How Many Years Of College To Be A Tattoo Artist?

How Long Does it Take to Become a Tattoo Artist? – The amount of time it takes for you to become a tattoo artist can vary greatly depending on a few factors, such as tattoo artist requirements in your location, which we’ll discuss in more detail later on.

The Alliance of Professional Tattooists recommend that aspiring tattoo artists complete an apprenticeship of at least three years, so if you want to become a tattoo artist, you need to be in it for the long haul.

You can expect to apprentice for at least six months before you’re even allowed to pick up a needle of your own, and eight months before you can tattoo a client, even for free. .

Contents

- 0.0.1 What degree is best for tattooing?

1 How many years is a good tattoo artist?
2 Is becoming a tattoo artist worth it?
- 2.1 What are the cons of being a tattoo artist?
  - 2.1.1 What skills do tattoo artists need?
- 2.2 Is tattooing stressful?
  - 2.2.1 What are the hardest tattoos to do?
3 Can I be a tattoo artist without tattoos?
- 3.1 Do tattoo artists make good money?
- 3.2 What subjects are needed to become a tattoo artist?
  - 3.2.1 How much do tattoo artists make?
  - 3.2.2 What skills do you need to become a tattoo artist?

What degree is best for tattooing?

What Degree Should I Get to Become a Tattoo Artist ? – The most common degree for tattoo artists is high school diploma 39% of tattoo artists earn that degree. A close second is bachelor’s degree with 23% and rounding it off is associate degree with 20%.

High School Diploma , 39%
Bachelors , 23%
Associate , 20%
Diploma , 14%
Other Degrees , 4%

How many years is a good tattoo artist?

How to Become a Tattoo Artist & Open a Successful Studio – The primary goal of most tattoo artists is to eventually open their own shop. This is not something which is typically done right out of an apprenticeship, but after years of full-time work. It generally takes at least 5 years of work, in particular, before an artist is able to break out on his or her own.

Not only must he or she perfect the trade, but he or she must also have a firm grasp on the business aspect of, indeed, running a business;
And with that, the question of “how do I become a tattoo artist?” is answered;

As long as you follow the steps reviewed above, you stand a good chance at landing your dream career.

How do you start a tattoo career?

Get qualified – You will not need a degree to become a Tattoo Artist. However, you will generally need to complete an apprenticeship or Tattoo Course , and obtain a tattoo, piercing and electrolysis license to work in the industry full-time. Tattoo Artist & Henna Business Course This course is designed to for all individuals interesting in learning about tattoos; including the necessary processes.

How hard is it to become a tattoo artist?

“B lood-born pathogens, air-born pathogens – you can get cellulitis, skin infections. I’ll show you this photo of someone who got tattooed by one of his friends at home,” says Phil Kyle, reaching for his laptop. He shuts down an episode of 1980s horror series Tales from the Darkside and opens an image of a tattoo gone seriously awry – from one stomach-churner to the next.

“It’s awful, a serious infection. ” It certainly is. Patches of coloured ink are pooled with yellow-green pus, the actual illustration all but obscured by the infection. Poor technique or bad hygiene? “Both,” he says exasperated.

Kyle, 45, is a tattooist and the owner of Brighton’s Magnum Opus Tattoo , the lauded shop he opened in 2007 and where he works with five other artists. It’s a large open-plan space – light, airy and meticulously clean, the walls covered in retro tattoo prints, skateboard decks, punk rock posters, and paintings.

His private workspace is a tiny room set off the shop floor. A red steel sideboard stands next to an adjustable leather chair; tiny pots of black ink, pairs of black latex gloves, bottles of saline and a couple of expensive-looking tattoo machines are neatly arranged on top.

One wall and most of the ceiling are covered in line illustrations on scraps of paper – designs Kyle has created and tattooed over the years. There are hundreds of them, three layers deep, each more intricate and lurid than the last: ships and owls, scenes from Greek and Roman history, runic symbols, a putrefying Christ.

