SO YA WANNA BE A TATTOO ARTIST?

Ya wanna tattoo?...At the risk of being chastised I am gonna let you in on a few secrets... 1...Spaulding tattoo equipment just isn't very good. 2...No professional artist is going to sell you some ink or needles 3...soaking your needles in alcohol DOES NOT sterilize them, you MUST have an autoclave...and no a pressure cooker won't do it! 4...There are literally hundreds of ink and tattoo equipment suppliers out there and if you do your homework you can find them...problem is that if you don't know your shit you can get ripped off and end up with a pile of useless junk. 5...no you can't buy the stuff we use unless you are a licensed professional...no responsible suppliers will sell to you otherwise. 6...Sure I will teach you how to tattoo ...how much?...Nothing!...ITS FREE!...That is if you come to me with respect and a love for the art and bring an impressive portfolio of artwork with you...won't hurt to bring BBC/cross contam/cpr class certs with ya...don't have a clue what I'm talkin about?...do your homework.And don't come in kissing my ass and buttering me up...I have a good bullshit detector so don't piss on my boots and tell me its raining!...Its not necessary...just be honest...respect me and I will respect you. 7...Never EVER call it a gun in my presence! And never say"tak"...its a fucking tattoo! 8...Never think its gonna be easy...no its not like "Miami Ink"...I won't make you wax my car or scrub the toilet with a toothbrush...I won't ask you to do anything that I don't do myself on a daily basis.But that doesn't mean it will be a breeze either...if you are going to come to me sayin shit like" I have a full time job and I'm going to school plus I have 6 kids to feed so I can only give up 3 hours a week to an apprenticeship...don't even bother coming to my door...We all had a life too when we started...but we sacrificed and ate Ramen noodles for months at a time to get through it...if you love it enough you will MAKE time!...I will help you in any way that I can and I mean that! 9...NO! There are NO legitimate "tattoo schools!" By their very nature they just do not exist.We have researched all of these "schools' we could find and did not find ONE SINGLE school that was worth a fart in a tornado...they are RIPOFFS!! PERIOD! 10...No we pros are not trying to keep you out of this business...I just said I would mentor you for free didn't I?...There is nothing I love more than seeing someone I taught succeeding in this art...I WANT you to succeed! And if you want it bad enough ...YOU WILL!!! 11...I am not a Tattoo God...I am not famous...what I am is an old school tattoo artist who loves this ancient art more than just about anything.I do good tattoos...I am not a Guy Aitchison or a Joshua Carlton...I am nobody...just a guy who does pretty good work and I have 35 years of knowledge to share with anyone who really wants it...wants it so bad you cannot live without it....I cannot make you great or famous...thats entirely up to you...but I can damn sure start you on the right path to being the best damn tattoo artist you can be. 12...No you ain't gonna get rich...not anytime soon anyway...but you can have a rewarding exciting career (shit! sounds like a fucking commercial for the Army!) 13...Its all up to you my friend. 14..I am not alone...there are many professional tattoo artists who would love to perpetuate this art and find young dedicated people to carry on for us...seek and ye shall find!!! I am TAz.....all ya gotta do is ask! PS...If you are a World of Warcraft Gamer DO NOT come near me! I have guns...BIG ones....... and I will SHOOT YOU!!!!

Uh... taz? Guess who occasionally plays World of Warcraft? Yeah. Thats me. ppft :P

Get away from it NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

lol Keyword: Occasionally :) Look at me, I havent had -tiiiiiiiiiiiime- to play :)

hey taz, how bout you and me face off in our fave games? you bring your best in WOW, and I'll be sure to slaughter in Chaos UT.... it would be interesting, i think... been meaning to email you, i haven't had the time... had some q's, but will try and find the time to ask them later.

Well you apparently arent reading the posts...inviting ME to play a mindsucking video game that is ruining peoples lives?????... DON"T THINK SO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

With total respect. Man I totally know I'm treading on sensitive ice here, but I believe down to my very core that addiction resides in the person, not the substance/activity. true, some substances may be more effective in working on the pre existing predisposition This point of view means placing the blame on the person rather than the "drug" or taking responsability (even for their genetic dispositions), and people don't like doing that. I come from an anti-prohibition / harm reduction perspective on this and you'll never hear me blaming a game for someones misery. Blame genetics, up bringing, society, personal choice, but never the game...

Bou...we pretty much agree...I am not blaming JUST the game ...however if the game did not exist...NO PROBLEM.....and you have to consider that this game was DESIGNED to be addictive for pure profit value!!!...But yeah it is ultimately up to the person addicted...I am just seeing so many people that are having major family problems because of this particular game....I have lost 2 employees because of it and know of a half dozen other people who are heavy addicts that are allowing all their responsibilities to just slip away because they just cannot moderate their WOW playing!....Do away with the game?...nope thats impossible but what is the answer?...I know I don't have one!...Thanks BOU!!!!..T

Heh, I know my answer. I put down the mouse and picked up my pencil. It took me fuckin up a good relationship to realize I was letting my life slip away while I wasted my time on those blizzard games. I can't blame the games, they are fun as hell, but damn. Thanks for the advice about becoming a tattoo artist. I'm just now starting on the journey, and I'm sure I'll have some questions for you guys in the future. Right now though, it's just drawing, drawing, drawing, everyday, until I get a great portfolio together. In the meantime, I enjoy learning what I can from the forum.

Damn, I was in total agreement until world of warcraft.! Just kidding. but I have played D&D.

sorry taz, i've never been too into RPG's... i really don't like games that go on forever and ever. the last great RPG i ever played was Nox. If the video game makers can come out w/ another great game like Nox or very similar to it... then i'll play it.. till then, i haven't seen anything that has really appealed to me in the RPG world...

who here plays Halo2 online?

WOW!!! I wish I had seen this post a week ago.... I didn't read this post before my very first one (I am sorry. Please forgive me... I feel like an ass) I only wish EVERY artist was the same... This is all I ever wanted. If someone in your area reads your first post... They have 0 excuses. Damn...100% right on target.... You should post something like it in your shop then no wannabe that ever stop by your shop has any excuses to be a scratcher... All current artists I believe this should be policy... My wife never would have done a single scratch You just went up more points in my book... that plus the ton of info and help you have offered me and my wife... Thank you... Your one of the good ones and then some... Don't know how this thread became about... online gaming... played a few never bought a subcription...but TAZ you may loath me for this, but programming and 3D is my art and I'm working on a game project of my own... I'm 26 and been writing programs for 20yrs... My brother taught me BASIC when I was 6...

just refering back to the first topic i once worked as an apprentice for just under two years but had to give it up. the artist was more interested in making money than the quality of his actual work. he taught me absolutely nothing and i saw him once tattoo somebody, wipe the tip with dettol and then tattoed another person straight after. this was the final straw for me so i left. its refreshing to hear a good tattooist say he is willing to help people, who of course, show the neccessary dedication etc etc. i think it is possible to get an apprenticeship with someone but sometimes some of them are not worth learning from. i wish i had met someone like taz in the first place instead of going down the path i did but thats life i guess huh?