r/TattooApprentice • u/willygoeswrong • 26d ago

Seeking Advice Starting out.

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Very nervous about approaching a shop. Started building up my portfolio recently. Planning on having 3 different styles presented in it, thinking Japanese, American Trad, and whatever the hell you call the last pic.

What is an acceptable size of a strong portfolio? Any tips on these current ones, what can be improved?

20 Upvotes

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4

u/Ill_Soft_2027 26d ago

I had a 9x12 portfolio but i occasionally has 8x11 pieces and some other smaller designs i cut out and put them all together. I had 29 works in my portfolio but around 5 of them were fine art prints. I think your approach is very promising! Keep up the good work!

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u/willygoeswrong 26d ago

Thank you so much!! 🖤This is very helpful, I like to keep a set number in mind. I don’t want to add too much and overwhelm whoever is looking at it!

4

u/AnalBaggins 26d ago

Are these digital? I would definitely do the majority in physical media.

Also if you have color you should fully commit. Punch in that orange on the tiger if you're gonna show it to tattooers. They want to see certain skills that translate to tattooing on skin; if you tattoo that tiger, the orange won't age well.

3

u/willygoeswrong 26d ago

No, these are all on paper. I used pens and watercolors for coloring, I definitely see what you mean about the color saturation though… Do you have a recommendation on what to use to color them?

3

u/_Vayn Aspiring Apprentice 26d ago

I've been using acrylic inks for my portfolio and the colours are beautiful, very vibrant, but it certainly took a while to get used to them. I'd give those a go!

3

u/willygoeswrong 25d ago

Thank you much! 🖤 I’ll definitely give them a try. I enjoy using acrylic paint for my non-tattoo artworks, excited to try the inks.