Thanks! I'm glad you liked it :)

I just passed my one year anniversary of tattooing another person, and I feel like I still don't know anything about tattooing haha it's definitely a marathon

Its a great reference when painting! They are a Pantone postcard set I got at the MOMA :D

Best of luck to your friend!

Awww so sweet of you to be so invested into what you friend says

Same! Being in a shop environment is priceless and going to give an advantage in the industry. If you are self taught it's 100x more difficult to ever work in a shop. I constantly wish that I had a mentor to guide me, but both mentors I've had were pretty hands-off. I am jealous of the apprentices that have mentors that are present and involved. It makes the learning stage go by much quicker, and they are always better artists faster. In July I'll have been tattooing 2 years, and a tattoo artist for 1 year, but every day I'm thankful to the shop that I'm at for giving me clientele and a space to continue learning

You don't want to tattoo at home, or show that you have tried tattooing unless it was in a professional setting. In my case, I didn't do any tattoos in my first apprenticeship so I didn't have any tattoos to show when I was getting my second. Tattoo artists don't want to take on "scratchers" for the most part because it's harder to teach them when they think they know how to tattoo already. Some artists will take on scratchers in some cases but take their equipment away until they think they are ready to tattoo again. As far as the art goes, it's good to show mostly things drawn by hand. Digital art can be cool to show as an example that you know how to design and compose something. By hand drawings are more beneficial for the artists to assess your skill. On an iPad, the lines and circles can be smoothed and straightened; but by hand you have to rely only on yourself. I didn't get tattooed by me mentors until after I had started my apprenticeships. It's not mandatory to get tattooed, as long as you express a desire for tattooing. It's harder to get an apprenticeship without tattoos, but not impossible. I wouldn't recommend seeking tattooing as a career unless you wanted to get tattoos in the future. You have no way to connect with the pain you're putting your clients through, and it shows that you don't respect the tradition of tattooing. Like I said in the video, this is something that consumes you both physically and mentally, or you get burned out and do something else. How this helps!

@@krookedburger Thanks for answering. I really like to ear about your story. Do you use pencil for hand drawing of something else(and what ?)? How you get interoperation to what draw? Do you wish that tattoos school were more common? What do you think about UV ink tattoo (it glows under UV light else cannot be seen)?

* 20 pages would be enough. Then you can have pages with bigger pieces, cut in smaller designs to show what you been working on. * Best finished results should be put in there. * Show them Different Styles, even if it's not your style. You gotta show that you can work with it, sence people got different styles. *Keep it Neat, Clean and professional when you are taking it for the interview. * They will likely interview you as well. They can ask you how long you been studying. Are you 100% sure you want to work like an artist. Have you tattooed someone before? And how do you setup, your setups? Where? Best known artist is good to mention. Motivation and inspiration.

All good advice here! Definitely be honest about during the interview, and be open to any feedback they have. Even if they don't take you on as an apprentice, alot of artists are willing to help out with critiques

If you have hopes to work in a shop, definitely stop tattooing at home. They will be more willing to work with you if you're honest, so I wouldn't delete anything until after you get an apprenticeship. I would recommend not promoting that you're doing tattoos though, and just focusing on your art and drawing. Some mentors will take on people that tattoo at home if they see potential to learn, or that you're willing to listen. Some shops will take you on, but confiscate your equipment until they think you're ready to tattoo again

Its pretty common for shops to refuse an apprentice for practicing at home whether it's on fake skin or on another person. It's fine if you have shop experience previously, but without guidance people can teach themselves bad habits. Mentors won't take on potential apprentices because it's easier to teach them new things than it is to correct what they already are doing. I've seen alot of potential apprentices turned away because they were too eager to tattoo and messed up some of their friends or some fake skins.