Most perplexing is a 20cm-wide illustration of Leonard Nimoy employing a Vulcan death grip over the legend “MAMA SAID… SPOCK YOU OUT”;
Stocky and heavily inked, Kyle appears every bit the old-school tattoo enthusiast;

Raised in Edgewood, Maryland, he became obsessed with tattoos as a child after seeing the designs covering the arms of an English neighbour – “Daggers and snakes and skulls and things – proper tattoo flash from back in the 1960s. ” Being only six, he embraced the next best thing: “I got hooked on the old lick and stick tattoos and covered myself with those,” he laughs.

He began drawing seriously a few years later, inspired by the punk and skate artwork he found in Thrasher magazine, and got his first tattoo aged 15. It wasn’t until he was 21, after three years spent persuading a local shop to take him on, that he was employed on what he describes as a “very hardcore apprenticeship” – a mix of keen observation and intense training in studio hygiene that saw a year pass before he was allowed to touch a client.

“The first guy I did was covered in homemade tattoos, so anything I did couldn’t be worse than that!” Kyle says. The next 15 years saw him working conventions, doing guest spots and holding studio residencies across the US and Europe, before finally setting up shop in Brighton.

Those formative years instilled a discipline and a reverence for the job, and Kyle believes every aspiring tattoo artist should undergo this kind of training;
It’s certainly what he would expect of anyone approaching his shop for work;

There are no formal qualifications: dogged persistence, humility, a proclivity for hard work and genuine artistic talent are requisite, but patience is also essential. “It’d be a year before they could even touch one of those machines, aside from cleaning it,” he says.

“It shows how motivated you are if you stick it out. ” Good tattoos do not come cheap, but the idea of a regular wage varies hugely. An hourly rate of around £100 an hour is normal for work of this level, though Kyle takes a small cut from his five resident artists to cover rent and bills.

He’ll happily take tiny jobs as bread-and-butter work, but designs as intricate as those on his walls take much longer. “This would be about three hours, plus a couple on the drawing,” he says pointing to a saucer-sized image of a flaming knight above three hellhounds.

“But a back piece could be a couple of grand. ” Eventually, an artist with a good reputation could earn six figures a year if they put in the hours across shop and convention work. As an apprentice you could expect to earn around 30% of the cost of each tattoo as a training wage.

The work is relentless, though this intensity is born of passion for the job as much as practical necessity. A typical day sees Kyle running errands and dealing with paperwork before opening around midday, holding consultations and tattooing clients until 6pm or 7 pm – and then working on designs late into the night.

Inevitably, it’s a role that transcends being just a job;
“When you’re in, it’s your life;
You don’t clock out,” he says;
It’s this dedication and reverence for the craft that has made Kyle such a respected name, as well as a superlative artist;

The learning, he says, never stops. “Every time you do a tattoo you try and make it your best,” he says. “Magnum Opus is Latin for ‘masterpiece’. It’s about constantly trying to up one on yourself.

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How old are most tattoo artists?

Tattoo Artist Age

Tattoo Artist Years	Percentages
20-30 years	28%
30-40 years	20%
40+ years	50%

Do tattoo artists make good money?

Getty Images/iStockphoto Job: Tattoo artist Role : The responsibilities of a tattoo artist begin long before they pick up a needle, and end long after they dispose of it at the end of the day. While the actual application of tattoos is a vital component of the job, so is consulting with clients, sterilizing equipment, setup, cleanup and homework. “Most artists will draw at home. I’m drawing anywhere from an hour to five hours a night,” said Mark Prata, a tattoo artist and the owner of Toronto Ink Tattoo and Laser.

“Right now, I’m doing a Mayan Aztec half-sleeve on a guy, which is not in my realm. I know nothing about Aztec culture, so I’m actually going home and researching it. ” Salary : The salary of tattoo artists used to be heavily dependent on their location, but Mr.

