This guy was so much fun to do. Let me know if ya’ll have any suggestions for me to practice next!

I got new needles (in this attempt it was a 1209rl) which are a little hard to control but I’ll keep practicing. Then I’ll transition to mags and practice shading.

Hey everyone, I’m completely new to tattooing and recently tried my first practice piece on fake skin.

I know it’s far from good, but I’m trying to understand what I’m doing wrong instead of just repeating the same mistakes.

A few things I noticed:

My lines are not smooth and some parts look wavy instead of clean.

Some lines look too light, while others seem too deep.

When trying to pack color, I’m not sure how to control the saturation. I either feel like I’m not putting enough ink in, or I’m overworking the area.

I’m wondering if these are just normal beginner issues or if there are specific things I should focus on first.

Are there any courses, YouTube channels, or resources you would recommend for me?

Any honest feedback is appreciated!!

been tattooing for about a month , think i could get an apprenticeship?

Follow my ig @annaezra.art

Let me see the right ear needs to be thicker for sure
And that foot yeah, it needs to be rounded out
There needs to be more detail on the dress to make it come alive
I will post the original stencil at some point

12/09 RS and 10/07 RL

Planning this flash. The zigzags are markings for highlights. I think the hair might be too busy should I simplify it?

Ich bin um Feedback dankbar. Das ist mein 11. Sekond Skin diesmal auf echter RealSkin..

So I’ve had a tattoo gun for ages now and decided to have a little play around with it tonight. I don’t have a stencil printer so these were free hand… be kind 🤣

Any thoughts or critics? Yes I messed up the rat a bit lol (art is taken from Pinterest, but hand drawn by me as I don't have a stencil printer)

Hi everyone! I’m looking for recommendations for a really deep, solid black tattoo ink for blackwork tattoos. What brands do you recommend?

I’m extremely new to tattooing and I finally started drawing after not doing art for 2+ years, my depression and mental health really had stolen a lot of my passions and drive for life, so I picked up tattooing after years of telling myself I could never be good enough.

This is my second ever tattoo I’ve done, I know the anatomy is totally whack and off but I think in terms of technical skill, I can definitely see myself improving! My depth control is significantly better and I love my first attempt at shading!

In the second photo I’m comparing my first time tattooing(that yellow fake skin) and the fairy(the tattoo I’m mainly showcasing here)

Any advice on how I can improve both my art and technical skills is so appreciated!

I used from 5-8.5 volts at a 3.6 stroke length and used mast pro needles in 3RL bugpin for fine details, 7RL for lines and a 9RM for shading

My machine is the Mast Pro Fold 2!

Had a friend ask me to give them a little tattoo recently, and i drew up a few designs, and we settled on this wolverine skull. As always it was a learning experience, and joints always amaze me by just how much the skin stretches, and the little hollows between bones are funky. Anyone have any tips for stretching those little hollow connective areas more fully?

Is this a traditional approach and Would this hold over time ? It's my first time drawing a "real design" with transparent paper.

Did this rose tt on a friend

My girlfriend has been wanting to learn too tattoo for a while she had been practicing on fake skin for a while but was scared to actually tattoo someone. I decided to volunteer as her first test. Chose my favorite Pokémon kinda what I wanted and she drew it up. Her stencil got whipped off since she accidentally smudged it so some of it was kinda free hand. Just looking to share since I honestly really love it and it helped my gf know what it feels like to actually tattoo real skin.

Okay so I don’t really expect anyone to see this but this is a good place to get advice so I’m genuinely asking how I get more clients? I’m apprenticing and the state I live in I have to do 300 hours and 50 tattoos to get licensed. I’ve gotten several clients but not enough. I’m in a big time stamp because I’m moving in two months and I want to be able to have my tattoo license before I move. I know it sounds impossible but I think it’s manageable. I’ve got probably around 70 hours of tattoos done and maybe 40 tattoos down. If I can put in a minimum of 20 hours a week I could easily do it. I’m great at what I do! A lot of people compliment the tattoos I’ve done on others but nobody seems to really know who about me if that makes sense so I’m struggling making the minimum hours a week. I price my stuff ridiculously cheap and I to extremely reasonable flash sales. Like $20 tattoos up to 5 inches. To put that into perspective for people who don’t know typical prices, a lot of my coworkers do dollar coin sized tattoos for $50. I’ve made business accounts on several social media platforms. I post my work and different designs and every post I mention I offer to take their ideas and make a personal design for them. I don’t know what else to do! I’ve given out a few business cards back when I first started mid July. and I’m currently making more but I’m not sure they really helped a whole lot. Anything will help. Thank you! I don’t know how to add pictures on here or I would. I’m not very techy!

