What I Wish I Knew
The Ultimate Guide on how to get Tattooed in Greater Manchester
What I wish I knew
What I wish I knew, is a topic I have mentioned in my previous post. I mentioned about writing a full advice on how to get tattooed, and things I wish I knew before getting tattooed. Mistakes I have seen people doing over and over again, including myself, and what it surprises me, is after 20 years of tattooing, you still see Tattoo collectors or tattoo fans, making the same mistakes when getting tattooed.
In this blog, What I wish I knew, I’m going to talk about myself as a Tattoo Collector, and what I wish I knew before getting tattooed, or what I wish I have done and choices I wish I had made before getting tattooed, so you don’t make the same mistake. And I’m also going to dive in deep in to how I see people doing which it contributes to them not getting a good quality tattoo.
First I would like to start mentioning about the Tattoo style that you like the most, I’m pretty sure there’s a Tattoo style that stands out for you the most, so based on the style that you like the most, I’m pretty sure that is the style that you want to get tattooed on you, right? So based on the style that stands out for you the most, there most be about 5 artist’s who do that style that you like, and you probably follow them on Instagram. Out of them 5 artist who you like, some of them are abroad and some of the are in your country. So if there is a tattoo Artist who you love their work, who is in your country and he does the kind of style that you love and wish to get it done, why don’t you get tattooed by them and stick with them?
It is very rare, when I see someone covered in really good tattoos, and I guess that is because Tattoo collectors are very impatient, people do not want to wait or save up to be tattooed by the Tattoo Artist they admire the most, since the beginning of me getting tattooed, I have always looked up to some artist’s, so why did I not go and get tattooed by them, instead of thinking they were too far or too expensive. A Tattoo is never too expensive, to consider that you are going to have it on your body for a life time, why are people not willing to invest money to when they are marking their body to the rest of their life? So yeah, I wish I knew to just get tattooed by Tattoo Artist’s who I love their work, and not go for lower prices, or choose someone to Tattoo me because they are available. When you choose to get tattooed by someone who you love their work, why not stick to you artist and all your Tattoos are going to flow and look organised. And you will love your Tattoos for the rest of your life.
I wish I knew that the cheaper will cost me more in the future, I wish I was really fussy about who touched my body with a needle, and that is something people really lack when they get tattooed. The amount of customers who come in the studio with an appointment and they do not know who they are going to get tattooed by. The amount of clients who have a consultation in the studio and they do not know who they are having the consultation with. And the amount of times I have a consultation with someone, and they don’t know who I’m or what I do. And then, you have to explain to your client who you are and what you do. You as a client you should know who you want to get tattooed by, every tattoo Artist has such a different way of working, every Tattoo Artist have a unique way of making their Tattoo look, so you as a client should be exploring and even having fun when choosing your Tattoo Artist, and not only look at their work, also look at their Bio, get to know their story, where they come from, why are they so passionate about a certain style. When choosing a Tattoo Artist, one Tattoo Artist makes their Tattoo look like “A” another Tattoo Artist makes their Tattoo look like “B” and another Tattoo Artist will make their Tattoo look like “C”. So can you see how different it is when you choose your Tattoo Artist? So knowing who your Tattoo Artist is, and understand what they do is very important, so when you book your consultation with your artist of your choice, when you already know who they are and what they do, is very respectful, and that will contribute to a positive consultation and even a positive Tattoo session.
What I wish I knew is that Tattoos is a lot more serious than I thought, and I mean that on both sides, as a Tattoo Artist and as a Tattoo collector.
As a Tattoo artist- The amount of focus and dedication required “If you are a serious tattoo Artist” One drink of alcohol the night before a Tattoo session, would affect your Tattoo session the following day, 2 drinks the night before it would affect even more, and 3 drinks would affect further. I understand that everyone has different tolerance to drinking alcohol, however as a Tattoo Artist alcohol is one thing you do not want to be doing often, just for the fact that it affects your concentration the following day, it affects your nervous system, and have an effect when you age. Sometimes I do have a drink, but I make sure I have a day off the following day. Another serious factor about being a Tattoo Artist, is the responsibility, to do your best everyday, with no excuses. Us Tattoo Artists we have to look after ourselves in order to deliver the best to our clients, and looking after ourselves includes our diet, the best food we eat the better we can concentrate, looking after ourselves physically, the better we are physically the best we can deliver to our clients.
As a Tattoo collector- The responsibility of marking your body for the rest of your life, and choosing the right artist for you, being patient to wait for when the right artist is available, travelling to the right artist for you, no tattoo artist is too far away, if they are right for you. Some people get tattooed by someone just because they are round the corner from them. I travel to Poland to get tattooed, just because I love his work, and I want his work on my body for the rest of my life. As a client you also have the responsibility to save up the money necessary to get your tattoo done, I know a lot of people will say, I can not afford it, if you really want something done, you will save up for it, it doesn’t matter how long it takes, eventually you will have the money and get something that you love, for the rest of your life. And it is better to have one amazing tattoo, than a few average ones, a lot of people want to be covered as quick as possible, again, that’s another reason why people end up making wrong choices, if you want things to be done properly, it takes time, and everyone who wants to get tattooed quickly, will have a tattoo that is not at the highest level. To be a good quality tattoo Artist, you must be serious about it, therefore you will need serious clients in order to deliver amazing Tattoos, only serious clients have and deserve to have good quality work, or the best work if you want to call it.
So I hope you get the idea, I could go on forever, talking about stories I have experienced, and witnessed working in a Tattoo shop for so long, but I think I have covered the most important topics, and I hope you guys have learned with it, that’s the main thing. So I will wrap it up for now, as I will be surprised if you made it to the end of the post, but I appreciate if you have, and happy Tattooing or getting Tattooed!
Until the next blog!