Prata says that the Internet has levelled the playing field for artists working outside of densely populated regions. Artists today often display their work online, which can be an effective way to encourage people living in other regions to come to them.

“I just had a client two days ago who flew in from Vancouver because he saw me on Instagram and said ‘I need this guy to tattoo me,” said Mr;
Prata, adding that if he found out he had fans in Calgary, for example, he could spend a week working from a tattoo shop in that city as well;

With the Internet providing a marketing platform for local artists, salaries are now dependent on skill, reputation and social media popularity. Mr. Prata says that tattoo artists typically operate as independent contractors as opposed to salaried employees, with shop owners paying them between 40 and 60 per cent commission on their overall sales.

He says that most tattoo artists earn between $30,000 and $50,000 a year, while renowned artists can easily earn well above $100,000 annually. Education: There is no formal licensing or educational standard for tattoo artists in Canada.

Since the industry is built on reputation and liability, however, reputable shop owners won’t allow amateurs to operate in their establishment. While there are crash courses and training programs available across the country, many in the industry consider them expensive and often invaluable.

“There are tattoo schools that exist, but they charge something like $8,000 for a couple of weeks and really don’t teach you anything. They’re a bit of a cash grab,” said Michael Longo, a tattoo artists at Artworxx Tattoo & Piercing in Etobicoke.

“If someone says they trained at a tattoo school, people in the industry really look down on it, because they think that person got scammed and probably learned nothing. ” Mr. Prata agrees, calling such institutions “a big waste of money. ” Instead, both he and Mr.

Longo launched their careers by working as informal apprentices, which has become the unofficial standard in the industry. Mr. Prata explains that apprenticeships are often unpaid, and many apprentices leave before the end of their training.

Depending on their skill level, most spend a minimum of six months helping with bookings and consultations, setup and cleanup before they’re given an opportunity to practise with a needle, but only on themselves, close friends and pigskins at first. “It’s about eight months before they touch a client, and when they start working on clients, it’s very simple tattoos,” he said.

“They’ll do that for another six months, so it’s a year and a half before they really do anything half-decent. ” Job prospects: Career opportunities for tattoo artists will depend on their skills and level of experience.

While those who have spent less than five years in the industry may struggle to find work, those who have built a reputation can take their talents anywhere in the world. “People have really gone into niches and developed styles, so if you’re bringing something to the table, you can find a job anywhere, no problem,” Mr.

Prata says;
“If you’re a good artist, or you offer something unique, it’s very easy;
You can go and work all over the world;
” Challenges: Since tattoo artists work as independent contractors, they rarely have the luxury of employee benefits and a consistent salary;

While experienced tattoo artists are able to earn a decent living, beginners often work for years to establish a client base. Why they do it: Given that it is a difficult field to break into, those who put in the time to become tattoo artists are often very passionate about their career.

Furthermore, while pay is far from steady, it is still among the most financially secure professions for visual artists. “I can get paid to draw, and I can do something that’s rewarding for me,” Mr. Longo said.

“You get people who come in who want a memorial tattoo for a family member that passed away and they want to get something elaborate that symbolizes their family member. That, to me, is some of the most meaningful art you can do. ” Misconceptions: Both Mr.

Longo and Mr;
Prata say many people wrongly believe that most of their customers fall into two categories: bikers and punks;
“The clients that we get, they’re just the same people you’d meet at a mall; they’re regular people, the nurse or the construction worker or the university student;

You don’t get a client base that’s particularly weird or scary,” Mr. Longo said. “That old-school mentality is still around, but tattoos are so popular now,” Mr. Prata added. “It still has that stigma, and I think tattoos will have that for a long time. ” Give us the scoop: Are you a tattoo artist? Write a note in the comments area of this story or e-mail your comment to careerquestion@globeandmail.

Do tattoo Apprentices get paid?

