know your limitations

[gremlin]

Being a beginner myself in tattooing(about a year and a half) I would like to offer up this advice to anyone who is planning to take up the Tattoo machine or has ordered their starter kit and is awaiting its arival. Know your limitations plain and simple. My wife and I both started tattooing about the same time, and one thing we absolutely will not do is try to do a tattoo that is above our skill level. Be honest with yourself and your customer about your abilites. I admit I have flash on the wall that at this point in my Tattoo life i can't do, and will not be able to do for many years.(geiger, frazetta, luis royo) Why do I have it up then? to give me a target to try to hone my skills to. If we have a customer who wants something we can't do, we tell them honestly "that design is above my ability at this time". yes i loose buisness but i would rather loose buisness than loose my life or get beat up for screwing up someone. Just because you use the same machine as Gil Monte or Paul Booth or Sailor Jerry doesn't mean you are in their league. I know this will bruise some ego's and I do not want to discourage anyone. But remember bruised ego's are better than a bruised head. I would stick with simple old school stuff like hearts,roses,skulls,cartoon characters and tribal work untill you learn and are comfortable your equipment. I am just now getting brave enough to try some of the new school greywash gangsta stuff. believe it or not but the wife and I make about 200.00 a week just doing silly little roses, hearts and lettering.

Start simple and work up, every skyscraper has to have a solid foundation.........

[Papa Gee]

How true that is Gremlin. I have a boatload of flash that I wouldnt even attempt at this stage of my development as a tattoo artist. Sometimes I get a little frustrated that my clients dont show more imagination and go for the plainest simplest tattoos I have flash for. But I also have two clients that give me free reign as to what I want to tattoo. So, including myself and my two friends that are willing to turn me loose on their skin I get to push my boundaries. Granted I dont use them as doodle pads and I put a lot of thought into what I'm tattooing. After a few months I can look at those tattoos and see things that I should have done to get a better result.

[twistofcane2000]

That is excellent advice gremlin. youve got to crawl before you can walk!
those simple tattoos like roses, nautical stars and that god awfull tribal will help you with youre line weight, shading and coloring, once you can give that simple rose some depth and perception and make it jump out `off the skin at you! then you should get more into the more complex designs and advance techniques, blendind, highlightining etc....
When i first started tattooing, its been about 9 yrs now, the guy who was teaching me gave me a piece of flash and told me to go ahead and put it on my leg, but instead of using straight black. he made me do it all in grey wash, so when it healed i could see my shaky inconsistent line work and my lack of compleate fill work, it was actually a good thing, because i could rework the piece several times till it was right because of the light lines, and eventually i covered it up with stronger work later on, with no problem. :twisted:

[Preacher]

Hello,
How true. You have to take baby steps first before you run wild. Remimber a happy customer will tell other people about you work. Bad reviews are hard to live down. Don't overload yourself :!: :!: :D

[framey]

:evil:

[voodoo]

right on the nuts!
except the comment by toc2000 "god awfull tribal stuff" i represent that remark! my left arm has tha god awfull stuff tattooed all over it! :shock:

[twistofcane2000]

lol! Voodoo no offence I wasnt refering to tribal in the sence of art but how boring it can get doing all that solid fill work. actually i like the flow of good tribal just not filling it in. :twisted:

[voodoo]

:twisted: