Getting Tattooed 101

Sometimes, everything just clicks. You clearly communicate the design you want, and the tattoo artist you booked understands and improves your vision. Or maybe you are an artist yourself and have the design completed, open to a few minor tweaks the tattoo artist might suggest, and you're rolling. Or maybe your design is simple enough, that there isn't much creativity that needs to be involved.

That does happen. And it happens mostly when you do your homework, and are patient, honest, and flexible.

Here's your homework:

• determine your non-negotiable and your flex elements

Tattooing is permanent (duh). And a lot of the time, symbolic or significant. Especially when you're starting out - the saying is "5 years to plan your first, 5 minutes to plan your second." I can confirm that is true. And for each tattoo came a lesson and an experience. One thing I learned is that you should prepare yourself with a few non-negotiables, and an equal amount of room for creativity with a tattoo artist.

An Example: You did your homework, researched a tattoo artist who does great cartoon character/disney tattoos, and you want to get a tattoo to signify your undying love for Disney World. You have pinpointed a few key characters that you would like, or maybe symbols like the skyline of Disney World or something. One of your non-negotiables is that it has to symbolize Disney in some way. The location of the tattoo may be a flex element for you. It could be by your wrist, or maybe on your hip? Allow these couple of things to be fluid in your decision making, because ultimately when you choose your tattoo artist and are consulting with them, you want to be open to hear their opinion. Things click when they hear your ideas, and offer their experience of placing, sizing, and designing tattoos. They may say, "Mickey actually could look really cool by your ankle like this." If one of your non-negotiables is that you don't get tattoos on your ankle (legitimately one of mine), then say no, and offer another place on your body you were thinking of. Work together, but stay true to your non-negotiables.

Here's a catch on this one: you have to have non-negotiables and flexes. if you go into a tattoo shop and say "I want a lion head on my left shoulder," consider this: now, the people in the shop need to figure out who the best person to do a lion head would be. Then, that person needs to assess your left shoulder. They need to take into consideration the size and detail that you are asking for, and hopefully they are translating your idea into their style. Or maybe they're looking at a reference photo and sketching out their idea. Either way, you need to be open to the idea that:

• maybe the size you anticipate isn't ideal for the level of detail you want
• maybe the placement on your specific body isn't conducive to the piece you want

These are two things that happen a lot. They've happened to me. In some cases, the tattoo artist did know better, and in others, I lost hold of my non-negotiables -- and got burned. In one case, both happened. The ideal would be your non-negotiable is the Lion head, while the location of it is a flex. Or, you desperately want something lion-related on your shoulder. The non-negotiable would be the location, and the flex is the design of the lion.

Of course, you could ignore everything I say and approach your tattoo with pure egotism and a disregard for advice, but I'll warn you- I've done that too. It forces your artist into delivering a product instead of piece of work. It costs you more money further down the line, trust me.

• decide what general type of style you want

Tattooing is an art. It is someone hand-altering your skin with a needle and ink (ew, sorry). In my opinion, there are two types of tattooers: tattoo artists and tattooists.

Tattoo artists take pride in their design and their styles; they work with you on creating a beautiful custom piece and make you feel comfortable in the process.

Tattooists are really good at simple designs and are also often early-stage tattoo artists. A tattooist can work their way into tattoo artist status with time and consistency, but for the most part they do well with symbols and letters, adding in more and more design skill with experience.

Let's define style. You don't have to know what "traditional" or "old school" styles are by looking at them, but have an idea of: color or black/grey?; image, symbols, or text? Then google "tattoo artists" in your area, and find their Instagram, Facebook, or shop page where you can see their work. If you love their design and their style, follow them, keep them in mind. Looking at their work should want you to have their style of tattooing applied to your idea. Looking at their work is also important because if you've decided your non-negotiable is that it has to be watercolor (like me, at one point), then you need to find and see the artists' watercolor pieces. If you don't see a lot, then it may not be their forte (always a good idea to ask the artist what they are comfortable doing, but take note of what themes you see most of).

Also, keep in mind- some artists are really great at one element while others are better at others.

For example: a really good portrait tattoo artist is someone you'd trust with the photo of your dog you want to be tattooed on your thigh. However, if you see a tattoo artist's social feed full of beautiful flower pieces, probably best not to assume they are great at portraits (since you don't see many). Again, worth it to ask if you really like an artist's general style, sometimes tattoo trends occur and artists become overwhelmed with one style, not by choice.

There are definitely artists who are versatile and know how to apply their style to any design, and can execute many different styles or types of tattoos, too.

• have a general, and flexible, idea for design

The key word here is flexible. Yes, it is your body and yes you're going to wear it forever, but let me tell you from experience: anything can be covered (either permanently or temporarily) and, you forget you even have it after like 6 months. It becomes a part of you.

I'm not saying that you should walk into a tattoo shop and sit down and let the artist do whatever they want (which I have done). What I mean to say is that you should come with a general idea. A few photos of similar ones you find online for reference (their own work is ideal - "I really like how you did this particular piece, and was wondering if we could do something similar for mine?"), or actual photos. If you're getting text, play around with some fonts beforehand. But don't tie yourself completely to a specific design or font.

You can absolutely have non-negotiables like it has to include specific symbols or words, but be open to slight tweaks to the design of your idea. You should be proud to be getting a custom design from someone who worked WITH you. And THEY want to be proud when you're wearing their work and people ask who did it.

