Three Steps to Tattooing Success

Tattoos have become a popular form of self-expression and even a fashion statement. The growing demand for tattoos and the potentially high income available to tattoo artists has led to an increase in the number of people who want to learn how to tattoo.

Because tattooing is both an art form and a body treatment, it's important to learn the best procedures for safe tattooing before embarking on a career as a tattoo artist. No one should consider buying a tattoo kit and starting to tattoo without becoming familiar with the best procedures for tattooing.

Learning these procedures will help any tattoo artist achieve lasting success.

There are many steps to becoming a successful tattoo artist, but here are 3 of the most important steps to tattooing success.

Step #1 - Build an Art Portfolio and Find a Tattoo Apprenticeship

If you want to be a tattoo artist, you should be comfortable with your drawing skills. Tattooing requires a good sense of line and color. If you're not confident as an artist but have a desire to learn, then take an art class or buy an art book and begin to practice your drawing. Look at tattoo designs by tattoo artists (known as tattoo flash) and begin to create some designs of your own.

Assemble your best work and display it in an artist's portfolio or binder.

Once you have a portfolio of your best art work, you'll be better prepared to find a tattoo apprenticeship. An apprenticeship is a form of on-the-job training, where an experienced tattoo artist teaches you how to tattoo. Don't expect to be paid as an apprentice - in fact, you may end up paying for the privilege of learning how to tattoo from a master tattoo artist. Prepare to save money for an apprenticeship and to work at another job while you're apprenticing. Finally, give serious thought to which tattoo artist you apprentice with and make sure it's someone whose work you respect and that you can get along with well.

Step #2 - Create Stunning Tattoo Designs

As you learn how to tattoo in an apprenticeship, you will become more skilled in creating tattoo designs. Each tattoo you apply becomes a permanent feature on the body of your client, so you want to make sure you deliver a stunning design. This doesn't mean you have to create each and every tattoo design. A client may come in with an existing design from a tattoo magazine or clients may select a flash design from the shop's collection.

The important thing is to listen to the client's requirements and provide suggestions about how to get the most impact from a design.

Often you will begin with flash and then customize it for the client by adding or removing design elements. It may be necessary to provide a client with several paper drafts of a design before you arrive at a piece of art that you both love. Don't worry too much about the time you spend doing this - it's all part of the job. Just be sure to charge the client enough to cover the time you spend on the design stage of the tattoo.

Once an eye-catching tattoo flash design has been chosen, it's up to the tattoo artist to create a work of art on the client's skin. Different outline and shading techniques can be used to enhance the basic design. Color should be carefully introduced to help bring the tattoo to life. As you learn more about how to tattoo and your experience in tattooing grows, you'll learn how to use the right amount of detail in a design, how to position it correctly on the body, and how to create clean outlines, graduated shading and even color.

Step #3 - Practice Sanitary Tattoo Procedures

The final important step in knowing how to tattoo is to understand and follow standard sanitary procedures.

A tattoo requires penetration of a client's skin, so you must recognize and eliminate the risk of infection and disease transmission. One of the most important sanitary procedures is making sure that tattoo needles and ink caps are single-use only and replaced for each new client. In addition, the work area where the tattoo is applied must be cleaned thoroughly with disinfectant before tattooing begins and the tattoo artist must wear gloves during the tattoo procedure. Following sanitary procedures will help ensure that each tattoo client receives the best possible treatment during the tattoo process.

Do you want to learn how to tattoo like a PRO?

Be sure to visit: http://www.How-To-Tattoo.com for more great tattooing information, tattoo tips, tattoo articles and more!

