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Terrible photo. Chipping away at this when we have time, flowers next!
Category Artwork (Traditional) / Animal related (non-anthro)
Species Dog (Other)
Size 540 x 960px
File Size 66.4 kB
Draw your butt off. Honestly, if it's something you really want to do start getting away from drawing furry stuff and start drawing things people would want to get tattooed. Focus on your line work. In this day and age of tattoo, bold lines aren't as needed, a lot of artists have really unique sketchy styles (Nomi Chi, Hannah Keuls, Kate Mackay Gill) but you have to be able to do the basics before you can start really expressing your style. Study various artists, really stare at their work and try to pick it apart. Do watercolor paintings, watercolor is the traditional medium for flash because it translates pretty well into tattooing.
Prepare a kickass portfolio and be prepared to be turned down a lot. A lot a lot. Like, seven years worth of being turned down for me.
Study the history, learn about machines, and draw some more.
Have a back up plan :/ Have a lot of money saved up, supplies aren't cheap (at least not stuff that's worth having) and some shops require you to pay a deposit to apprentice. You won't make a lot of money for a long time, some shops you pay rent, some shops you pay in a portion of what you make, and others have their own set up for how money is handled.
I am flat broke right now and am only just barely scraping by because my boyfriend is amazing and is helping support me through this. It's fucking hard. I work seven days a week between tattooing and my day job, and I draw in my off time too. I work in a pretty progressive shop, so I'm not bossed around and hazed like at some shops, but it's still my responsibility to make sure everything is clean and taken care of, on top of my drawing and tattooing.
It ain't easy, but I do love it. You have to be a bit of a people person, too. You have to be able to understand and communicate clearly with a wide variety of people to come up with a design that they'll be happy with for the rest of their lives. It's a lot of pressure! And you can't take it personally when they don't want your design.
Don't buy a machine and start tattooing out of your home, usually people who do that never become legitimate. There are some who have, and have gone on to greatness (Jeff Gogue) but it's better to try to do things right, or not at all.
Prepare a kickass portfolio and be prepared to be turned down a lot. A lot a lot. Like, seven years worth of being turned down for me.
Study the history, learn about machines, and draw some more.
Have a back up plan :/ Have a lot of money saved up, supplies aren't cheap (at least not stuff that's worth having) and some shops require you to pay a deposit to apprentice. You won't make a lot of money for a long time, some shops you pay rent, some shops you pay in a portion of what you make, and others have their own set up for how money is handled.
I am flat broke right now and am only just barely scraping by because my boyfriend is amazing and is helping support me through this. It's fucking hard. I work seven days a week between tattooing and my day job, and I draw in my off time too. I work in a pretty progressive shop, so I'm not bossed around and hazed like at some shops, but it's still my responsibility to make sure everything is clean and taken care of, on top of my drawing and tattooing.
It ain't easy, but I do love it. You have to be a bit of a people person, too. You have to be able to understand and communicate clearly with a wide variety of people to come up with a design that they'll be happy with for the rest of their lives. It's a lot of pressure! And you can't take it personally when they don't want your design.
Don't buy a machine and start tattooing out of your home, usually people who do that never become legitimate. There are some who have, and have gone on to greatness (Jeff Gogue) but it's better to try to do things right, or not at all.
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