Apprentice tattoo artists – Tattoo artists start out as apprentices working under the guidance of more experienced artists. Most of the time tattoo apprenticeships are unpaid. Whilst you’re an apprentice you usually practice tattooing on synthetic skin, pigskin or fruit peel like orange peel.

You might also offer free of charge tattoos to friends, family or other artists who work in the shop;
Apprentices work for free until the artist who is supervising them is confident that they’re good enough to charge clients for their work;

Apprentices also spend a lot of time drawing and developing their own designs.

Is becoming a tattoo artist worth it?

You’re Ready to Work for Yourself – Unlike your office or retail job, when you’re working at a tattoo shop you’re working for yourself. Some artists work as independent contractors while others are employees, but either way, you’re responsible for your own work.

If you don’t work, you don’t get paid. You won’t make money by sitting around. There’s no specific tattoo artist salary; you get out what you put in. For some people, this is too much responsibility. While some established artists can work short hours with high-end clients, beginners aren’t in this position.

They have to work around the clock to draw designs and tattoo clients. It’s a lot of work and you’ll leave tired. If it’s right for you, you’ll also leave happy. Does this appeal to you? One of the benefits of being a tattoo artist is that you have a high earning potential.

Good and established artists with consistent clients can make well over a thousand dollars per week. Some make six figures. You don’t get to that point overnight. If you want that money, you need to work for it.

There’s no one to promote you or give you more hours. .

What are the cons of being a tattoo artist?

What skills do tattoo artists need?

Is tattooing stressful?

Stress awareness is a very important topic of discussion and has recently been brought into the limelight by the COVID-19 pandemic. People have been trying to find out various ways to relieve their stress for centuries, which has created many therapeutic procedures like acupuncture, exercising, mental health management, and many more.

Tattoos are famous for being a way of self-expression for years, but did you know that they can help keep the body healthy and safe against microbes and stress? The tattoo needle, ink, and the placement of the design on your body can mean many different things personally, but it could even alleviate tension;

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Let’s have a look at the various ways how your new tattoo helps your body in reducing stress and pressure: Therapeutic effects: There is evidence found on human fossils that some tattoos were created in areas that correspond to the points of acupuncture, used in Eastern medicine.

Acupuncture is popular all over the world even today as it helps to heal some ailments, notably arthritis. Some cultures, even today, use medicinal tattooing to cure diseases. The oldest mummified body found in the world, the 5,000-year-old man Ötzi, also had tattoos along the acupuncture meridians, as his group must’ve believed that it would help cure his many diseases.

Tattoos can also be used to diminish the pain caused by stress and strain. Multiple tattoos improve your immune system: A study published in the American Journal of Human Biology asserts that when a person gets a tattoo, the body’s immune system sends out antibodies to combat the foreign material injected in the body, which causes the area to swell a bit and scabs to form.

After consecutive tattoos, the body has ready antibodies formed to combat the foreign materials and hence does not have as major a reaction as it did just after the first tattoo. Reduced cortisol levels: The same study mentioned above reveals that during the tattooing procedure the production of cortisol, a stress-relieving hormone , and an immune response suppressant, are reduced.

Cortisol is produced when the needle punctures the skin and creates pain in the area, but after subsequent tattoo, the production reduces, hence also reducing the production during actual situations of tension. This is particularly beneficial for humans as this hormone causes many symptoms that are usually associated with stress, like headaches, high blood pressure, weight gain, and many others.

Tattoos help improve fitness: Many people who have stress-related issues tend to exercise, as it causes the body to release ‘feel-good’ hormones like endorphins;
The hormone cortisol also hampers the body’s ability to heal and recuperate after exercising;

This is why many athletes try various methods to keep their cortisol levels low, which can be achieved by getting many tattoos gradually. This is why we can see many footballers and cricketers with tattoos, such as David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and many more.

