r/TattooApprentice

hello!!

i have always wanted to be a tattoo artist, even if it’s part time. i’ve illustrated books and had some art in galleries…so i’ve always been pretty artistic!

right now, i’m a full time college student (the rest of my degree, which is a few classes left, is online) i also work in the medical field which my hours are SO flexible. i love my job already so so much and im happy to be able to have a career in it.

that being said, i can’t help but think about being a tattoo artist. the job i have now, and that are both my dream jobs.

i guess my question is: is it possible to do both? and if so, how do i start? are part time apprenticeships a thing? i really want to pursue it, but i also love my medical work i do.

thank you sooo much!:)

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 did some script typewriter style and the stencil slightly smudged. I didn’t realize that it wasn’t supposed to look like that. So I proceeded to tattoo the stencil. Only to realize the second half is a bit thicker & wonky looking. Thinking that the font was supposed to look like that. I’m soooo mad at myself because I know i could’ve made it look like the original stencil. It wasn’t a skill issue. And now I’m dealing with the shame. This was yesterday and my brain didn’t register what happened until today looking at the pics. I don’t know, I need someone to relate to help comfort myself /: she didnt like it. I can tell. I feel so stupid. I’m so sad. Help.

I’m 28 and living in the UK, I have just finished my nursing degree. I’ve worked in healthcare for 7 + years. I have always enjoyed drawing and have quite a few tattoos, the culture is very appealing to me and I always used to say to people who asked that I wanted to be a tattoo artist before I started my nursing degree.
Lately I have been feeling lost with my career choice and to be totally honest I wish I had done something different and followed my true passion of creating.

I think it would take at least a year or two to really get to a good level of drawing to build my portfolio. The idea of looking for an apprenticeship at the age of 30 seems really daunting and I almost feel silly planning it out because I’m late to the game and wonder if it’s actually a realistic option?

Any tips or if anyone else has felt this way / been in a similar position with wanting to change career how do you deal with it?

so i paid 2k for my apprenticeship and i was told id be learning everything from design elements to how to assemble diagnose and use coils etc yk. all the stuff, and that i could have another job to support me.

well. after maybe 3 months of me drawing with color pencils and tattooing some friends - literally guessing bc the owner (my mentor) wasn't telling me like what to do at all or watching me tattoo, the dude tells me like im good and im going to be taking walkins and like. my apprenticeship is over.

. so ive been tattooing walkins for the past few months uh trial and error i guess and i haven't like fucked anyone up but my fills aren't solid and i ask how to fix it and get kind of different answers from my coworkers and so i youtube it and just keep doing my best yk.

and anyways the owner wants me to be there noon-9pm tuesdays through saturdays without much exception, i'm not allowed to do free practice tattoos during those hours, and i'm not allowed to take time off to work a second job. um yeah.

i didn't get a contract or anything in writing and i guess that was fucking stupid as hell bc like. this sucks and i'm still self taught one 2k loan from my sister later, and like. idk what to do honestly

Now I get that apprenticeships aren’t peaches and cream, it’s showing up and drawing and working on your craft, setting stations up, cleaning the shop and taking trash out. But lately the shop I work at has had some red flags, we had another apprentice come back who my mentors focus have shifted towards. They tell me my lines and art look like shit but that’s it no advice nothing but the other apprentice is getting his questions answered. He doesn’t clean, shows up when he pleases, pretty much does whatever he wants. Now I took the apprenticeship in hopes to learn, and so far I’ve upped to being a piercer. I’ve learned a lot with piercing but the other day I had a needle stick, my mentor said it was up to me if I wanted to go get tested and wouldn’t give me the document for work comp. I had to make an appointment the next day and go get tested on my own cause he really just didn’t give a shit. And before this I got sick with Covid for 2 weeks and no one cleaned the shop there was dead flies all over the floor and desk and stuff. Like I know apprenticeships are tough but I’m losing my mind.

I really want to be a tattoo artist and get an apprenticeship, but I feel it is too late for me to try. I see a lot of younger people getting apprenticeships straight out of school and think it’s past my time to be able to make becoming a tattoo artist a reality. I’m not sure if my concerns are just a lot of anxiety and self confidence issues or if they are something I should listen to fully and move onto something more ‘realistic’.

I graduated in Architecture last year but felt it wasn’t for me. I am currently working full time and still living at home, but am considering getting a part time position that would allow me to pursue an apprenticeship while still being able to pay for my outgoings.

Any advice or suggestions from someone who’s been in a similar situation or still is would be appreciated - thank you!

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?