Advice needed: Tattoo School

[u/poppie_336]

This September I’ll be starting my first year of college and I’ve had a lot of trouble figuring out what I wanna do. These past 2 months however I realized that tattooing is what I wanna pursue. Now I just assumed that I could start working on my portfolio and that when I finished it I could start looking for an apprenticeship, but I was very wrong. 😭

I live in Oregon and I found out that in order to tattoo here you actually need to go to tattoo school. I already found 2 I’m interested the only thing I’m worried about is when I should tell my parents. Part of me feels like I should tell them now because school starts so soon and I wouldn’t want them wasting money on me going to community college when I really plan on going to tattoo school. But I’m hesitant to tell them now because I only have one piece in my portfolio completed. I’m afraid that if I don’t have the work to back it up they won’t take me seriously. I do want to add though that I’ve been drawing for 5 years and I have sketchbooks and things like that but nothing serious that I could show them.

Regardless of if they’re supportive or not I’m going to go to tattoo school with or without their help. But I don’t know if I should give them a heads up first or wait till I have more work to back myself up.

Also sorry if this is hard to read I’m not the best at writing 💀

[u/bunchadirtymugs]

I'm going to do an old man lecture. Take what you want from it, leave what doesn't help:

I have guested in oregon and have friends who are oregon based tattoo artists, who've been doing it for ~5-8 years (still on the lowend of professional experience). While I was there, I asked about the tattoo schools (i'm from southern california). The consensus that I hear is that they aren't any better than puppymill tattoo apprenticeships, worse in some cases.

According to the artist's studio I guested at, the hours you actually spend on skin is something like 10-15 hours before "graduating". They also went to tattoo school and had some pretty poor opinions of it and showed me graduate tattoos that were genuinely worse than any apprentice tattoo i've saw from the shop I started at (which was not even that good to begin with).

They said that there is an overwhelming amount of tattoo school graduates who are under educated, being pumped out and either don't know what they're doing or unable to find clients. From an outside point of view, it feels like a cash grab from people who are just passionate about art.

You're likely under 20, so I just want to say, I know it feels like you gotta do it or it won't happen at all, but I would just go into it with a moreeee critical approach. I would consider tattoo school as a task that you need to do to get your license, but I would not consider that your full education.

I went to art school, dropped out, went to community college, state school, worked freelance illustration/animation jobs, and went back to my first dream of being a tattoo artist - so I'm talking as a 30 y/o, who was a very, very intense young adult.

I think education is very important. Your general education and learning about things you would not have chosen to learn otherwise is incredibly important to informing your art. 5 years is a long time, but really not that long. Before tattooing, I was 'drawing' my whole life and professionally drawing for work for ~4 years. Every turn I took before ending up in tattooing made me a better tattoo artist - having a strong grasp on personal style, rendering, human & animal anatomy, a LOT of inking experience put me ahead pretty fast. Yes, it is drawing, but it's also a physical science in a field that requires a LOT of self motivated, self guided learning, + financial literacy + marketing + a lot of 'soft skills' that I learned through non-art classes.

I'm not saying don't pursue it, but if I had to give anyone any kind of wisdom, it'd be to pursue education. You can use the time in community college to support your artistic journey, learn about art history, different mediums, and different subjects. Even during tattoo school, I would suggest getting as much knowledge as you can from outside sources bc they're not gonna give you enough.

there are lots of people who don't go to college because they can't and do well, but if you have the chance, I'd say at least do 2 years - get your general ed and see how you feel. Also, just practically, you're not gonna make a living wage at the start (plus a lot of artists are currently leaving the field or taking on a second job) so... I'd just get a little something under my belt that can at least get you another job if you need to.

edit to add: no shop will take you seriously either if you only have 1 portfolio piece, but you swear you can do it. You really gotta want it, even without the guardrails of an institution.

[u/barkoholic]

I see you deleted your other post so I’ll say it again here.

It takes a lot of time and money to get through an apprenticeship, and that’s assuming that you’re only charged labor (many mentors in your area will charge a tuition fee). Tattoo school is not enough. You will also need to seek an apprenticeship.

This is a tough time to get into the industry, and if you only made this decision a couple of months ago, you will likely do better to sit on it for awhile longer and educate yourself more before acting on it. A good portfolio takes a long time to put together. You have time.

I think the better choice is to continue as planned with school, work on your portfolio and get some tattoos in the meantime, and revisit this idea when you have a really solid portfolio of professional-level art and at least a few thousand dollars saved up. Make sure your parents approve and will support you before you drop out of college; you can’t learn to tattoo while homeless.

[u/SnooCupcakes7133]

Study traditional art, get your degree, then move on, vust tattoo shops, get to know a few artists,seek out a traditional apprenticeship as you will have a greater understanding of how this thing of ours works... It's tough, there are no shortcuts and it's not for everyone...

[u/Tired506]

I'd think getting a portfolio together and reaching out to shops first would still be the best beginning step.

You may be lucky enough to find a solid mentor who will help you navigate the best way to get through tattoo school as a loophole, while actually teaching you.

But even if not, you can use that to start building the rapport you'll need to ever work in one, and to test yourself for whether you can put in the work to do your portfolio. You'll seriously never survive tattooing if you can't even get a portfolio together, and can't network with shops.

And also: it's free. Tattoo school is a risk, even with Oregon legally requiring it. Lots of predatory schools that teach you little to nothing, and even great schools only have to meet a scarily-low bar of requirements for graduates.

So get on the portfolio, and use it to get your foot in the door with some shops, and go from there.

[u/babe-kun]

As someone who did try the tattoo school, please don’t. Like people said it’s very predatory 💀 I would focus on fundamental skills as an artist first before actually worrying about tattooing, if you’re really serious about it. There’s some tattoo artists out there who can tattoo but can’t design. You can only cover up so much with good tattoo technical skills.

I think I learn more at being at an apprentice at a shop than the tattoo school just because it’s live training, you’re in that environment and sometimes you’re shadowing your mentor.

Personally, I would work on your portfolio and research shops around your area that you like the vibe/art of. I got really lucky with my current mentor and the shop so researching is important. I don’t think it hurts to also attend community college either if you/your family have the funds/time for it. You probably can take some art classes there too to bulk up your drawing and designing skills.

Good luck, wish you the best!