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Okey so heres the deal.
I’ve had a lot of people stepping up to me, and questioning my appearance and my skills, for my lack of tattoos. “You cant be a tattoo artist without any tattoos!” and so on.
No! I do not have that many tattoos, I only have 4, and two of them are created by myself.
One of the main reasons I don’t have any more, is that I don’t know what I want, and is that a problem?Most people I have talked to, really means it, when they say “You have to get some more tattoos!”
Is it really a must have, to become a tattooist? I mean, I have plans, but I haven’t found anyone remotely near my home, that can do what I want…
And this is really a question to all professional tattooist, how many tattoos must one have? Or is it only in my country, they have that image?
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No, Lennart you don’t have to have, tons of tattoos to become a tattoo artist. I don’t care if a professional says it or not. ( NO OFFENCE!)
I know a few professional tattoo artists by me that don’t have one tattoo and they’ve been doing it for 10 plus years!!!!!
In my opinion, it’s preference.
R.Scotti -
I think so too, but the general public in Denmark is under the oppinion, that you have to have tons of tattoos. This I blame a danish tv show; Tattoo Salonen, where the two owners look like this;
http://multimedia.pol.dk/archive/00612/Tattoo_salonen_2011_612248a.jpgAnd now, even old people, when I tell them I do tattoos, look at me and ask why I dont have more tattoos….
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I get the same shit….but hey i tell them why dont you have a lot!!! hahah its costing me the same as you to get tattoos you know!!
lol i know with time ill have plenty caus i want to have a lot but i want to have tattoo that ill love for ever not just a oh wow lets do this one naaaa ….but yeah people have that opinion! the funies in that is that they will juge your talen by the art of another on your skin lol
some you can do yourself but not all …so choose wisely by ho you get some done :) -
The main difference between us and the general public is that we are part of the industry they arent. They are just our income essentially. By not having tattoos you are showing other artists that you don’t really respect the industry enough to sport the work on yourself. You aren’t supporting your own industry by not having tattoos. That’s why a lot of artists will tell you you need to get more tattoos. Basically, it looks like you’re in it for the money not the artwork. Personally I have 24 tattoos including my right hand and TATTOOER written across my knuckles. The only thing that doesnt have at least one tattoo on it is my back. That’s just me though. You have four tattoos. Honestly that shows the support to the industry. There was a guy on Ink Master that got his ASS handed to him by Oliver Peck and a guest judge because he didnt have a SINGLE tattoo and had been tattooing for 17 years. Honestly, just tell them you have a few, and are in the process of making plans for more. That is the proper way to do it. All tattoos should have meaning.
Good luck bro, and keep up the great work.
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This happens to me to, and to the people who ask me I say my body is my temple, and I am only looking to grace its walls with art that has deep personal meaning to me.
And to the people who have no tattoos that use the same reasoning, “My body is my temple” I have never been into any church or religious building that didn’t have some form of art on the walls! A mural, stained glass, something so that philosophy gets booted lol
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TBH I have MORE respect for a tattoo artist that has NO ink and more than a decade in the industry because of his/ her level of self-control! Peck is a giant ASSWIPE! I’ve heard the whole dentist with bad teeth arguement and blah blah blah, ok so thinking like that, what ur saying is that if ur going in for open heart surgery, unless the doc fixing ur broken ticker has had it done to him, ur not gonna let em do the job they trained to do! Having/ not having tattoos is a personal choice and anyone that comes to me when I’m at the shop can only see 1 piece on me, a small skull on the webbing of my left hand between my thumb and index finger. I wear long sleeves and the rest of my ink is covered most of the time.
And that’s kinda what I tell people. “Ur not gonna trust a mechanic unless they drive a hotrod?, trust a surgeon unless they have surgery scars, trust a chef unless they are obese? My work is there for you to see, our website has my portfolios on it, take a look then decide if you want your ink done by me or not.”
IMO it is up to the new generation to change the old stereotpe of what a tattoo artist is supposed to “look” like, we are not all criminals and drunks and drug addicts anymore! -
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Personally, having a tattoo is not a credential to be the tattoo artist. However, I like how Ramen put it, in that it shows that you have a respect and love for the same industry from which you make your money. I would hope that one tattoo would suffice to show your respect for the tattoo world – you don’t need an entire body filled list of tattoos.
