New Tattoo - Would Like Feedback

I just got some new inks and a new power supply. This is my 9th tattoo. I would love some feedback. Thanks Jess http://a459.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/4/l_ba5e51953eeda0084cb46f68879bf592.jpg

I think your tattooing has a loooong way to go, Im wondering how much of the wrongness is your tattooing and how much is your art ability. Can we see some of your artwork on paper?

I have a Bachelors in Fine Art, and did a 1 year apprenticeship. I guess it is my mechanical skills. I am still learning with every piece I do. I am trying to slow down some, and I was told by another artist to try to do some smaller pieces. It seems like everyone wants large pieces though. I have learned a great deal from this board, and hope to get some good suggestions. Thanks Jess

What he said.If you can't throw down on paper,don't practice on people.If you HAVE TO use people,tattoo yourself.I see no harm in that.

You have an art degree?What's up with the knurling on the grip?LOoks flat as a waffle iron.

Yeah, figuring out how skin works on small walk in pieces seems like the best way to learn, though, its awesome that you are already have willing clients. I would suggest getting tattooed by the best artists you can get to and getting feedback from them. Do you have your artwork posted online anywhere? I would love to see what you can do on paper to get a frame of reference. If you hustle and get better at your art and tattooing every day it will come together. Where abouts do you live? It gets rough in here, its completely free an anonymous. Remember to read everything and think about it, and take the positive.

Thanks Gabe. I appreciate the honesty. I do want positive and constructive feedback. It helps me learn and to hopefully be a better artist. My art is mostly on large canvas, with acrylic, and charcoal. I have not done any 'flash type' small drawings. So far I have only tattooed flash. My husband has been wonderful with giving me canvas. He said I could have both of his legs to work on. I am heavily tattooed myself, and watching my artists is what inspired me. I have been hesitant to develop a website until I get a decent portfolio. So far, everything is just on my myspace page for viewing.

Kudos for having the stones to post your work.For that you have my respect.I wanted that COOP girl myself but I'm seeing it more and more.I'll have to think up something myself.

Well lets see this myspace link and artwork. Or you can email me if you don't want public critique. Doesnt make a difference (to me now) how tattoo-able your art is, I wanna see if I like it and what types of textures your capable of. Who are you getting tattooed by?

Ok Here it is. Remember it is only my first few tattoos, so be easy guys! http://www.slide.com/large_ticker?pcid=l10bzVu3pNwKUdCpjwStVzEQQV46nIiX0eWvDn8vY8E0V49kaXYItg I have 8 tats, and have been tattooed by Big Tommy of NC(RIP), and Dave Kruseman (now at 451 in C.A.), and a few unmentionables. I plan on starting to sleeve out this year. Artist undetermined. I really want to be good at this, and make it a full time career. I KNOW I have a long way to go, and I am trying to dedicate as much time to it as I can to practice. I know the more I practice the better I will get.

Hey Jessica, Your work is not bad, it's just premature. One of the things that I can point out is your filing and line building technique, they both are scratchy. Your mentor should have taught you hand movement when coloring from the get-go. But line you said you are still learning and first tattoos are just first tattoos. It will be safe for you to practice blending technique on paper, also try to make your blends as smooth as possible. Get yourself a kit of prismacolor pencils and some medium grain drawing paper. Work out on depth, I see a big luck on it on your pieces but you'll achieve that with practice as well. Working on small pieces will help you to spend more time in details and tighten your technique. At the same time don't oversee your working environment, health comes first than art itself. Keep it up and tell your mentor to give you some honest feedback, you can make mistakes 1,2,3 times but the 4th tattoo should come out smoother than the first one already.

I'd like to see some original artwork, not tattoo. What can you do on paper?

Honestly, in my apprenticeship, I did not have much time to sit around and draw. There was always stencils to be made, or needles to be made, or something to clean, stations to set up and break down, and watching my master tattoo. My only artwork so far, is tattooing from flash, and my large canvas work from college. I have sat down to draw since I finished my apprenticeship, because I really LOVE custom work, but just havent had much inspiration for my creativity. The only tattoo style drawing my master had me do, was roses.

Jessica the very basis for tattooing is ARTWORK!! Think about devoting LOTS more time to drawing for a while it will help immensely!!

yeah what he said.

Jessica, Don’t let all this browbeating get you down, Harping on a newbie’s art ability is the first step in breaking the spirit. In all honesty you could have an art degree miles long an not ever be able to teach yourself to tattoo. The Tattooing procedure is memorized movements, mechanical understanding & knowledge of skin and the damage your doing to it. I haven’t looked at your work but I take it from the replies its pretty bad, Only until you master the mechanics will art ability play any true role in your advancement.

