Hello tharr

[Hertigen]

Sooooo this forum seems awesome. Just ordered my first tattoo kit and have been stuck checking out sites to find tips and info etc. Hello everyone! I’m Neal, hail west side bay area Cali. Me and my friends usually f*^$ around and tat ourselves when we’re bored, so figured I’d take my turn to start off on my own kit, so can assume I’d be needin some help haha (to get better and not just scribble some squat) Anyway, I’ll se seein y’all around the site, skål

[LarcDEAR]

Hi Neal

I’m Jess. I recently joined here too. I’m from the east coast and am trying to reach out to apprentices from all over. I know in your post you said you just bought a kit. Is there a reason you haven’t gone to any shops to try and earn a place there?

[Hertigen]

Hi Jess,
In particular I just don’t feel like I am ready to take on an apprenticeship at any of my local shops. I am mostly just focusing on drawing and learning the components of the machine. I picked up the kit cause it was cheap and came with books and dvd’s and tattoo design stuff that I would like to study, and having a physical machine to look at/take apart is a bonus. So until I’m comfortable with my art skills and have dicked around on the practice skins a bit will I be interested in apprenticing. Also starting school and working day job make it difficult to find time to do that, but after I get settled in school again I’m not gonna be working this job and will have more time to pursue getting better at tattoo’s. Soon it will happen though.

[LarcDEAR]

I gotcha. Time is definitely a factor haha. I do want to point out that most artists prefer having a clean slate as far as apprentices. My mentor puts alot of emphasis on the art of tattoos so he’s been very helpful in teaching me composition that would be appropriate for tattoos. I’m an artist first who is stepping into the tattoo world, and I’ve found that just being able to draw is not nearly enough. I mean that in the sense that drawing something that looks good on a flat surface may not work as a successful tattoo design. These are things that a mentor could teach you. My suggestion is just start by going and hanging out at your local shops. Don’t mention apprenticing or anything. Just spend time there, meet whoever you can, draw while you’re there, etc. At the very least it will get you used to the environment that you’re hoping to have a career in.

[Hertigen]

I get what you mean. Fortunately for me my artistic talent is not very well developed :P I can draw but am not very good at certain things, I definitely have a unique style. As for hanging out at the shops that aint as easy either, the one close to me moved, and the next closest ones I usually go to are 2 towns over. But I will keep that in mind and try to hang out at the shops more often, thanks for the tip. And I guess what I meant for practicing on the skins I am more looking to get a better feel for the machine as I use it and how its tuned and what not, not to actually try and get better at tattooing itself, that I will save for the apprencticeship if and when I get there. I’ll try and post some pics of my crappy artwork to show what I mean haha, maybe you can help me with some drawing tips!

[LarcDEAR]

Ah that stinks~ Some of the artists I work with said that they have traveled close to an hour every day for their apprenticeships… which is insane haha. I’d love to see some of your work! There’s an original flash section on here that I think is appropriate for that. There are some publications and books that I’ve found with a lot of great info about machines and how they work. Let me search the forum a little bit to see if there is a tread for that already :)

[link2thestash]

Welcome brotha, SW Kansas here. Welcome to the Forum, were both in the same boat!! :)

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