How do you become a tattoo artist and the demans of being one?

Answer 1

To Become One: First and foremost, you should be a solid artist in your own right and must be able to draw virtually anything on command. In addition to this, you should have a professional looking portfolio of your original artwork laid out that you can take with you to prospective shops in your area. They will not hire you on as an apprentice if you do not have this, and most shops and the artists therein, simply don't have the time for the most part to teach you how to draw or to hold your hand overly throughout the process of learning. You should know a substantial amount about tattooing, the different tattooing styles, tattoo history, designs and their different meanings and many other things that will help you along to become a professional artist as quickly as possible as opposed to a person who is just into tattoos, but knows NOTHING about them really. Also, if you were to be this type of person, you wouldn't get hired by a credible shop anyways. This is a fairly competitive industry and there simply isn't room for tourists or hacks. Before you attempt to gain an apprenticeship you should take the initiative and get your up to date tetanus and hepatitis shots, an HIV blood screen, as well as to take a course through your local Red Cross in CPR and Basic First Aid, and make doubly sure that you get papers documenting this that you can supply along with your portfolio. You will be required to do all of this throughout the tenure of your apprenticeship anyways, as well as you will be required by state law to be accredited in Bloodborne Pathogen training and Cross-Contamination prevention, but the shop in which you work will most likely set this up for you. If you have talent and can learn quickly with efficiency, your apprenticeship shouldn't last more than 2 years, but more often, 1 year with solid learning and good practice can give you the skills to be a decent artist new to the game.

The Demands: You have to work long hours. You rarely get to work on your own art half the time. You usually eat something that came in a wrapper or in a box, and it will most likely be cold by the time that you eat it. You have to deal with the potentiality of coming into contact with infected persons and fluids. You have to deal with people from all walks of life and all walks of emotions. Your back and operating hand will usually be sore to some extent. You have to deal with eye strain and the headaches that can come from listening to a buzzing tattoo machine all day. You must regularly update your Bloodborne Pathogen Certificate and also take additional courses pertaining to tattooing and or general health issues regulated be either the state in which you work or mandated by the shop in which you work. You are never home when you say you are going to be half the time due to work. You work in your off hours on art and designs usually. You are usually required to travel for a few days at a time throughout the year going to conventions and have to deal with the monetary hit that this takes. And many other things. It is definitely a labor of love.