And once again I find myself ( as nauseating as it may be) halfway agreeing with his majesty! Yes you DO need to master the technical aspects of tattooing and yes its EQUALLY important as the ARTISTIC skills. About your tattoo?...I have seen MUCH worse...and much better. I will leave you with this thought, take all the comments on here and carefully consider them all.Use what you can. If your heart is in it you WILL become a good even great tattoo artist eventually. Good luck and good tattooing!

Funny, I dont think there is any browbeating or breaking of spirit happening here. Just honest opinions. I strongly disagree that only after learning technical aspects will the art ability play any true role. Technical ability needs to be (or should be) learned after someones art skills are bad ass. Personally I wouldnt advise anyone to learn the technical aspects of tattooing before they had the art DOWN. Sure, they are seperate skills, and both vital, but learning to draw and create good art the same time you are learning the technical skills is an easy way to put out a lot of bad tattoos. Now this lady is in a unique position where she has large pieces to practice on and is already learning the technical aspects, my advice would be to study and draw every free moment until her artwork is slammin. Some questions for you, what do you see in your work that needs improvement? Which artists (and tattoo artists) are you currently studying/into? Who are you thinking will do your sleeve?

Also, she isnt teaching herself, she has an apprenticeship. (So make the best of it, sounds like you are!).

Thanks Gabe. Your attitude and advise is great! I know I need to draw more, and I am going to make time to do so. I think my weakness is coming up with ideas from scratch. I do research, and look at artwork online constantly to get inspiration. I feel the more I educate myself with any avenue possible, and the more practice I get, the better artist I will become. I am not sure who I am going to get to do my sleeve. I have a friend who works at a large shop locally, but I am thinking of saving up some money, and taking a trip to All or Nothing in G.A. I don't want to get just anyone to do it. I am going to be picky on this one.

Your tattoo work sucks balls.You went to art school and a tattoo apprenticeship and still can't even do a decent cartoon.Pathetic.You should quit now and chop your hands off before someone does it for you.You bring nothing to the table that a thousand other jackasses already do.Your'e "master" sucks too for bringing someone in that cannot even draw a tattoo design.

Jessica, don't let any of the negative comments deter you from pursuing your passion. No, you are NOT a master tattoo artist but hell you just started. Props for having the balls to show your work! Listen to Gabe and I don't thin k you will go wrong.Keep your heart in it and you will succeed despite all the negativity! You go girl!!!

Why in the world would you need to be a badass artist before becoming a tattooist ? Hell I have found it harder to teach artist to tattoo than mechanics , Artist always want to tattoo the same way they draw. Most have a hard time switching because in their mind they are thinking I can draw like a muther so Tattoo is going to be a breeze. Truth is anyone including Gabe can learn to tattoo, You can go throughout your whole career pleasing thousands of people with good clean tattoos from flash. I believe that’s why they sell them. Jessica Don’t let anyone tell you, You suck as an artist so you cant tattoo. That is a old trick to hold back the common high school drop out from pursuing a dream of becoming a Tattooist. The great thing about this industry is any loser in life can become part of the tattoo scene & make big money. ( the real life Eminem story) Now I’m not saying that art training is useless, After you master tattooing you will feel empty unless you further your art education.

i was a very successful artist for a long time before i tried my hand at tattooing, i also have training in the medical field, so sterile technique wasn't a problem. as an artist, i found my understanding of color was a big help. all that means nothing, however, if you can't master and manipulate that machine on skin. and, i'm hung like saddam.

Yeah we know Dez...and its got a toenail at the end of it!!!! LOL!!! Sure ANYONE can tattoo....it depends on how WELL ya want to tattoo!!...Nothing at all wrong with tattooing flash....lots of people making a living doing just that.....

Theres nothing wrong per say with tattooing flash, but Im hoping the public and artists can help the industry evolve past cookie cutter tattoos. In short, I believe if your not an artist you have absolutely no business tattooing.

Why would you care the tattoo of someone you don’t even know ? Flash or Not …… Man Gabe you read as a Hypocrite… Some Tattooist has the balls to work beside the worlds best doing nothing but flash, According to you that person has no business in this industry. But a person who lurks with Tattooist but refuses to put his balls on the table has a right to own a studio. Yeah I see your Values wave like a flag on a pole…….Which face do I place trust in ?

Ok, Im in a rush, but in short I believe that flash and flash type tattoos should be done by awesome artists who are learning their chops, not people who cant draw but can learn the mechanics off tattooing. I mean, everyone has the right to do their thing if they are safe, but it seems like everyone putting artwork on someone's body should be really good at, well... artwork. More later.