I saw that Ink Master episode where the guy got his ass chewed for not having any tattoos. I was surprised he didn’t have any and went on that show. I also feel that having at least one tattoo lets you know what it feels like for the client and you can relate or better communicate the pain process if you have been there yourself.
It would be weird for me to buy a BMW from a BMW salesperson who has never driven a BMW…. it doesn’t mean he doesn’t know the car, but it makes me wonder why he won’t drive it.
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Currently I just have one, growing, tattoo. I do have plans for another, but I am waiting to build my portfolio up until I feel it is impressive enough to take in with me. Then the tattoo will be like a reward and hopefully a marker of my journey into apprenticeship. Its going to be a compass on my inner left bicep.
Past that I still have to clear all future tattoos with the wife, and she does not want me to be covered with them.. We’ll see how that goes though, because I’ve recently started giving her tattoos. Maybe she’ll get addicted to it and let me get more ink lol
EDIT: The tattoo I have is a celtic shamrock surrounded with a Celtic/Tribal style shield. I’m still planning on adding little circles to it on the inside of the shamrock when I have kids. To me the tattoo means protection for my family. The non-existant one is the one I described in the first part
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@Infamous wrote:
Past that I still have to clear all future tattoos with the wife, and she does not want me to be covered with them.. We’ll see how that goes though, because I’ve recently started giving her tattoos. Maybe she’ll get addicted to it and let me get more ink lol
Hahahahahahahaha omg. I know were your comming from. I have the same…. Problem…. hahahah I have two thighs, perfect for practising portraits. But I’m not allowed to have tattooes there.
She has 3 tattoos, one of them, I made. (Should post it actually) And I wouldnt mind her getting a whole side piece. :D -
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I have a hard time getting this one finished. For one, my wife already has a pretty low pain tolerance and for two it being on the side doesn’t help that much lol right now the bird outlines are done, the top half of the feather is finished, the script is done, but the bottom half of the feather and the bird shading is still not done
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I think that a tattoo artist should not have to have tattoos if he or she doesn’t want them or there are reasons behind not getting them but love to tat people and create art. I think that being talented to create strong unique original tattoo work should be respect enough to the industry whether or not you have a tattoo or not. I am an artist first and foremost and due to the art world being so hard to break into tattoo artists should have respect for those who do great work, but choose not to get inked.
If someone will not hire someone who doesn’t have a tattoo in a tattoo shop I think that is wrong it is stooping to the level of other jobs that wont hire someone because they have tattoos. Some tattoo artists think that it is a lifestyle choice to be a tattoo artist and in some respects it is, but most of the recent talking about tattoos in the work place has made some tattoo artists think that in order to be apart of this lifestyle you have to go against the norm and get a ton of tattoos to make a statement. I believe that it should be purely based on your skills as an artist don’t judge a book by its cover.
Sure having a tattoo will help you figure out how the person feels and what it is like to get one, but if you are observing a great tattoo artist first in an apprenticeship you should be able to see how the people react on the table as they are getting inked up. Like someone said, just because a doctor has not felt how it feels to get a particular surgery doesn’t mean they don’t know how to do the surgery. Someone who has had the surgery doesn’t mean they know anything about the procedure if he or she hasn’t had the training.
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@inquiring artist wrote:
I think that a tattoo artist should not have to have tattoos if he or she doesn’t want them or there are reasons behind not getting them but love to tat people and create art. I think that being talented to create strong unique original tattoo work should be respect enough to the industry whether or not you have a tattoo or not. I am an artist first and foremost and due to the art world being so hard to break into tattoo artists should have respect for those who do great work, but choose not to get inked.
If someone will not hire someone who doesn’t have a tattoo in a tattoo shop I think that is wrong it is stooping to the level of other jobs that wont hire someone because they have tattoos. Some tattoo artists think that it is a lifestyle choice to be a tattoo artist and in some respects it is, but most of the recent talking about tattoos in the work place has made some tattoo artists think that in order to be apart of this lifestyle you have to go against the norm and get a ton of tattoos to make a statement. I believe that it should be purely based on your skills as an artist don’t judge a book by its cover.
Sure having a tattoo will help you figure out how the person feels and what it is like to get one, but if you are observing a great tattoo artist first in an apprenticeship you should be able to see how the people react on the table as they are getting inked up. Like someone said, just because a doctor has not felt how it feels to get a particular surgery doesn’t mean they don’t know how to do the surgery. Someone who has had the surgery doesn’t mean they know anything about the procedure if he or she hasn’t had the training.
+1
Well said
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