination

-Tenacity

-Detail-oriented

Tattooing is all about customer service:

The tattoo industry is considered to be a service industry. Building good and strong relations with your clientele is a must. Having good communication skills and satisfying your client puts you in their good books and right at the top of their recommendation list.

How long does it take to study tattooing?

-As tattoos hold great significance in the lives of people who get inked, it becomes the duty of the tattoo artist to make sure he/she is capable of standing up to their client’s expectations.

-Tattooing might not be a technical or a general degree course, but it does require studying. To be a good tattoo artist, you need to:

-Compile a portfolio exhibiting your best drawings/ piece of art, be it original or high-quality photographs of drawings

-An introductory drawing course is recommended (if you have not taken any formal art training)

Courses you could take up:

-Fine arts

-Art history

-Colour theory

-2-dimensional drawing

-Grab a copy of the textbook Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo and go through it

-Learn all about skin diseases or infections and disease prevention

-You might do well to go through a written test to be a tattoo artist, which the state requires for certification

-Study or work for at least two years, which is also known as an apprenticeship, under the supervision of a talented, slightly renowned tattoo artist before you begin your own practice.

Your apprenticeship may include:

-Cleaning or sterilising the equipment

-Learning to design tattoos

-Operating a tattoo machine

Moreover, you should always find some work to do in order to learn and grow. Constant practice is necessary to keep your hands and fingers always ready to ink someone

But your journey doesn’t end here. You still have a long bumpy ride till you set your foot in this field. Even if you open your own tattoo studio, you first need to get it examined by the health department to make sure that you abide by the rules and regulations that must be followed before you begin your tattooing career.

Things you need to be careful about:

Safety:

Getting inked requires a strong mind as it is something that will be visible on your skin for your entire life. As the saying goes ‘It takes two to tango’– it is the responsibility of both the tattoo artist and the person getting inked to take appropriate safety measures.

On this, Tuhi says, “Creating a tattoo is an artist’s work, but taking care of the tattoo and following the instructions from the artist are also equally important. How the tattoo looks in the end depends a lot on the aftercare and the healing process.”