9545 Reseda Blvd. unit 2, Northridge, CA (818) 700-2818

drawing from scratch

Hi, I'm thinking about becoming a tattoo artist, right now I'm just practicing building up a portfolio but i was curious about when you're working as a tattoo artist. When a client wants something, whether it's specific or original or flash, do you have to draw them up something from your own head? Because i can draw just about anything and even though it'll be built up of bits from all over the place i can make it original but i have to be looking at things constantly i can't just think up something and draw it well, for example i usually make folders and 'moodboard' kind of things for inspiration but do you have to kind of go it alone in tattooing when you're in the job? thanks anyone who replies ;)


Replies:

RE:drawing from scratch

There really isn't a set rule that you have to go by, some people draw custom stuff on the fly, some spend hours to draw their tattoo, some people freehand amazing tattoos, and some people use flash, and like me I prefer photoshop, after years of doing it all different ways, I've found that utilizing photoshop, it works best for me, there are a lot of reasons why, but one of the biggies is that its a big time saver for me, I could create something custom with the client near me and it also puts them in a place of having a creative hand in the process which I personally like and they love it, some artists might hate it when people want to put in there two sense but I prefer it, because they will get exactly what they want and 9 times out of ten, when I'm done it exceeded there expectations. I got sick of drawing after work when I'm done tattooing and some people want it changed or maybe they don't like it, but in photoshop I could change things in 5-10 minutes rather than redrawing something. Everyone is different so what ever works best for you to get the best results, is what you should do. Just remember its not s drawing contest, its doing the best tattoos you can do. Its all bout the tattoo, not the drawing. But some would argue that you should draw everything but I don't agree entirely on that, I think there are artists that have exceptional talent that could do things in other ways and honestly I respect some of them for pulling it off. Its impressive! You would also probably gain a little more respect if everything was custom drawn, but I could do custom creations in photoshop, It's just a tool that is growing in this field and should be utilized more. Theres nothing worse than seeing a custom drawn tattoo or freehand that doesn't look good. So again what ever makes you a better tattoo artist in the end is what you want. Also a side note, I've been tattooed by a lot of the best tattoo artists in the world and most of them use reference, there is only a few that draw straight from the head. Again those guys or girls get props from me that do that!
top of page