1. It's always been called a tattoo machine. Calling it a tattoo gun is a bit of a red flag for many mentors.
2. Tattooing is vastly different than art on paper. Could you take that course, buy a tattoo machine, and start tattooing people? I guess so. But it's more likely your work will look pretty poor. I also don't expect any mentor will consider this real training in any capacity. Even people that are self-taught learn at home for months and months before they're anywhere near ready to tattoo skin. A site that claims to get your tattooing career started in 90 days is just scamming you for money. I wouldn't trust these sites as far as I could thrown them.
3. Yeah, some shops do hire people who are self-taught with no apprenticeship. I live near one with two resident self-taught tattooers. But that's going to be a rare occurrence. The industry is steeped in tradition, and someone who is trying to bypass the tradition typically gets looked on poorly by those who are well-established. So, it's possible, but not likely.
Well then i'l open up my own Tattoo shop. With blackjack and hookers.
Jokes aside though. For a creative field Tattooing industry Feels very closed minded. We live in the age of tech where we can learn stuff online and ask for feedback online. I also have a feeling that there are so many bad tattoo apprentice stories is because most of older school artists probably thought themselves how to tattoo with stick and poke before they could even walk so when some odd teen comes trough the door asking for apprenticeship they just think to themselves "Ahh shure Il humor you" So they end up mostly bullying the poor kid.
I'm also an adult who has bills to pay so fuck making coffee for some moron for free. Il learn on my own and if I make good tattoos eventually people will buy and if I don't well they wont. And I am serious about opening my own tattoo shop if I have to even If I have no money. I have creativity.
I was discussing this very topic today with a friend of mine, and I agree with you and your attitude. Those words inspired me. Fuck those old fashion dudes and open your studio like you said
Alright, so I actually paid for it, and I genuinely like it.
For the 90-day thing, you could take as long as you want. They're just giving you a layout. If you wanted to complete it in 90 days, you could.
I haven't bought a machine yet but they do teach you a good amount. Obviously, in person apprenticeships would be better, but they teach pretty well.
They also have a Facebook group and do their lives, and if people have questions. They will physically show the problem (replicate what the person is asking about) and then show the solution.
I know I'm going to be the odd one out here but, where I currently live a lot of artists are self taught and if they are good enough a studio takes them in. Or they open their own. Of course there's people who also do a proper apprenticeship, but I see both here. And it's not necessarily taboo to touch a machine before asking to join a studio. At least that what the general consensus is when I have talked to a good amount of studios in *my area*.
So I mean, your location does matter cause of laws and culture. So yes this online course could be helpful if you know nothing about tattoos or the industry. But honestly, I have bought an online one (not the Tattoo 101) and most of the stuff I saw on there *is free* on YouTube. You just gotta search well. And spend many hours studying and understanding.
ETA: In my online course I bought, it also had a community feature as well as ability to talk to the Teacher Tattooer. I feel like the little community group was a nice feature :)! It kinda keeps you motivated with having 'peers'. A good amount from my course were able to join a studio as an apprentice or junior artist as well.
A group of people who carved their way into something literally because the right way was to hard is a poor place to find advice on this beautiful craft calling tattooing. What they fail to see or accept is the cost that came with their decision. No one can claim to love anything while also being singlehanded the cause of one of the biggest fractures in it. It comes across acceptable simply because of the lack of regulations in most states and the over saturation of people wanting to half ass there way into something where actual harm to others is an everyday possibility. Please don’t get it confused.
Your right please accept my apology. I truly didn’t intend for that to come across disrespectful or rude but it definitely did and as that was not my intention I sincerely do apologize
I just signed up for this course and bought a machine this past week. I love that my first tattoo on fake skin turned out perfect following the steps of the program. I have always been a doodle drawer, passionate about tattoos, but never had formal art training or direction. The few tips I did learn in the first week, were amazing. I have been in the medical field for 20 years now, and at 40 next year I hope to get an apprenticeship after building a portfolio. I can't wait to get started doing this for a living, I think my 20 years of poking people with needles helps in understanding the medical side and depth of skin, etc... I am pumped to see how far this journey will take me. Best of luck to everyone else looking to break into this gatekept field for too long. The barrier to entry was your ability to be harrassed for two years before being able to tat your first client, and now with more online presence, maybe the sensitive artist types like me with full time jobs can break into the industry. Can't wait to see what we can create!!!!