No it's okay! I know it can be intimidating to talk to artists and interrupt businesses. What I've always done is just walked in and asked to talk to the owner about a potential apprenticeship. If they say that aren't taking apprentices right now I ask if they can give me a critique of my portfolio. If they are busy, or in the middle of tattooing, then you just wait at the shop or ask if you can come back in an hour or so. If they aren't there, ask when they will be in, or if any other artists are willing to give you any pointers. You want to be respectful of their time, but also show willingness to work with them, considering you might be working along side them for a while. If it's a private studio, try calling or emailing them to see if you can set up a time that works for them. Most private studios won't take on apprentices, so be prepared to thank them for their time and ask if they have any helpful critiques of your work via email or Instagram. Walking in with a physical portfolio, and giving them a brochure or booklet or business card with some example of your work and how to contact you are the easiest ways to make an impression on these artists. They get emails and calls all the time with people looking for mentors, but the effort of making the physical portfolio and being able to engage in a conversation will help you go very far

Sorry about such a long response, but it also makes a huge difference in the artists eyes on whether or not they want to work with you to see how YOU fit into the environment. They aren't just taking on a potential apprentice, they are taking on a potential artist one day and your attitude and artwork will both have to fit the shop. The artists can assess whether they want to dedicate a year or more to teaching you and see how willing you are to learn. If the initial meeting goes well, they might ask you back for a more thorough interview, but essentially going through your portfolio and talking to you shouldn't take more than 20-30 minutes of the artists time

Yeah the tattoo schools are a point of contention in the tattoo industry for exactly that reason. There's no way to learn online, and all they teach you in school is cross contamination.

I dont think its bad, but anytime that money is exchanged make sure there's some sort of contract and timeline explaining what the money is for. Some artists think of an apprenticeship the same as a semester of trade school, so they might ask for $5k-10k depending on the area and the artist. When you are paying for an apprenticeship they should give you an exact time for when you're able to start tattooing, and exactly what your duties and expectations would be

I started at a shop in Fontana, CA. I'm not going to disclose the shop name for personal reasons. Any town has at least one tattoo shop, but larger cities have more for sure

Hi! Thanks for your input. I'm sorry it bothers you, but editing is already very laborious and difficult for me. I'm not going to go back and redo these videos but I'll keep it in mind if I make any future videos. Thanks. 😶

Each countries labor laws are different. In the US unpaid interns and apprentices are pretty common

We don't even "have" to do any infection control courses but it is HIGHLY recommended

Good luck finding an apprenticeship in Australia that doesn't break our labour laws, they're very rare (genuinely though, I hope you do). I'm in Melbourne and it kind of seems like even the "good" ones exploit their apprentices for labour to some extent.

@@krookedburger in Australia we totally have unpaid internships, just legally 'the person must not be doing “productive” work', so anything that isn't directly tied to their training, that someone could be employed to do. I see apprentices here answering phones, helping check people in etc etc here all the time though, I think even cleaning the shop they probably should be paid for. They are definitely not paid. I think no one wants to lose their apprenticeship by demanding their work rights are met, and the industry just seems to view this as normal, unfortunately. If I get an apprenticeship I'm going to ask a labour union for advice lol

@@aria6491 damb do you have any recommendations for tattoo shops in Canberra that follow guidelines

Not usually. Every state has their own requirements for licensing so look into that before trying to tattoo anyone. You have to be careful especially if you aren't working in a licensed shop because you can get fined by the health board or sued if you give someone an infection. If you teach yourself and are able to get into a shop (much harder than getting an apprenticeship first) then you should be fine working out of a shop as a self taught artist. The alternative is renting your own studio that has a business license and is up to standard with your counties health codes and getting proper licensing as a body modification practitioner

Each state is different, so its best to check with the county laws. Most states require the owner of an existing business to sign off on an application for a body practioner license. I had my shop owner sign mine. I was thinking of making a video about that process as well!

I consider myself self-taught because my mentors were both hands-off and I had to teach myself after my mentor was fired. Being in a shop and learning by proximity is VERY different than being a kitchen wizard though. The only good scratchers I've seen perfected their craft in prison

Would be nice to see women viewed as equals instead of accessories. There are plenty of female only shops being opened to keep women safe from this gross way of thinking.

@@krookedburgeri love you for this thank you 💗

What an odd comment 😓

It didn't until about a year into it. I was able to get by on savings and working part time. I've been tattooing full time for two years now, and I make about the same as I did at any other job. It's not an easy route to take to be wealthy tbh