u/AppearanceHoliday765

I’m anticipating finishing my portfolio by the end of this month or the next, and that means finally taking it to shops. Which is terrifying, because I’m not the most socially confident person, and I don’t know the etiquette.

I’d like to start preparing for it now, and was hoping for some advice. Specifically, on things that potential apprentices presenting portfolios do wrong that are dealbreakers for you. Things that are lacking in their portfolios, things you find disrespectful, things that suggest they’re not willing to work for their training, etc. Things that I should avoid doing at all costs. There are two shops in particular that I’ve researched heavily and would probably sell my soul to apprentice at, and the last thing I want is to blow my shot at it by doing or saying the wrong thing.

I also wondered what the etiquette was with shops that don’t do walk-ins. Neither of the ones I’ve been looking into do, and I don’t want to interrupt their days (many are booking months in advance) by trying to walk in the door with my portfolio when they’ve got clients to attend to. Do I email in advance to ask if they would be willing to take a look at it, or does that come across as lazy? It would essentially be an email asking if we could arrange a time for me to bring it in, not just emailing them a digital portfolio/Instagram.

I’ve been working on a lot of my own American Trad designs for my portfolio to show an understanding of the style, and also because in the process of studying it, I’ve actually come to love it (I always loved the look of it, but it’s very different from my art style, so I didn’t expect to enjoy making it and was pleasantly surprised). I’m making at least one page of my own designs, for sure.

But I’ve heard people advise that potential apprentices also recreate Sailor Jerry flash directly, and I just feel weird about including recreations of another artist’s work in a portfolio. I come from a fine art background, and there’s an ick to that that I can’t get past even though I know it’s normal here. I have a ton of my favourites saved that I would love to recreate, and I have been doing so for study purposes, but is it appropriate to put the best of those studies in my portfolio? I know actually tattooing means copying other artists’ work sometimes, and have no issues with that at all, but I worry that doing so in my portfolio in particular would be viewed as lacking in creativity. If not, how much should I include?

I’ve been a digital illustrator and traditional painter for 10+ years, and am looking to finally pursue tattooing - it was my dream job, but I had such shaky hands from anxiety that I didn’t think I could do it. A decade of painting solved that problem, and I really want to finally pursue that dream.

I’ve read here that portfolios should essentially focus on showing foundational art skills, and include both tattooable pieces and pieces that are simply technically proficient. That in mind, I’m planning to include some of my digital work and some of my paintings alongside relevant tattooable work (I’ve been designing my own tattoos and those for others on a commission basis for years - not scratching, I just send my own designs to my tattoo artist for her to actually do). One of the paintings I’m thinking of including, I kept for myself and didn’t sell, so I still have it. It’s on a thin canvas, and should fit in a portfolio page. Is it more professional/appealing to actually put it in the portfolio directly, or is a printed photograph preferable? It also features nudity (it’s tasteful, just a semi-surrealist naked woman intertwined with the roots of a tree, which sounds like it would be gory, but I promise it isn’t lol). Is it okay to include on that basis alone?

EDIT: While I’m here, I also want to ask: I did some studies on Cézanne’s work (attempting to reproduce it with alcohol markers) - because they’re studies, should I not include them? Or should I include them but very visibly note that they’re studies?

I have PTSD and agoraphobia, and haven’t been to the dentist in 6+ years because of it. Tonight, I have to go in to get two fillings that I couldn’t put off anymore, and they’re going to give me gas to keep me calm. My concern is that it wears off shortly after the procedure, and all of my panic will come right back in full force afterwards. Normally, I would have a drink to help me calm back down as I’ve chosen to stop using Ativan (long story), and want to make sure that that won’t cause any problems. Obviously only once I’m no longer feeling any effects from the gas at all.