Getting a tattoo is a serious commitment-it’ll be on your body for the rest of your life. So you’ll want to take all the cautionary measures and do as much research as you can to ensure its a pleasant process and the healing goes smoothly. An important part of this process should be to find the best tattoo artist to suit your needs. Here we will list how to research a tattoo artist for your next tattoo.
You probably already have an idea of what your next, or first tattoo will be. You have the image or quote in mind, you know what you want it to look like it, the style, the shape, the size, and the color. This is the right first step in researching your tattoo artist. Tattoo artists often specialize in a particular style and some artists are better at a certain style than another.
Maybe you’re interested in getting a tattoo in the style of Traditional, or maybe you want a fun watercolor style? Or maybe a hyper-realistic black and gray portrait. Try be searching for artists who specialize in the style you’re looking for. For example, I spent a good while googling “watercolor tattoo artists”, going through their websites and Instagram, looking at their portfolios until I found the right artist for the job.
These searches will lead you to artists and their portfolios, and this will help you to visualize if you can see that type of imagery on your body.
Tattoo artists have their rates, based on their skill set, their experience and how in-demand they are. And you know the saying, you get what you pay for. Most artists will have a deposit of $50-100, some even $200, and then an hourly rate. The rates vary but are usually $50-65 an hour. Make sure you save up enough money in case it costs more than expected. Don’t forget to tip!
It’s better to have a beautiful piece of art, that’s permanently on your body, that costed a good chunk of money, than a low-quality piece you’ll regrettably live with because you were too cheap to go any higher.
Sometimes the tattoo artists you really want to work with lives in a different city, or state or country, and you’ll have to be willing to travel. When you make those initial online searches and you come across a tattoo artist who specializes in that New School style you’re really wanting but they live on the other side of the country, that’s going to cost a lot more time and money than you may have initially intended. It might be worth saving up the money and making a vacation out of it though if you know no other artist’s work will satisfy you.
More often than not, when planning our next tattoos, we get bombarded by suggestions from our friends. Our friends usually mean well, but we can be put off by their recommendations. Trust your gut in the matter and don’t settle for a tattoo artist whose work you feel isn’t what you want, and you know you would be uncomfortable going through with it. Remember this is your body, and this tattoo will be with you the rest of your life, so do your research to make the best decision for yourself.
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