getting tattooed - resonanteye

5 big mistakes people make when planning their tattoos (and how to avoid them)

9th of October 2014

In clients, coverups, deep thoughts, dos and donts, female tattoo artist, how-to, posts with lists in them, surviving your first tattoo, tat zap wizard, Tattoo, Tattoo Advice, tattooing, you,

Comments welcome!

1. Putting the cart before the horse (trying to get art together instead of finding an artist first)

Your most important decision isn’t going to be the art itself, but the artist you choose to apply it. Before you even start putting together any images, you should start looking for an artist to do the tattoo. Most people assume they have to come in with some kind of finished piece and then hand that to just any artist, and they will get a good tattoo. This is pretty much backwards!

Look for a tattoo artist whose work you like, who works in a shop with a decent reputation, and who shows interest in your idea. The best way to do that is to simply search online, plugging in the name of your area or region and “tattoo artist”. Or, alternately, ask people you have met who have tattoos that you really like. Word of mouth is a good thing!

Choose the artist by their work. If they are doing tattoos that you think look awesome, it doesn’t matter if it’s the same subject you’re looking for. For example, if you want a bird on you, you don’t have to look for someone who can tattoo a bird. Every tattoo artist can and will tattoo a bird- it’s the WAY they will tattoo it, that you need to think about. Look at their STYLE. Do you like it? Not your mom, your partner, your friends. YOU. This will be your tattoo. So if you like their style, that’s what matters.

You can usually send an email to an artist or contact them online and present your subject matter to them, and see how interested they are. Sometimes your idea is fine but not exciting, and that’s ok…but sometimes you get lucky and the idea you have is one that THAT particular artist would really love to work on, and that’s always a good thing.

Once you’ve picked out a tattoo artist, go have a consult with them. They will make the art for you, as part of the tattoo process. Seriously. Finding an artist whose vision you trust means you don’t have to pay anyone else to draw for you.

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Five reasons some tattoos hurt more than others.

13th of August 2014

In clients, deep thoughts, female tattoo artist, health and safety, oregon tattoo artists, posts with lists in them, surviving your first tattoo, tat zap wizard, Tattoo, Tattoo Advice, tattooing, true stories, you,

4e5e78bb33d5f17bc32071ea1be508d7-d3gtw12 I hurt everyone the same. I’ve heard I have a heavy hand, a light hand, I’ve had people fall asleep, giggle, cry, complain, pass out, sit still and do nothing…all shades of response. But my machines are set one way and my hand is set one way and that doesn’t change unless you have leathery elbows and knuckles you want worked on and I have to pry the cells apart to get the ink in there at all…hurting people more takes more work than not hurting them. Think about it.

The reason I’ve heard all these things, when I’m doing the same thing every time?

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a (relatively) thorough guide to getting a tattoo

7th of August 2014

In clients, female tattoo artist, surviving your first tattoo, tat zap wizard, Tattoo, Tattoo Advice, tattooing,

we get socially awkward too!

A long list of things that will help you get through your tattoo session, and have great work to wear afterward:

The night before:

Don’t drink heavily. If it will make you hungover, it will thin your blood the next day.
Get to bed on time. It may feel like christmas eve and be hard to sleep, but the rest will make you less fidgety the following day.
Check your funds. Make sure you have enough to cover the cost and a tip. Make sure you’ll have enough left over to eat something or buy bottled water or any incidental snack you might want while you get tattooed.
if you have an appointment, call the shop and verify the time. Artists are human and can make mistakes, so make sure you know exactly when you are supposed to be there and how much it will cost.
For a spontaneous tattoo, all these are true. Don’t decide to get tattooed after a night drinking; if you’ve been up all night; if you are using drugs; or if you aren’t sure you have enough money. Call the shop the night before and ask if anyone can take walk-ins the following day. They may even make room for you.
Make sure you have any art reference or doctor’s notes you will need. Also, check your ID or driver’s license and make sure it’s not expired! If so, some studios allow you to use your passport, but it’s better to know ahead of time!

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Things your tattoo artist doesn’t tell you. (Part Two)

6th of January 2014

In clients, complaints, deep thoughts, female tattoo artist, questions, Tattoo, Tattoo Advice, tattooing, true stories, you,

hourglass and burnt candle. two things.

Part one is here.

You can only get one tattoo at a time. I can only do one tattoo at a time. I know you have ten things you want to put into a tattoo- but that’s ten tattoos. And we can only do one thing at a time. Each important concept should have its own singular tattoo.

Most of the time, you can pick two things. One object and one word or phrase. Two objects. And a color or mood for the background. That’s the limit, pretty much, for coherent, cohesive art on the skin. How big or small the tattoo is doesn’t really matter too much, with this. Good tattoos have flow, and are good to look at. Adding too much subject matter to any one space usually ends up terrible.

You have six siblings and you want to get a tattoo that represents ALL of them. So you think of six tattoos, and then ask us to somehow make that into one tattoo.

NO.

You can only get one tattoo at a time! If you need a tattoo for each of your siblings, I am sorry but you will either need to pick one thing that represents all of them, or get six tattoos.

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