Introducing rob

[rob]

Hey guys my names rob, im from sydney australia. Not currently an apprentice. I dont know if you guys know how it works in aus but in order to tattoo in a shop you need to be affiliated with a bikie gang and thats not something im willing to do. you also belong to the shop for as long as they want you to. So basically i teach myself using what i can find out there and a couple of good friends who are willing to give me a hand. Ill probably have some dumb questions to ask but its not like i can just walk into a shop and ask so hopefully someone out there is willing to give me hand, i think i can become an excellent tattooist with a bit of help.

[liam]

hi rob im liam from perth australia. im studying art at tafe (then uni) to one day hopefully get an apprentiship. havent tattooed anything yet, more focused on my drawing and painting atm although ive got 2 machines.
just regarding the tattoo industry in australia: heaps of ppl tell me beware bikies run the industry and i dont wanna end up having to rob a servo(american=gas station) in some bikie gang initiation shit to get myself a apprenticeship either. haha. i keep my ears open for any tattoo industry news on this subject hey and apparently the industry in perth isnt as bikie dominated anymore. ive been told of a few shops that supposedly arent run by bikies. ive heard of plenty more that are but still at least theres some that are not. ten years ago it was a different story though. ill try find the link to this interview with a perth tattoo artist ‘shrume’ who talks about the industry in australia a bit. anyway the only reason im trying to get an apprenticeship is cas apparently the industry in perth isnt totally dominated by bikies anymore soo.. come to perth man. haha. if i find that it is still bikie dominated then ill try overseas for apprenticeship. anyway love to know what you think man.
like to see some of your work, drawings or tattoos.
not as much info as i thought but still here you go, shrume interview http://www.australianedge.net/cities/perth/tattoo-artist-shrume/

[xDreamerx]

Welcome to the forum. I cant help but be stuck on the idea that you have to be affiliated with a bike gang in order to tattoo. Thats just krazy. Sorry to hear thats how they run things there.

Feel free to share any art you may have and ask questions about what your curious about.

[rob]

Hey liam, good to hear from another aussie who understands my utter dissapointment at what tattooing is in aus. Ive recently hooked up an apprenticeship in bali through a good friend of mine, a local. Only problem is i need to support myself over there for 6 months with no pay. Ill be looking to get there by the end of the year but want to have a good is=dea when i get there. The only tattooes ive done have been lettering and some outlining work, im a bit fearful to jump into shading at the risk of doing something too dark when it shouldnt be. I will upload what i have done for some positive criticism.

Dreamerx thanks for the warm welcome, unfortunatly that is how it goes in aus, sucks but its not like you can chuck a fit, from what liam is saying sydney is alot worse then perth, some of my best friends are tattooists and i cant even ask them for assisstence. I was wondering where i could find that link for the book you said earlier. Also i was wondering what your take was on what stencil paper i should use, ive used some crap i got from china but it just dosent show too well, i placed it on my friends ribs in one instance and when i went to pull the skin taught i could barely see my lines. Sorry to hassle but im quite happy i have someone to ask questions to. Lastly i found that when tattooing my friend that my needle would jam a fair bit, i was running the same speed as i always do but he recently lost weight and his skin was quite loose, any light you can shed on this would be great.

Thanks for your time guys

[imported_canvasyou]

Welcome rob

[cillalea5005]

Hey Rob! man, that really sucks about shops in Aus. I am looking for an apprenticeship, and have been disappointed about not finding one. Your post just goes to show,that things could always be worse! Sorry to hear about your problem man….hang in there!
Peace, cilla

[liam]

congrats on the apprenticeship man. ive seen plenty of pretty good tatts done in bali being from perth. quick story though; my 19 yo cousin and 15 of her mates went to bali a bit before christmas and all got tattoos and when they got back and got tested, 8 of them were h.i.v. positive! lucky my cousin wasnt one of them. me personally i wouldnt get tattooed in bali even before i heard that story cas of the saftey issue but still i was gobsmacked. and she was really blase about it despite having to wait to see if she was clear.

[Author]

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