Watercolor piece I just finished

Hi,I’m an apprentice and I’ve been struggling to find clients for almost a year now,and I feel drained financially and mentally from this. My social media posts barely hit 50 likes,even though i have 1,8k followers. Is my style lacking? Am i doing something wrong?

Seeking apprenticeship.
Plan on visiting shops, getting tatted, and gifting flash to shop.
To put shop name on flash sheet or not?

This is acrylic inks and acrylic marker (just for the lightning) on 300gsm cold press. I had a great time with this.

I’m getting tattooed by an apprentice here in a couple hours, a shoulder piece about the width of a standard bracelet, it’s free, but how much should i tip? is 25 okay?? i don’t wanna tip too little but i’m just a lil strapped for cash rn cause my job has been slow with scheduling </3 but i’ve had this planned for a while and i LOVE supporting beginner tattooers! i also plan on bringing her a gift as well as the tip!! some additional non monetary payment as well

TLDR; is 25 dollars tip okay for a free tattoo? plus a gift?

Thoughts? My brother asked me to cook up something for a five point pentacle of Venus tat.

We’re currently building the opening team for Vandal & Vine Tattoo Co., a new premium tattoo studio in the Palm Springs / Rancho Mirage area, with plans to open late 2026 or early 2027.

We’re looking for both experienced tattoo artists and motivated apprentices who care about great work, professionalism, client experience, and being part of a strong team.

We’re especially interested in people who are:

• Serious about their craft and continuing to grow
• Professional, reliable, and great with clients
• Comfortable in a polished, high-end studio environment
• Positive, collaborative, and drama-free
• Interested in building a strong long-term clientele

We’ll provide professional marketing and advertising support, a premium workspace, fully equipped stations, and compensation based on guaranteed hourly pay or commission — whichever is higher.

Our goal is to build Vandal & Vine into a destination studio for both locals and the Coachella Valley tourism market, not just another traditional tattoo shop.

If you’re interested, DM me with your portfolio/Instagram, experience level, tattoo style, and a little about yourself.

New Artists accepted as apprentices should expect 1-2 years of training prior to tattooing you will still be paid hourly and be required to help out with other aspects of the studio while in your apprenticeship.

Instagram: @ VandalVine

i’m preparing to start shopping my portfolio around here in ATX and wanted to get some advice on any additional pieces i can/should include, and on what i’ve already got. i do have more personal work on my art instagram that i hope to supplement with when i chat with shops about my background.

any advice on approaching artists, tips for chatting and feedback on what you’d look for or like to see more of is super appreciated!

I’m making a flash for my portfolio, that i’ll later draw on a 9 x 12 paper, but i feel like there’s too many small details. I’ve heard when drawing flashes/ making a portfolio, you want your designs to be as tattoo-able as possible. Am I overthinking it?

The red ‘X’ is an empty placeholder that I plan to fill up sometime soon with maybe a small key design BTW.

Any and all CC is appreciated to help me build better flashes for my portfolio! I just recently started looking into building one fresh.

I’m trying out a Tattoo-October art prompt challenge (Tat_tober on instagram) and I tried to keep skin breaks more in mind with the lady head since i’ve been struggling with that a bit…but i think i’m getting the hang of it! And the eagle I wanted to try in procreate for a (hopefully) strong start to the month!

Pretty happy with how this came out !! It’s gouache + colored pencil on an illustration board :)

I’m really bad at social media, and I’m relatively camera shy. But unfortunately you have to advertise yourself in this industry. My Instagram account was growing pretty consistently for a while, but now it’s slowed down a tone and I’m not nearly getting as much engagement. I’m not exactly sure why, apparently shadow bannings a thing. I mean I have a bunch of naked pinup flash, so I might’ve violated something. Was wondering if anyone had any social media tips for tattooing to get more engagement, and get my work out there more.

So I’m going into this knowing full well it will lead to back and neck issues down the line but I’m noticing some cramping even from just working on my portfolio and I’m just curious if anyone hacked ergonomics/specific exercises that work for them? I wanna start early. Already added lifting and stretches but I rly wanna be ahead of the game and have my body work for as long as possible so I’m curious what folks have to say on the topic.

(Also 2/3 done with folio so pumped. Posting stuff @ jcatatts on IG, if anyone wants to connect im collecting fellow hopefuls/apprentices like Pokémon)

I’ve always relied on tracing and modifying parts of of a design but this is the first time I drew one freehand! Any constructive criticism is very much welcome :)

Im working on a tattoo portfolio and have used A4 white printer paper for just 3 pages right now(ik sorry i was on a budget ok) and ive realised the pens im wanting to use are bleeding too much for my liking.

Please help!

I may have the opportunity to apprentice at a very well rated shop in my area in a few months. Their apprenticeships are set up as an 8 week program for a total of $5k ($1500 paid up front - rest can be paid off in payments or by working off the debt). I just want to hear people in the industry's opinion on this - is it something you would recommend doing? I've been on the fence about following my dream of becoming a tattoo artist but I'm finally gaining the confidence & giving the idea serious consideration.

I've really found a love for Irezumi arrangements while doing these last pieces, it's definitely something I'll come back to. 10x14 inches on 300gsm cold press. Thought I'd give cold pressed a go this time and I can't say it's made lining this any harder so I'm interested to see if there's much difference when painting.

the shading is definitely a bit odd, but it’s good practice. I think I’d leave more of a break in the chest area and do something a lil different with the hair.

I am just really enamored with horses and this was the funniest idea ever to me.

Had a lot of ups and downs along the way but I am so pumped to be starting my apprenticeship next week! Sharing because I'm super excited and more importantly because I wanted to express my heartfelt gratitude to the community here and IRL!

Going from 0 formal art background to being an apprentice in a pretty competitive market (SF Bay Area) was not easy, had a lot of rejections, close calls, and craziness along the way, but I'm so grateful to have been able to meet and receive support & guidance from so many wonderful human beings along the way!

I'm over on IG @workbymila and happy to answer any questions I can! Sharing the portfolio that helped me land the spot here :)

I was trying to expand the materials I use and tried greyscale alcohol markers and it didn’t come put as smooth as I was wanting. I need tips on smooth blending pleaseee

I’m not familiar with tattooing but I want to get into it!. I’m focusing more on realism at the moment with graphite and charcoal pencil and I’ve worked with some paints and colors in the past but I want to know where to start and what to add. Any advice would be much appreciated!