Finding a Good Tattoo Artist

More than two thirds of people who regretted getting a tattoo, did so because of poor quality!

Therefore, if you want to be happy with your tattoo, only use a professional tattoo artist – do not use a “scratcher”.

What is a “scratcher”? A scratcher is someone who:

• does not have proper training in either tattoo art or the operating of a professional tattoo shop
• does not have the proper tattooing equipment and does not use responsible sterilization methods
• promises to provide tattooing services for an incredibly low fee
• will probably cause you more pain than necessary as they don’t know what they are doing
• will probably give you a permanent tattoo that you will regret for the rest of your life.

Never, never, never get a tattoo from a scratcher, even if he is a good friend, unless you are willing to accept the hazards listed above.

Looking for a professional tattoo artist can be as easy as thumbing through the yellow pages, talking to friends who have tattoos, looking at magazine ads and photos or as complex as checking references.

Probably the best place to start is in magazine or on the internet – look for aspects such as:-
style – tribal, Celtic, religious, black, colour and etc.

• placement on your body
• ideas for images
• size in relation to body part
• artists whose work you like

There are basically two types of tattoo designs to choose from, Flash and Custom. “Flash” is the stock designs that you can see on the walls of the tattoo shop and “custom” means you take your own design with you or ask the artist to do a design based on your specific requirements.

With a good tattoo artist working with you, you can get practically any image you’d like. Accomplished artists can render portraits, wildlife, psychedelic and bio-mechanical styles with impressive results. Your main challenge is to find the artist who can best do the design YOU want.

The next step is to visit the tattoo artist’s shop.