Good gear to get myself started...

Listen, i am another of these wannabe tattoo artists who really wants to learn... Let's get a couple of things cleared before i ask any question: I know i will eventually HAVE to seek out for an apprenticeship, i just dont know who/where/when i am going to get it yet... I am not going to be able to apprentice full time because i have a job (in graphic design) and it allows me to pay my bills. I would still invest ALL of my free time in perfecting my drawing skills/learning tattoo. If i ever try to tattoo i will do it on FAKE SKIN because i'm aware that i could fuck up people and transmit disease. I am already thinking about taking courses about the basics of avoiding transmission of blood transmitted diseases. I still want to learn how to work a machine and all i can do for now is grab a kit and instructionnal DVD (Wich i believe << you tell me if i'm wrong... is a good start and will AT LEAST show me how to setup a machine and practice making straight lines/simple designs with the actual tools used for tattoo. Now my question is: What is the best kit to start with and wich DVD courses are serious and worthy... http://www.newyorktattoo.com/ has numerous kits and a DVD kit for starters... IS that any good? What should i get? thx for help

lets see your art.

well first off good luck. i dont know that there really is a book or instructional dvd that is any good, ive seen a couple before and they really, REALLY werent worth bothering with. its probably best to go and get tattooed regulary with a good local artist and observe how they work. show around some artwork and try and get friendly with a couple of artists. if youre friends with someone they'll be a lot more likely to tell you stuff. That and dont get put off by the people that give negative answers. you have to be quite strong to make it in tattooland.

Jeff, thanks for the friendly tips... I went around and showed some art. Got friendly with one guy who actually agreed to let me come to watch and ask question from time to time... Unfortunately he wasnt the shop owner and suddenly decided recently that since it's the down season, that he lives pretty far etc... That he would only get in for appointements (he doesnt' have many these days...). So when i heard the news i decided i'll probably need more support (at least another tattooing friend lol) so i went to another shop and asked for help...) They also told me that i could come around and ask some questions, some tatooist chick even told me she'd give me "training day" just so i get started and also said that i could come around from time to time to ask questions. Better than nothing, but what i WAS REALLY looking for was a "part time apprenticeship" as i would call it. Meaning, go there every night after work (or maybe minus one night every week to leave some time for art...) and during the weekend... No apprenticeship sucks lol. That would have been great to be able to get greater support... But in a city where there's like 300 shops and maybe 15 that are really good, the good shops are mad busy and it looks like nobody would spend too much time on a rookie, even if they like their artwork... So i'm home every night watching the huck spaulding DVD looping and trying to tattoo pig skin from time to time (haha i can tell you my technique sucks shit... apart from what i learned in that video wich i dont' really master for now, i'm on trial and error mode lol). So yeah, pig skin for now... I got some synthetic skin to scratch on too... I'm still REALLY afraid i dont' learn things properly and end up being stuck with bad habits... On the other end i have no choice apart from learning by myself, people i met, infos i find on the net etc... I thought about ordering that "tattoo machine and their secrets book" since i heard good equipement tuning makes a HUGE difference. I'm really far from tattooing people that's as much i can tell you. Shit's gotta be tight first and i need to learn not to harm anybody in the process. anyway, that's what happened in my wannabe tattoo artist little hustler life so far... If any kickass/experienced from my city reads this then i would like to meet you, that's all i can say. Anyone has been through similar experinces? I would love to hear ya...

Jeff, thanks for the friendly tips... I went around and showed some art. Got friendly with one guy who actually agreed to let me come to watch and ask question from time to time... Unfortunately he wasnt the shop owner and suddenly decided recently that since it's the down season, that he lives pretty far etc... That he would only get in for appointements (he doesnt' have many these days...). So when i heard the news i decided i'll probably need more support (at least another tattooing friend lol) so i went to another shop and asked for help...) They also told me that i could come around and ask some questions, some tatooist chick even told me she'd give me "training day" just so i get started and also said that i could come around from time to time to ask questions. Better than nothing, but what i WAS REALLY looking for was a "part time apprenticeship" as i would call it. Meaning, go there every night after work (or maybe minus one night every week to leave some time for art...) and during the weekend... No apprenticeship sucks lol. That would have been great to be able to get greater support... But in a city where there's like 300 shops and maybe 15 that are really good, the good shops are mad busy and it looks like nobody would spend too much time on a rookie, even if they like their artwork... So i'm home every night watching the huck spaulding DVD looping and trying to tattoo pig skin from time to time (haha i can tell you my technique sucks shit... apart from what i learned in that video wich i dont' really master for now, i'm on trial and error mode lol). So yeah, pig skin for now... I got some synthetic skin to scratch on too... I'm still REALLY afraid i dont' learn things properly and end up being stuck with bad habits... On the other end i have no choice apart from learning by myself, people i met, infos i find on the net etc... I thought about ordering that "tattoo machine and their secrets book" since i heard good equipement tuning makes a HUGE difference. I'm really far from tattooing people that's as much i can tell you. Shit's gotta be tight first and i need to learn not to harm anybody in the process. anyway, that's what happened in my wannabe tattoo artist little hustler life so far... If any kickass/experienced from my city reads this then i would like to meet you, that's all i can say. Anyone has been through similar experinces? I would love to hear ya...

LOL , I've got a few years of tattooing under me and I still can't begin to tell someone how to set up their machines for themselves. You could watch all the dvd's ever made , spend a solid year taking aprt machines and rebuilding them , take another solid year building your own machines from scratch and still not have a clue as to how to set up YOUR tattoo machine to work for YOU the way YOU tattoo. I think it's been said a million times already , machine tuning and maintenance should be learned during the "how the hell do I tattoo" process. Or you can just pay someone an ungodly amount of money to tune your machines for you, purchase a neuma, or by some mass produced junk everytime the one before it breaks. No machine on the planet is going to teach you how to use it. But there's a ton of places to read and discuss proper tuning and mainenance. Those discussions will at least prepare you for some of what you may encounter during your road to becoming a better tattooist/artist.