Another beginner.

Seems like I've ran into a brick wall as far as tattooing is concerned... I have a question, I'm able to apprentice under a local but I don't consider his work to be good, now don't get me wrong he's sterile and his lines/shading are good but honestly for the most part he's a flash artist and cannot draw half as good as me. This will more than likely be my only opportunity to apprentice as I don't have a family and I have a job I'm more than willing to quit and he's local...Local enough to walk to. What are your opinions on this? Thanks, Josh

If he can teach you the basics about proper technique and steralization procedures then why not? if i were you i'd just take the appreticeship, learn the basics of tattooing then take your work to the next level.

lets see your art... If your not stuck in the area, you should probably travel and apprentice under someone good. Learning from someone mediocre is a great way to do bad tattoos on the public. We are very lucky, our apprentice (3rd) is tattooing people and doing awesome. He has built up no bad karma, very lucky fellow. So, well, its hard to say, but if we can see your art we can give you some pointers maybe...

Tell him you know you're better than him. that should solve all your problems. But seriously folks. Being an Artist or a Tattoo Artist are two completely different things, and since you already know you're the shit when it comes to the artist part, apprentice under the best, most experianced TATTOO Artist you can find. There's plenty of Tattoo artists out there who can draw the hell out of a piece of paper but can't draw a straight line or a smooth shade on the skin, and right now those are the things you need to be concentrating on. Right now you need to be learning technique, technique, technique; not to mention machine theory, after-care, and all the other ins-and-outs of the industry, and most imporatantly: tube cleaning and mop theory. I'd rather learn from someone who can do a perfectly clean, sharp tattoo than someone who can draw a cool tattoo any day.Like it or not, you'll probably be tattooing kanjis and tribal, then flash for a while anyway, until you get your confidence and skill level up to where your mentor thinks is appropriate to tattoo what you've drawn.

Sure I'll scan some work of mine and get it up here. As for tattobydoo, I wasn't trying to be conceited in anyway if you thought so, but him being a tattoo artist I'd figure he'd have the "artist" side of the spectrum down. I'm not sure I feel comfortable when a professional avoids custom work rather than pointing them to the flash he has.

look at it this way: does being able to draw a plate of food that looks delicious mean you can cook it? tattooing is the same way. you need to learn the SKILL that is tattooing, and if he's the most skilled in your area, an you've already got an in with him, i'd say go for it. Also, during my apprenticeship, my role in the shop (after janitor) was apprentice/custom artist. Before i was actually tattooing, i was doing a lot of the custom drawings for the other artists, and they actually paid me per drawing to do it. So talk with the guy you're looking to apprentice under, you actually might be able to help him with those customers who don't want flash, it might even be a good bargaining chip to lower his price.