A good way to hide body imperfections: Many people are shy or stressed to show their scars, birthmarks, and stretch lines, hence they elect to cover them with tattoos;
This is generally seen with patients of cancer or violence and sometimes even self-harm, who show that they have accepted their past and are ready to move on;

They are also used to cover up previous tattoos if a person wants a change or wishes to hide an ex-significant other’s memories. Getting a tattoo feels good: The tattooing process is painful for many, but the human combats the pain by releasing endorphins and adrenaline, which creates a natural ‘high’ and makes the person feel euphoric.

This is why many people don’t stop after getting just one tattoo! Many people also get tattoos about memories or people they have lost, and the option of carrying those moments with them everywhere they go makes them happy and content.

Boosts confidence: Tattoos are the ultimate form of self-expression. They portray a person’s personality and likes in the form of an open book. Tattoos are also a great conversation starter, as people can bond over their designs and tattoos they would want in the future.

For those who have experienced unfortunate times, a tattoo can be a symbol for what they have experienced and how they fought those situations. According to a study, a tattoo can magnify a person’s self-image for a considerable time after they have got the tattoo done.

There you have it: some of the most important health benefits of getting a tattoo! If you want to get one, there’s no better place than Aliens Tattoo Studio. We have our branches in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Vizag, Bangalore, and Ahmedabad, and upcoming new branches.

Walk-in today for a free tattoo consultation with our award-winning artists, and create memories for a lifetime! All these benefits would quickly be lost if you don’t take proper care of the tattoo. We at Aliens have created the Aliens Tattoo Cream: A homemade ointment-based tattoo aftercare cream.

It is a chemical-free, fragrance-free, antibacterial cream specially made to keep your skin moist and healthy, allowing your tattoo to heal faster. With our 12+ years of experience in tattooing, we have tried and tested tons of aftercare products before coming up with Aliens Tattoo Cream.

What are the hardest tattoos to do?

The most difficult form of realism in tattooing is probably portraiture, because it requires the artist to capture both the likeness and character of a real person. Realistic tattoos can be created using colour, or in black and grey form.

Can I be a tattoo artist without tattoos?

Close your eyes and imagine a tattoo artist. What comes to mind? Well, whether the mental image you conjured was of someone male or female, young or old, traditional or modern, there’s probably one thing everyone has in common. That is, when we think of an artist we picture them covered with tattoos.

Now let’s flip the switch;
Imagine you’re scrolling through Instagram and you come across an artist whose work speaks to you;
Then you go through the process of booking an appointment and on that day, you meet the tattooist behind the artwork;

But instead of being covered in tattoos, he or she doesn’t have a visible line in sight. What would you think? How would you feel? And most importantly, would you trust them to give you a tattoo? As it turns out, tattooless tattooers do in fact exist and if you’re an Ink Master fan, you’re probably familiar with at least one of them. Back in season two, a contestant named Jamie Davies sparked debate among both fellow artists and the judges for being a tattoo virgin. Despite having 17 years of experience, he was criticized by veteran artists like Oliver Peck and Chris Nuñez for lacking ink of his own. In order to better understand why a tattoo artist would abstain from ornamenting their body with ink, we contacted New York tattooer Mark Wade. Wade specializes in realism but in almost his entire career, he only had a single tattoo: a small piece on his hand that has since been almost entirely removed by laser. He now has a forearm piece done by a mentor. Like many tattooers early on in their careers, Wade was initially pressured to get tattooed by his peers.

Their feeling was that an artist should have ink on his own body to understand every aspect of creating tattoos. However, instead of rushing to get covered in ink or practice his skills on himself, Wade had another goal in mind.

“Initially I started my apprenticeship without any real knowledge of how great a tattoo could really be. So I started looking through magazines and saw realism tattoos. Everyone at the time was saying that artwork like that would never stay or last in the skin, but I was obsessed regardless.