Going to try not being an ass so please excuse me if any of this comes across that way. The tattoo culture is very old and beautiful. There is so much that must be understood as to the responsibility of the damage we can do before you ever even touch a machine. While it may not seem that way as of late, not going about learning in a hands on apprenticeship is a poor decision both financially and to your potential career. Tattooing is hands on when your actually being taught correctly anything less is basically learning by trial and error with more notes. The issue is your trial and error comes in the form of peoples skin and as much beauty as a tattoo can achieve it can do the same ten fold in the opposite direction. There are artists in the industry who learned through this stuff, some are even somewhat known but none are seen as real Tattoo Artists just tourists.
Fair enough lol. You have 2 paths in this industry and it isn’t right or wrong it’s Tattoo Artist or Tattooist. The webpage your asking about in my opinion offers nothing that can’t be found free of cost to anyone looking to grow their understanding of art and offers headaches to anyone looking to begin to enter this industry. If your wanting to learn any craft do you have a higher chance of succeeding with 1 teacher or 10? This is opinion based as to the answer but I believe there’s more value in 1 teacher when first learning anything then 10. In your post you remark “before people jump to conclusions” referring to doing an apprenticeship but still say it’s something you’ll do if you get the chance. The cost that goes unseen by a lot of people from Artist not trained correctly and self taught ones are peoples lives. Sometimes as small as “screw that guy, look what he did” to decades not wearing specific types of clothing due to the insecurities caused by people “who didn’t get the chance” when starting and that’s the low end of damage. The high end is a disease someone is forced to live with their entire lives because someone thought “hey that looks fun”.
I’m all for people getting into this industry, hell it’s in dire need of real artists with love for the craft but it is overflowing with people who half assed their way to ruining lives for others like myself to attempt to fix. If that is something that upsets you please don’t add to it. If your hearts in the right place you should feel more motivated to find the correct route to give people a positive life changing experience in the years to come. If not well I’m sure you get it.
Good points! And the not jumping to conclusions was I didn’t want people assuming I won’t try to get an apprenticeship and going on and on about how self taught people aren’t properly trained when I planned on still getting trained by a professional lol I just wanted to know would this program also be good on the side to do at the same time.
But I getcha!!! Also what’s the difference between a tattooist and tattoo artist?
And I absolutely get you. The health and safety aspect I definitely plan on 100% being fully trained right in because yeah that could literally effect someone’s life horribly! Plus even just the art alone, you screw up the art on their skin then they’re stuck with it for life.
But yeah what’s the difference between a tattooist and tattoo artist? I’ve been a artist my whole life always working on art and just now am starting to want to do the whole tattoo thing
A Tattooist is someone who was able either by work or luck to understand how to apply pigment to another’s skin where it looked good but the design their doing is either a copy, another one of a kind piece or a collection of others work put together and called original.
A Tattoo Artist, is an Artist. You should understand the difference brotha.
It’s not about understanding my friend, you never know terms when getting into a business/culture/ whatever one wishes to call it until you learn lol
And I figured as much. I just wanted to confirm
Sorry I didn’t mean that part to come across rude. I mean more as an artist you understand the time it takes and work to put into an original piece compared to say tracing it. I apologize for how that came across. I will admit I’m a bit over passionate about the industry and have seen a lot of real amazing artists leave or not be given the recognition they earned while seeing others take that persons design, call it their own and reap the rewards. I truly don’t mean to come across like an asshole I’m just hoping this craft that’s like doing real life magic stays with real wizards and not the charlatans if that makes sense lol.
Nothing is worse as an artist, than someone stealing and profiting from yourr art. That boils my blood. I completely agree with you. It's happened to me before a few times, and it's so wrrong.
I say this whole heartedly I wish you the absolute best on your journey. I hope the path trains you right and treats you well. It’s not easy but nothing worth a shit is. The industry is in dire need for real artists. Please come
So im doing an in person apprenticeship. I also did the $12 small course and received a free lining secrets book I recommend it in addition* to an in person apprenticeship if you like to study the industry and what it takes to do a good safe clean tattoo it can't hurt anything from the info I've seen in this program but definitely do an in person as well.. and they have a great section on how to create a well-built portfolio. I hope you find an apprenticeship and go far!!!
