competition

i live in r.i. and i find here in this small state that guy's are unwilling to give you a shot in their shop because they are scared you'll take business or be better than them and the less talented tattooist around the less competition...i just bought a whole kit cost me like 800 bucks and have been drawing all my life...i know the needle is mightier than the pencil but i have to try that's what i do i'm an artist not a carpenter...so don't let these scarey mothafuckas get you down with time reading and lots of practice and mistakes one day you'll find it comes natural...

I am ducking to avoid the flack, but I agree with this dude on some things, like that some artists are just afraid of the competition. Most just don't want to teach someone else because they are still learning themselves, but a lot of them just don't want to lose the little business they might be doing by having the apprentice do better work than them. Either way, an apprentice should always be better than his master. A lot of people seem to forget that these days.

I have to disagree.From what I've seen,tattoo artist get excited and want to teach someone the trade if they show up with a kick ass portfolio.They're not going to teach you to draw,they're going to teach you to put it in skin.Who wouldn't want to say,Oh yeah,I taught that kid to tattoo,he's fu#kin awesome right?

Agreed...any reasonable person would think that way, but a lot of new artists are just full of shit and think they are the best when they truly are not.

Of course there are going to be artists who know their work is substandard and they are afraid to be shown up by a mere student. Then there are a whole lot of very good artist who have seen first hand what scratchers have done to the art of tattooing who sincerely want to protect the art and keep it out of the hands of the fly by nights and druggies and kitchen magicians. If you are passionate about tattooing and have put in the time to develop your art skills AND have a genuine respect for the art you WILL be able to find a position as an apprentice! I see so many people coming into the shop that bring in a dirty dog eared portfolio of the most infantile scribbles they call art or some half assed sketches they did in prison and fully expect to be hired on the spot as an apprentice . Then they get mad as hell when they are told that they need to improve their art skills then come back in a year or so. And we try to be nice to these people we don't disrespect them or laugh at their horrible work. We tell em in a nice way that they just are not ready yet and encourage them to do some work and come back. They never do. These are the people that complain that the pros are just jealous and afraid cause they are better than the pros! Instead of listening and buckling down and actually putting in the time and effort it takes to really get good at something they either blame the pro and give up or start scratching in their basement with their ebay kit that they spent a few hundred on ( wahoo!! hell just an autoclave costs more than that!) and passing out disease like it ws dollar bills in a titty bar. Less complaining and more honest effort!

Here! Here! Tim...very well said.

That and the no competition contract.

Most of the tattoo studios I know who have bad ass custom artists will accept the right bad ass artist as an apprentices. the problem is finding an artist with a real love for tattooing, talent, drive, the right personality, and the other qualities that tattoos artists need to have. Off the Map tattoo is currently looking for an apprentice... Must be an amazing artist, or have obvious potential... We're not in a rush, but would love to find someone who could learn from all the artists here and the ones who come through...