After this, I was convinced that I needed to get a small collection from artists where it seemed impossible to pull off what they were achieving. ” In order to get work from the best of the best, Wade waited and along the way, faced criticism as an inkless artist in the tattoo industry.

“There’s still a stigma to this day for artists who have absolutely no tattoos,” he says. “I’ve also noticed and heard through the grapevine that artists who don’t have any tattoos typically are a lot less forgiving in pain than artists who do have tattoos.

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Clearly, this isn’t a proven fact but it’s easy for us to assume that it’s the case without them ever having a true experience of it. ” But it’s not only Wade’s fellow tattooers who have expressed concern with his lack of tattoos; clients and non-industry folk have also passed judgment over the years.

“For a while,” he says, “I had people who questioned that I worked in the shop, especially if I opened early or was the only one there for a while. Even when I introduced myself, I could still feel that they didn’t believe who I was. ” Beyond shocking unsuspecting clients with his appearance, Wade has even lost jobs after appointments saw that he lacked ink. However, a few months ago, Wade went through a physical transformation after traveling to Ukraine. He traveled halfway around the world to procure his forearm tatt: a blue jay by Dmitriy Samohin, one of the top realism artists in the world. And while he may no longer be a tattooless artist, his experience taught him that good things come to those who wait.

Do tattoo artists make good money?

“Right now, I’m doing a Mayan Aztec half-sleeve on a guy, which is not in my realm;
I know nothing about Aztec culture, so I’m actually going home and researching it;
” Salary : The salary of tattoo artists used to be heavily dependent on their location, but Mr;

“I just had a client two days ago who flew in from Vancouver because he saw me on Instagram and said ‘I need this guy to tattoo me,” said Mr;
Prata, adding that if he found out he had fans in Calgary, for example, he could spend a week working from a tattoo shop in that city as well;

He says that most tattoo artists earn between $30,000 and $50,000 a year, while renowned artists can easily earn well above $100,000 annually. Education: There is no formal licensing or educational standard for tattoo artists in Canada.

“There are tattoo schools that exist, but they charge something like $8,000 for a couple of weeks and really don’t teach you anything;
They’re a bit of a cash grab,” said Michael Longo, a tattoo artists at Artworxx Tattoo & Piercing in Etobicoke;

Longo launched their careers by working as informal apprentices, which has become the unofficial standard in the industry. Mr. Prata explains that apprenticeships are often unpaid, and many apprentices leave before the end of their training.

“They’ll do that for another six months, so it’s a year and a half before they really do anything half-decent;
” Job prospects: Career opportunities for tattoo artists will depend on their skills and level of experience;

Prata says. “If you’re a good artist, or you offer something unique, it’s very easy. You can go and work all over the world. ” Challenges: Since tattoo artists work as independent contractors, they rarely have the luxury of employee benefits and a consistent salary.

Furthermore, while pay is far from steady, it is still among the most financially secure professions for visual artists;
“I can get paid to draw, and I can do something that’s rewarding for me,” Mr;
Longo said;

Longo and Mr;
Prata say many people wrongly believe that most of their customers fall into two categories: bikers and punks;
“The clients that we get, they’re just the same people you’d meet at a mall; they’re regular people, the nurse or the construction worker or the university student;

What subjects are needed to become a tattoo artist?

What qualifications does a tattoo artist require? – You don’t need any academic qualifications in order to become a tattoo artist, although studies in fine art, illustration or graphic design may help you to hone your drawing skills – and to earn money while you train! A degree in illustration or graphic design is beneficial, as it provides candidates with knowledge of computer programs such as Adobe Illustrator – these are invaluable to tattoo artists.

How much do tattoo artists make?

How much does a Tattoo Artist make? – Tattoo artists make $63,584 per year on average, or $30. 57 per hour, in the United States. Tattoo artists on the lower end of that spectrum, the bottom 10% to be exact, make roughly $27,000 a year, while the top 10% makes $148,000.

What skills do you need to become a tattoo artist?

Julia