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Hello I have been crazy about the tattoo industry ever since I first set foot into a shop when i was 14. I’ve always had an interest in all forms of art, but this one has literally changed my life from that moment on. I knew what I wanted to do, what scene I wanted to be a part of. I put together countless amounts of homemade tattoo guns and started puttingvthem on myself and a few friends, pierced myself everywhere I could, and just went nuts about it all. Within 2 years I gave myself 15 tattoos and 17 piercings. I’m not proud of it, but i was an eager kid. As I got older I kept drawing in sketchbooks and wanted to get as good as i could so i could one day be a real tattoo artist. Well, I started to get discouraged when I saw a lot of the work the real tattoo artists like Paul booth were doing, and after speaking to a few shop owners in the north Carolina town I lived in, they pretty much had me convinced there was no business and I would never make ends meet being a tattoo artist. Most of my drawings were list, stolen, thrown out, or sold by the time I was 17, so i whipped up a few pages of doidles and headed to the shop yhat was open the longest in my town. He pretty much laughed in my face, but surprisingly he said he would give me a shot if I could fill the rest of the book. He was straight up with me, told me I would be his bitch for a long time before toughing a tattoo machine, and being a lazy, short-cut taking teenage minded kid that i was, I gave up on trying for the apprenticeship by the time my visit was over . I did the financially smart thing to do, git a normal job, went to college, dropped out, went to countless more shit jobs, then boom, got a girl knocked up at 22. So that led to more hours at the shit jobs, and I ended up getting a ” good” job at my current employer, a top-notch leading manufaturing company of the world, skilled labor even. But now, at 25, I look at my life I have a son who is almost 2, I own my own home, make decent money, and provide for my family like I should . But I’m not happy. I know why i am not happy. I made the biggest mistake of my life when I turned down a free apprenticeship doing what I fell instantly in love with. So now im in the position where I want to pursus my dream, I bought an alvin prestige presentation case portfolio, all new art supplies and started drawing again. I am trying to put together a strong portfolio, so i can land an apprenticeship and do what i know will make my life complete. I’m asking for advice for me, working full time night shift, full time dad and [husband], how to make my portfolio as strong as it can be? How can i make mine stand out from the rest of the apprenticeship seekers that shop owners get bombarded with day by day? What types/styles of art are looked for in a good portfolio? I’m confident that my artwork is exceptional, but a lot of great artists get turned down day by day. How can I give myself advantages over others? And, also: I live in Pennsylvania, where basically a Joe blow can open a tattoo shop ( no license required, no safety and health regulations) so how can I tell a good, clean, professional who knows what he/she is doing from a scratcher with an EIN? Any constructive RESPECTFUL guidance would be very much appreciated, and wow I apologize for posting a book ;P
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What i did is outlineless,color & lead drawing.My art degree. I also brought a balloons that i did ballpoint ink drawings on. The big punching kind. Stand up for your self but show respect at the same time. Compliment them but not so you get your nose durty. Remember that you are looking for somone to teach you and help you improve. Good luck never give up.
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Wow, balloons.. makes sense. Gives practice drawing on a curved surface. I’ve seen a lot of really good practice tattoo on oranges, grapefruit, bananas too. Any ideas for my portfolio itself, like good ways to present my art? I know not to include pics of tattoos I’ve done before, and that its just as much presentation as the skill itself. I’m pretty sure it won’t be too hard finding someone willing to take me in, but like I said its so easy in pa for anyone to just open a shop and call themselves a professional. So how can I tell these scratchers apart from a real professional that can show me how to do things right?
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Dude, honestly I landed an apprenticeship at one of the best shops in my state by showing the owner drawings out of a.beat up book bound sketchbook. Persistence is KEY. there were so many times where I was SURE I would never get it. But I never gave up. I’m also a full time dad and husband with a part time job and an apprenticeship at age 24. It took tons of hard work (going into the shop at least once a week with new drawings, cleaning up, being told over and over it wasn’t gonna happen, all while juggling the wife, kids and job) but it payed off. As for your portfolio, show diversity (ink, water color, colored pencil, paintings, flash sheets, more flash sheetsetc.) Find out if the shop you’re looking at specializes in any particular style and show them you can rock that shit. Most of all NEVER GIVE UP ON YOUR DREAM dude. It’s so worth all the bullshit. And if I can do it you can too. best of luck bro. I really hope it works out for you. Let me know if you need any more info
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You had given an very good inspiration ideas about tattooing.
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