⚠️Also, use your judgment. If an artist seems not to be listening or is making too many changes to the core idea, perhaps you're not a client-artist match. Thank them for their time, and move on. If you lose a deposit, you paid them for the time they took to work with you on designing it. I have walked out of shops without a tattoo or an appointment to get one because the artist and I didn't seem to understand each other.

Specific example: I was in college and I wanted to get star tattoos... and I was impatient. I saw a shop and stopped. I walked in and the very nice guy and I talked about what I was looking for. I said outlines of stars, just wasn't sure of how many or where. We went back and forth a few times, and he came up with the idea of Nautical stars on my hips. This was actually a huge trend at the time, so I politely told him that wasn't what I was looking for. The conversation died, I let myself out. No hard feelings, no time or money lost. I moved on, and I went home and thought about it more. Listed a few more non-negotiables and a few flex items for next time, and tried again at a later date.

• be open to suggestions about placement

Tattoo artists tattoo... all day. They see different body shapes and sizes and colors and work with the flow and design of your body and the tattoo you want. If your non-negotiable is that the word "Belieber" has to be on your forearm, then maybe take the tattoo artist's advice about using a script font, and having it nearer to your wrist as opposed to in big block letters stretching from your wrist up to your elbow. Sure, it would be harder for Justin Bieber to see from the stage but trust me, you'll thank me (and your tattoo artist) later.

• be patient with timing

Some people think that if an artist is booked out for months, the better they are. There is some truth to this, but there are other factors involved in how busy an artist or a tattoo shop is. I have an arsenal of great artists who are all available within 6-ish weeks. And for the level of talent of most of them, that's a short period of time!

I know, I know: once you get the itch and you're extremely excited about making the decision and getting it done, you want to do it NOW. I can tell you from my own personal experience, that walk-in/quick tattoos should be reserved for:

1. extremely basic designs - simple symbols or words

That's it. At least, in my opinion. If you want a really well-done piece, you want to do your homework and take the time to wait for your appointment. I will give a personal example, again.

My first tattoo was a walk-in. It was two words and they are on the front of my hip. There's actually a lot of drama surrounding that, as I chose two latin words that don't really mean anything. Being that it was my first tattoo, I put in a few hours of research in, and built up my rebellious spirit. My sister helped me find a tattoo artist in the area, and off we went. It didn't involve intense or multiple design elements, but the guy did put his style into it - chose a cool font that flowed with the placement, and even added a star (a bit of a foreshadowing for the over 55 stars I end up getting tattooed on me). It wasn't bad, and I came in with the non-negotiables of: these words, on my hips. My flex was the design of the words, and the exact placement of my hip, which I deferred to the artist to help decide.

Other tattoos I have that didn't involve design or waiting for weeks for an appointment: barbell on my neck, diamond on my finger, words on my wrist, forearm, and ribs, to name a few. These were very simple designs that are easy for a tattoo artist to do - both in their schedule and on you. Most shops or artists will let you know the best way to book them: "email me" or "message me" or "email the shop" are things you should look for to approach an artist. If you don't see a way to contact them, reach out and let them know you enjoy their work and would be interested in seeing what they can do for you. I'm sure they get it all the time and will point you in the right direction.

• get the first time experience over with!

One word of advice I give is that the first tattoo you get should be simple. You need to get the first-time-tattoo experience over with. I've gone several times with friends and family members who wanted their first, and even gotten what they are getting (seriously, I have matching tattoos with 3 people right now) to help ease the pain and anxiety of the initial process. I'm not saying, blow the first one off and just get a paperclip, but... kinda. Get something relatively small and significant to you; use it as a lesson on what to expect process-wise and pain-wise.

Obviously, if you only want to get one tattoo, then follow my advice on planning on making it worth it. If you think you may want more than one, then follow my advice on making your first one an "easy" one.

• the price of a tattoo

I'm going to say it again: this sh*t is permanent. Do you really want to pay bargain basement prices for something that permanently altered your skin? Something you'll live with forever? Remember, covering up a tattoo is usually a very costly and lengthy process (I've had two cover-ups, my full back being one), and laser removal is just as lengthy and costly. In order for an artist to appropriately cover any tattoos, they have to overcompensate in design by a factor of 2 or 3 to distract from and cover the original, so keep in mind that if you get a 4" tattoo on your forearm that you paid $20 for and kinda looks like what you wanted, it will most likely cost you a lot more than $20 to cover it, and it will take a lot more than 4" of your skin.

"You get what you pay for" is VERY applicable to tattoos. Sure, there are exceptions at times, like having a naturally talented tattoo artist who is starting out and charging less per hour or less as a minimum than others who are experienced. And of course, if you know someone or visit an artist frequently, they may give you a discount. But all in all, a $100 tattoo is a lot different than a $40 tattoo.

Don't lead with the price. I understand it is important, and you may be on a budget, but this should be discussed during the design process with your tattoo artist. They can take the price you want to pay into consideration, and give you an appropriate design that accommodates that price. Sometimes, they charge by the hour, and other times they can quote a full price. Ask them. The design and size are what determine the price as it dictates how much time, tools, ink and detail the artist will have to spend on it.

I always over save, and over tip. If you tip waiters or waitresses 20% or more, you should tip someone altering your skin a lot more.

And that's it! Happy tattoo-getting!! :)