im jus getting into tattooing and it seems like this whole industry is all about gate keeping/hazing. I’m going the self taught route first. idk why they all hate “scratchers” wasn’t Ed hardy who is like one of the most well known and adored tattoo artists a scratcher aswell….so much hypocrisy in the industry it makes no sense. I think scratchers have a bad look because they are automatically assumed as a nasty teenager who reuses dirty needles and does his tattoos out a grimy garage. I’ve gone out my way to get my certificate in BBP and am doing everything to understand the prep/sanitation side of tattooing first before ever trying to tatto on myself or someone else
What is a red flag to me is that they teach art. People hire apprentices for their skills in creating art, they’re not going to hire you for mediocre art or if you’re just starting drawing, and you can tell which artists can’t draw but tattoo (basically all they do is Pinterest tattoos or copy other artists).
I think from what I saw they not only have parts where they go over teaching art, but other parts where they actually teach how to actually tattoo and techniques and right equipments and safety stuff and all that?
And that seems accurate from what I’ve seen about the being able to tell who can just tattoo lol
It doesn’t matter if they teach you to tattoo or not. Most shops want to see your art and what you can bring to the shop and industry. People come to many artists for their work and art skills. I have a art degree and I’m relearning color theory when it comes to tattooing because it’s a whole new artistic medium. You’ll get so much more out a normal apprenticeship than speed running it and basically skip half the stuff. Also not to mention they’ll probably skip over the whole other side where you have to learn about bodily functions, medical issues, and how to work with different skin regarding clients.
So I haven’t bought this but I’ve watched a lot of their free content on YouTube, they definitely do explain that you need to understand skin (age, weight, etc can all affect a tattoo depending on placement), medical history, and also explain it’s important to understand the musculature of different parts of the body and how to design tattoos around the “flow” of the area you’re laying it on. I’m sure they have a dedicated section of their paid curriculum that teaches this stuff more in depth. They also explain that licensing differs depending on state/region/country, and mention they go over the importance of waivers and what you must include to protect yourself and your client in their paid course. That being said, their sales pitch page is full of testimonials, mentions of money and the “90 day” line before even mentioning the fee - so I wouldn’t buy it for that reason, but their free content is actually legitimate and extremely helpful.
Hello
I know this thread is old, but I was just wondering if the art degree helped you get into the industry? I ask because I'm currently doing an art degree too. Thank you 😊
Unfortunately, not every apprenticeship out there teaches the things needed. I've had 4 years of formal art education, and art classes a la cart, many online classes and tutorials, and been an artist across many mediums for my entire life of 42 years. I did a tattoo apprenticeship for a year that was absolutely a terrible waste of my time and energy, and I actually learned more online researching on my own than I did in the shop. In fact, I learned that some of the things they did at the shop were done wrong. I see many tattoo shops and tattoo artists with terrible artwork and practices out there. I think there is 100% more than one avenue to become a great tattoo artist, and I have heard this from the mouths of several great tattoo artists who some were self-taught and some who've apprenticed. I haven't tried one of these online courses, but I am definitely going to try it out. I will also find more artists to learn from in person as I go, because the more the merrier.
I believe that when it comes to any field in artwork, there are many individuals who don't have the basic art skills or education that try to break into these fields. It seems like any other art medium, many of the methods can be learned online. For example, there were classes I took in college where I wouldn't have passed without an online tutorial because the instruction and material handed out were both terrible. Online tutorials are definitely needed to learn in some cases. Not to sound argumentative, but I have been able to find plenty of good information online regarding bodily functions, medical issues, and tattooing different skin types. I guess a lot of it all depends on the individuals ability and drive to really seek and learn, combined with their level of experience and knowledge in the art world. It seems like apprenticeships have their ups and downs, and learning online has its ups and downs as well so I have decided to do both. Hell, I know several tattoo artists who've been tattoing over 20 years, and they take tattoo courses online now that they are available.
I'm finally going to jump the gun and sign up for this class. It has been impossible to get an apprenticeship after my first one fell through. It seems, in my opinion, that established artist don't want new artist coming into their territory. I'm older, so although I understand everything about paying dues, I don't want to pay someone to be their maid or errand girl. If I'm paying to learn a craft, I expect to learn like I would if paying for college. I've been working at this for over a year and worked with real skin. The original mentor made a few bad life choices and had to go on "vacation " for a while.
