Tattoo help: Any tattoo artists out there?

anonymous22c

Any tattoo artists out there?

I need some advice. I want to buy my brother a nice tattoo kit for Christmas. I’ve seen a lot of intermediate kits for sale for about $350, which is the most I could afford. The problem is - I don’t know anything about this stuff. How do I know if I’m buying a quality machine? Is it better to get a kit that comes with a liner and a shader, or just one machine that can be adjusted to act as both? Is it better to get a less expensive kit that just has the machines, ink, and needles, and power converter - or do I need the bigger kits that come with tips, o-rings, contact springs, etc? My brother will just be using this stuff to practice (he won’t actually be tattooing people yet), but I think having his own equipment and a little experience might help him to get a good apprenticeship. But since he’s not actually working on customers, I don’t know if he needs a lot of accessories, yet. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

This open post was written 2 years, 1 month ago | V/U/S: 242, 7, 5 | Edit Post | Leave a reply | Report Post

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Since writing this post anonymous22c may have helped people, but has not within the last 4 days. anonymous22c is a verified member, has been around for 2 years, 1 month and has 3 posts and 40 replies to their name.

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needles, ink, Body art, Tattoo, machine (How Tags Affect Reciprocity)

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anonymous22c edited this post 2 years, 1 month ago. Read the previous text »

Any tattoo artists out there? I need some advice. I want to buy my brother a nice tattoo kit for Christmas. I’ve seen a lot of intermediate kits for sale for about $350, which is the most I could afford. The problem is - I don’t know anything about this stuff. How do I know if I’m buying a quality machine? Is it better to get a kit that comes with a liner and a shader, or just one machine that can be adjusted to act as both? Is it better to get a less expensive kit that just has the machines, ink, and needles, and power converter - or do I need the bigger kits that come with tips, o-rings, contact springs, etc? My brother will just be using this stuff to practice (he won’t actually be tattooing people yet), but I think having his own equipment and a little experience might help him to get a good apprenticeship. But since he’s not actually working on customers, I don’t know if he needs a lot of accessories, yet. Any advice is much appreciated. Thanks!

anonymous22c changed the tags on this post: they were "Christmas, Tattoo, Trade, Apprenticeship, Experience, Artist, needles, California, Shader, Sibling, machine" 2 years, 1 month ago.

Times' gone mad 6 #
Silver Spring, MD, US | 2 years, 1 month ago (10 hours, 19 minutes after post)

Is he apprenticing anywhere? Generally if you go to the shop where they are apprenticing, the store owner or person teaching will tell you exactly what they want you to use/learn with…and don’t forget the melons (honey dew work best). :D

Help me with: So, sometimes I annoy my Fiance, and sometimes he annoys me…either way, there are so many reasons I love him.

anonymous22c 0 #
Fort Collins, CO, US | 2 years, 1 month ago (18 hours, 48 minutes after post)

He’s asked about an apprenticeship at four different stores. Two weren’t accepting anyone new and the other two asked for ever-increasing “apprentice fees” of a couple thousand dollars. He actually agreed to pay the fee at one place, in exchange for training and an eventual job, but the guy kept increasing the amount he was asking for. My brother spent months saving up, only to have the guy ask for even more. It seemed like a scam, so my brother gave up on it.

He’s already sold some designs for custom tattoos and some of his other art has been published in some minor books - so I believe he has the artistic talent. He just needs to find an apprenticeship.

It just kind of killed me to see how disappointed he was, not getting a legitimate apprenticeship offer. I thought that if I got him all the equipment for Christmas, maybe he could develop his skills on his own, and a shop would be more willing to see him as an asset, rather than a newbie they can con out of some cash.

elijah.stati #
Gadsden, AL, US | 1 year, 10 months ago (2 months, 4 weeks after post)

As much as I hate to agree with large fees….I have to. I was lucky enough to get my apprenticeship after 5 years of shopping around. There are a million and a half people out there that are mediocre artist who think it’s cool and the shops have the arduous task of sorting through them. They can either waste their time on training someone who is going to run off and scratch or ask for insane fees to weed them out. I’m having to pay $2500 in the end for my apprenticeship, and that’s on top of being shop ***** and the such. I personally consider myself lucky to have gotten it that easy. It’s an art, not a weekend training program.

There were many times I nearly gave up on my search for an apprenticeship….tell your brother not to if he is in love with the art. He’ll eventually find one. It may seem like shops ask the world in trade for an apprenticeship, but if it’s what he loves….he’ll do it because he’ll get the universe back.

And your support of your brother is fantastic by the way. Just that alone will be a great help with him, because it’s not easy being an artist.

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Chiefpengui #
An Unknown Location | 1 year, 9 months ago (4 months after post)

Go to www.spaulding-rogers.com there you can find starter kits with every thing you need to get goin the best one is about 500-600 bucks. It doesn’t include the autoclave but a pressure cooker will suffice. Boil supplies on a rack sittin above water in the cooker on high pressure for 30 minutes. Get your needles from needlesupply .com The cheapest and best quality I have found in my years. Having your own equiptment can actually turn shops away from you though even if you know how to use it. They want a clean slate as far as having done any tats so they don’t have to break any bad habits and can easily teach you their ways. In any case do clean work maybe practice on a whole orange for a while, if it oozes juice then your goin to deep. If you order the kit from the web site i give you’ll get a book and video that is very informative on your equiptment and how it works. Watch and read them several times before you start and memorize them.

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chiskon #
El Mirage, AZ, US | 1 year, 8 months ago (4 months, 1 week after post)

I would recommend buying my tattoo machines and power supply from superior tattoo. Also, the ink and the needles are really important. I would suggest using moms ink and get your tattoo needles from www.needlesupply.com you will save yourself some money and these needles are the best quality out there. good luck!

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