Once you’ve decided on your tattoo, let’s talk shops. The first thing you should do is scope out your tattoo shop. While you’re there, thumb through some portfolios and examples of their art to get a feel for what that shop has to offer. These collections of artwork on display are commonly referred to as flash.
You’ll notice that some shops specialize in a specific type of art work, although there is a growing aim to be more diverse and have an artist cover each major tattoo style. You should try to get someone that specializes in what you want. For instance, if you want a portrait tattoo, don’t go to the guy specializing in graffiti who tells you “Yeah, sure, I can do that.”
If you walk in and see anything funky on the floor-a tissue, napkin, sock-your red flag warning should be on high alert. If you happen upon something sticky, icky, questionable, or if you see blood anywhere but directly on a person, walk out. If anything is out of place, you should go.
I’ll be honest, not every shop is going to be outgoing and friendly at first. But if you are truly uncomfortable for any reason, besides being in a new environment, leave. Imagine that if you’re uncomfortable now, how will you feel when there’s a needle pulsing over your skin for hours?
Once you pick an artist, one that specializes in your specific style and has a personality that you won’t mind being stuck with for a few hours, make an appointment prior to the actual day of getting inked. That way, you can talk about design and have plenty of time to change it into your perfect tattoo.
When talking design, there are a few things to keep in mind. First of all, know that some tattoo artists will want you to pay for the sketch and this is normal. Their hard work and artistic flair have gone into creating something personal for you and for all they know, you may take the sketch to another artist, so don’t be cheap.
Secondly, if a tattoo artist designs something that you don’t like, refrain from saying “That’s ugly!” unless you enjoy getting ripped a new one. If you don’t like it, politely tell them that you had something else in mind and try to be as descriptive as possible. You cannot afford a miscommunication when the artist’s final creation will be stuck with you forever.
Additionally, a tattoo artist may add some of their influences to your tattoo. If you like it, awesome. If not, and your artist won’t change it, be prepared to start the search all over again.
Try to keep in mind that an artist’s name will forever be associated with your tattoo so they may feel obligated to change certain aspects of your tattoo because they think it will look better. Unless you honestly agree with the change, feel free to ask them to modify it to your liking. This is the time you want to be a detail-crazed perfectionist.
After you’ve decided on your tattoo, take the time to place it. This may be a good time to take a suggestion from the artist. They tattoo people everyday and know muscle anatomy pretty well, so if they think your request for placement is not a good decision, they should able to give you a good reason as to why.
When you finally sit down to get tattooed, if your needle doesn’t come out a sterile package, don’t be afraid to immediately stop the process and run out the door. Other safety issues to look for are if your artist tries to reuse a gun without cleaning it, dips into a large container of ink, or double dips in the Vaseline.
If you feel that a shop is truly violating health standards, report them. If you don’t, you’re not doing anyone any favors, especially the tattoo industry. They have enough trouble trying to keep a good reputation so they don’t need a shop that doesn’t care about safety as that can give all shops a bad name.
If nothing about your tattoo shop or artist sends you running for the door and you are able to get through this entire process, congrats. But before you go under the needle, check out next week’s article expanding on some of the issues we touched on here as well as the actual tattooing process.
Next week: Tattoos: Before, during and aftercare.