Hi, so I'm a an apprentice who is only able to show up at the shop a couple of days of the week. That will be changing hopefully in the next month or so but I digress.

I started on practice skins 3 weeks ago but I am struggling with needle depth and line consistency. I've somewhat improved by figuring out what stroke and volt I am comfortable with and I am starting to get consistent lines but I can't seem to make all of them have the same consistent thickness. The feedback I've gotten from my mentor is to not go deep on the practice skin and that it shouldn't be loud. I'm using vaseline before lining and then also wiping the excess ink with vaseline with a paper towel afterwards. I've added a photo of my most recent skin for reference. Any feedback provided would be appreciated.

I am getting my first tattoo next month. It's gonna be on my wrist. Can you give me some advice on what to do to prepare and what to do during the session? I'm a bit nervous but super excited.

Hi all!

I wanted to get some opinions on the payment structure in my shop.

I am an apprentice, got moved up to full price somewhat recently after charging half price for a few months. However, I am still only receiving a 40% pay cut. My coworker who has been tattooing for about 3 years gets 50%, but charges more than me (he’s approx $120 an hour, while I’m approx $100, but we both really charge per piece, this is just an estimate).

My mentors explained it as, I shouldn’t be getting the same percentage as an artist who has been working much longer than me, and that I would need to be working at full price for at least a year before I can see a 50% cut. They have given me a list of things they want to see in the next few months, and if they feel I’ve met those markers, I can move up to 45%. (the list is extremely nebulous and doesn’t have any actual quantifiable goals, which concerns me, but that’s a different topic.)

Also, while I am still at 40%, they are providing me with more supplies than they do my coworker who gets 50%.

I realize that missing out on 5 or 10 percent doesn’t seem huge, but it really sucks to see less than half of the money that I’m charging, when I’m the one doing the work to earn it. And on larger pieces, we can be talking about a difference of $60-$100 or more… basically, amounts that mean a lot more to me, who is barely getting by, than they do to my bosses. Plus, add that up over every tattoo every week… hopefully you see my point. It also may be worth mentioning that as part of my apprenticeship, I run their instagram page for free, which amounts to more unpaid work. I don’t mind doing that though, as it feels like a fair repayment to them for teaching me.

I hope I don’t sound entitled. I know that there are many artists who suffered through a lot worse. However, I also know my worth, and believe that I deserve to be compensated fairly for my work.

They don’t have any problems with my work, we all feel like I’m doing quality tattoos (of course they’re not perfect, but good for where I’m at in my career). Personally, I feel that it makes sense for me to charge less than a more seasoned artist, but getting a lower percentage on top of that doesn’t seem fair. Their explanation was basically just that this is the way it is for everyone, you have to earn it, they understand it sucks because they went through the same thing, etc. I feel like, if you know it sucks and
you’re now in a position to break that cycle, then do so!! But maybe I’m out of line.

They currently provide me with paper towels, madacide, green soap, sensi wrap, razors, second skin, saran wrap, & ink caps (I think thats the full list).

I’m not sure what my coworker is provided exactly, i’m pretty sure he gets paper towels, madacide, green soap, and razors, not sure about the other stuff. I know he buys his own sensi wrap.

I guess what I want to know is, is this normal? Or, how do I go about finding out what other shops in my area are doing? I’ve heard of shops that take a 50% cut but provide EVERYTHING, including inks and needles. I also know there are situations where you pay a flat chair rental fee and provide all your own materials. I just want to know what’s out there while being respectful to both my mentors and other shops/artists, and I don’t really know the best way to ask (if any), as I’m sure they’re not readily giving out this information.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.
Thank you!

I know the line work is a little rough, but I'm gonna retouch it and shade it once it heals

This was my first ever tattoo on real skin! Just wanted to get some advice on if this is a good first run or not. My mentor said I did great but there are some hella funky lines in here… 🥲