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Do Tattoos Hurt? Three Tips to Ease the Pain

Getting body art designs permanently inked is a big deal. Once it is on your skin, nothing short of removing that skin will get it off. Here is some info to help keep you from leaving the tattoo parlor with only half a design.
So you are most likely wondering - How much do tattoos hurt?
Well there are a few things which can change how much a tattoo will hurt. If you are dealing with a poor artist, he or she might be setting the ink in too deep. The needle that applies the ink should only be going a millimetre or so into the skin. If you get a tattoo near or on a bone, you will be in for some extra pain. And lastly, are you going to be spending a lot of time getting the design finished? Just so you know, you could also be up for a bit more pain and discomfort after the tattoo is applied if you have a bad reaction to the ink. There are a few things you can do to minimize the amount of pain though. Most tattoo needles deliver between 50 and 3,000 dots per minute. This can be a bit much for some people, but if you follow the steps below you should be fine.
To avoid more pain, try getting your design on a meatier section of your body. The further away the needle is from your bones, the less painful it will be. A great place to start is on your thigh or upper arm.
When you are with a professional tattoo artist, getting inked on a meaty part of your body is comparable to being drawn on with the end of a paper clip by a firm hand. Getting a tattoo could also be described as a hot scratching sensation. In any case, most people will tell you that the process is not nearly as bad as they thought it would be. The first minute is usually the worst, as you are simply not used to the sensation. Just remember to keep relaxed. Easier said than done, but if you can, it really does help.
Start small -
If you are concerned about pain, consider beginning on a smaller scale. Key tattoos, or other small symbols can easily be added into larger body art designs at a later time. Tiny tattoos can also look really awesome on their own, and gives a great excuse for someone you want to get up close and personal. Don't forget - when you get a tattoo, you are the boss. If the inking gets to be more than you feel you can handle, you can always stop the session anytime you want and try again another day. At least when you start small, you have a much better probability of leaving with a completed design.
How long does it take to get a tattoo?
Inking can take anywhere from a couple minutes to multiple hours. If the artist has any idea what he is doing he should be able to provide you with a solid estimate on how long it will take to complete a certain design. If you feel tough enough to stay for long time, make sure you are nice and comfortable. If you tense up or cramp, you will make the process more painful.
It's not pain, its fear.
Lots of people lie about it, but just about everyone there ever was, was at least a little bit nervous about getting tattooed for the first time. On a very rare occasion someone might pass out while getting inked, but this would hardly ever be from any pain from the needle. A bad combination of being scared, and having low blood sugar is usually what contributes to someone going unconscious. If you are concerned about passing out, try to remember that it is all in your head. Just be sure to eat something before you go in. Relax and just go in with a small design that will only take a couple of minutes to apply.
Blood?
Bleeding a little is to be expected. If you are a bit squeamish around blood, just find something else in the room to focus on. There should be plenty of images to keep your mind occupied. The tattoo artist keeps a cloth handy to keep the area spic and span as he or she draws and fills the design. Excessive bleeding can happen if you have had something which thins your blood. Avoid taking alcohol or aspirin before you go in. A good tattooist won't ink you are drunk.
Which hurts more - Outlining or shading?
Usually, they are about the same. If I had to make a decision, I would say shading, but only by the tiniest possible amount. This usually has something to do with anything that has changed between the time the outline was set, and the shading itself. If you are spending a long time under the needle, it could end up hurting a bit more. Otherwise, shading and outlining are the same. Both processes typically involve the same kind of needle and the same way of delivering ink.
Skin Reactions
After the ink has settled in, the area may start to swell and itch. Some skin is just more sensitive than others. This also has a tendency to happen more often when white ink tattoos are applied. A new tattoo will look better and hurt much less if you take proper care of it. Leave new bandages on for 2 hours at the very least. When you wash your new tattoo, use only your hands, a mild antibacterial liquid soap and lukewarm water.
The more you know, the better you feel
I hope you are already beginning to feel better about getting a tattoo. The thing that usually scares most people off of getting a tattoo they want is fear of the unknown. Be sure to thoroughly research the parlor where you want to get inked. Also - a recommendation from a friend can go a long way to boost your confidence in a particular location (depending on who your friends are). If you have more questions, keep asking. The more you know, the more confident you can be.