Please differentiate …… But it seems like everyone putting artwork on someones body should be really good at, ….well artwork. But it seems like everyone owning tattoo studios should be really good at,….well tattoos

I'm assuming from that statement that you believe that every good artist, carpenter, electrician, surgeon, and so on, would be a good business person? I know some fantastic artists that can't even balance a checkbook , same for other professions. Leave the business to the business minded individuals, if they happen to accel in the busines they've chosen then all the better.

the girl who posted the tattoo pic- you should at least do smaller tattoos, that is going to need lots of touching up or will be a cover up.... for the record, a bachelor's in fine arts doesn't mean much. it meant you did a lot in your studio classes at the time and the teacher passed you. Get a Master Degree and then maybe someone might be impressed. Either way, draw more. You need the practice. Maybe you can draw some stuff and we can ri- I mean critique ya. ;)

"But it seems like everyone owning tattoo studios should be really good at,….well tattoos" I guess people can judge for themselves how good we are at tattoos by the work that comes from our studio.

Also, Dutch, very right. Degrees mean nothing, a portfolio means something.

You don't have to be an awesome artist to tattoo, but it definitely helps. There are great flash jockeys, who pull off a good tattoo, and they make a decent living doing that. I think there is always going to be a place for that, just like there will always be a market for cheap goods. You know that stuff you buy at Walmart isn't that great, but maybe you have other priorities in life, and Walmart or a store like it will always be there. As will the Walmart quality tattoo artists. As far as "why the hell would you need to be a good artist before you tattoo", you obviously don't know tattooing that well. Everyone I can think of that is a name in this industry did alot of art before they ever picked up a tattoo machine. People like Guy Aitchison, Robert Hernandez, Bob Tyrell, Jay Wheeler, Aaron Cain, and the lists goes on, all did plenty of art before they tattooed. It helped them develop their style. Anyone who tells you that custom tattooing doesn't involve art is full of shit. Light and shade, the folding and movement of drapery, perspective, and anatomy are all basics in every field of art. As far as a degree, it means nothing in the art world. I've seen fully accredited art school graduates who cannot draw to save their lives, and second year art students who rock. No art director ever asks what your schooling is, they always look at your portfolio.

Just because a person has a great portfolio doesn’t mean that talent will be quality in air-brushing a car or Tattooing skin, Only until you learn the mechanics of the medium can you apply art skills to it. I think many Tattooist would be offended by your wal-mart comment especially the ones who can tattoo better than some custom artist. Is it better to have a custom tattoo that looks so-so OR a flash design that looks badass ? The tattooing techniques look the same from anyone knowing how to do it, No matter the art skills on paper. As I have previously said once you master the mechanics of tattooing you will feel empty without taking the time to learn perspective, light & shade, primary, secondary & tertiary colors. But on a side note you tattoo 1000 roses you will learn to draw them. Don’t give up young people, Just like the famous tattoo artist around now, Once you learn to tattoo like a pro everything before then will be forgotten or forgiven.

Do you tattoo? What shop do you work at? There is not "one tattooing technique" that applies to all styles. Different machines, different setups, and different inks are the norm. I would bet if you watched them tattoo, Mario Desa, Robert Hernandez, and Tom Renshaw would all have way different approachs, and mechanics, for the way they tattoo. Of course I mean a portfolio in the style and medium you intend to work in. I wouldn't show a book editor all the airbrush art I just banged out on someone's car. Good art skills apply from day one. Everything from the slight curve an artist gives lettering, to the shading principles he applies to the common rose or butterfly tattoo, even up to fully detailed realistic sleeves and back pieces, all require art. I didn't think I had to qualify that by a custom artist I meant a good custom artist. If you take a flash artist and a custom artist, both with the same skill in applying the tattoo, but the custom tattoo artist has obviously better art skills, the custom piece will look way better. Unless of course the flash artist is copying flash by a great artist, he he manages to copy it exactly. Then it looks like an awesome custom piece, only the only problem is that probably a good hundred people are walking around with the same thing. I don't care if someone takes offense to the Walmart comment. I'm just calling it like I see it, not trying to be PC. And the way I see it, Walmart offers decently well crafted products at a reasonable price, and that's what a flash artist does.

Here is my latest piece. You know I love your positive and constructive cruticism! [IMG]http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w134/STELLARVINYL/peonyflower.jpg[/IMG]

The Shading is still way off, this is your 10th tattoo? if you know how to visualize an image there shouldn't be a problem, just follow what you see. Pay attention to where the darkest, middle, lightest tones. I don't see any artistic ability, technical maybe... I'm just an apprentice by the way, still learn the new tools, I'm on my 3rd tattoo :( in 2 months of apprenticeship.