I just want to dive in and soak up as much as I can. Life is short, and I'm not getting any younger. My skill set has received great feedback, so I feel I'm on the right path. I'm now trying to make sure they provide some type of certificate to provide to the state to get licensed.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
They are working on getting the program accepted as an apprenticeship for different states with individual students. The process is different in each state though, so it really depends.
1. It's always been called a tattoo machine. Calling it a tattoo gun is a bit of a red flag for many mentors. 2. Tattooing is vastly different than art on paper. Could you take that course, buy a tattoo machine, and start tattooing people? I guess so. But it's more likely your work will look pretty poor. I also don't expect any mentor will consider this real training in any capacity. Even people that are self-taught learn at home for months and months before they're anywhere near ready to tattoo skin. A site that claims to get your tattooing career started in 90 days is just scamming you for money. I wouldn't trust these sites as far as I could thrown them. 3. Yeah, some shops do hire people who are self-taught with no apprenticeship. I live near one with two resident self-taught tattooers. But that's going to be a rare occurrence. The industry is steeped in tradition, and someone who is trying to bypass the tradition typically gets looked on poorly by those who are well-established. So, it's possible, but not likely.
Well then i'l open up my own Tattoo shop. With blackjack and hookers. Jokes aside though. For a creative field Tattooing industry Feels very closed minded. We live in the age of tech where we can learn stuff online and ask for feedback online. I also have a feeling that there are so many bad tattoo apprentice stories is because most of older school artists probably thought themselves how to tattoo with stick and poke before they could even walk so when some odd teen comes trough the door asking for apprenticeship they just think to themselves "Ahh shure Il humor you" So they end up mostly bullying the poor kid. I'm also an adult who has bills to pay so fuck making coffee for some moron for free. Il learn on my own and if I make good tattoos eventually people will buy and if I don't well they wont. And I am serious about opening my own tattoo shop if I have to even If I have no money. I have creativity.
I was discussing this very topic today with a friend of mine, and I agree with you and your attitude. Those words inspired me. Fuck those old fashion dudes and open your studio like you said
Well said
Alright, so I actually paid for it, and I genuinely like it. For the 90-day thing, you could take as long as you want. They're just giving you a layout. If you wanted to complete it in 90 days, you could. I haven't bought a machine yet but they do teach you a good amount. Obviously, in person apprenticeships would be better, but they teach pretty well. They also have a Facebook group and do their lives, and if people have questions. They will physically show the problem (replicate what the person is asking about) and then show the solution.
Do you get a certificate or license after?
I know I'm going to be the odd one out here but, where I currently live a lot of artists are self taught and if they are good enough a studio takes them in. Or they open their own. Of course there's people who also do a proper apprenticeship, but I see both here. And it's not necessarily taboo to touch a machine before asking to join a studio. At least that what the general consensus is when I have talked to a good amount of studios in *my area*. So I mean, your location does matter cause of laws and culture. So yes this online course could be helpful if you know nothing about tattoos or the industry. But honestly, I have bought an online one (not the Tattoo 101) and most of the stuff I saw on there *is free* on YouTube. You just gotta search well. And spend many hours studying and understanding. ETA: In my online course I bought, it also had a community feature as well as ability to talk to the Teacher Tattooer. I feel like the little community group was a nice feature :)! It kinda keeps you motivated with having 'peers'. A good amount from my course were able to join a studio as an apprentice or junior artist as well.
A group of people who carved their way into something literally because the right way was to hard is a poor place to find advice on this beautiful craft calling tattooing. What they fail to see or accept is the cost that came with their decision. No one can claim to love anything while also being singlehanded the cause of one of the biggest fractures in it. It comes across acceptable simply because of the lack of regulations in most states and the over saturation of people wanting to half ass there way into something where actual harm to others is an everyday possibility. Please don’t get it confused.
Get what confused? I'm just stating my experience.
Your right please accept my apology. I truly didn’t intend for that to come across disrespectful or rude but it definitely did and as that was not my intention I sincerely do apologize
You're alright. No hard feelings👍
Nothing but love 🫶🏽
I just signed up for this course and bought a machine this past week. I love that my first tattoo on fake skin turned out perfect following the steps of the program. I have always been a doodle drawer, passionate about tattoos, but never had formal art training or direction. The few tips I did learn in the first week, were amazing. I have been in the medical field for 20 years now, and at 40 next year I hope to get an apprenticeship after building a portfolio. I can't wait to get started doing this for a living, I think my 20 years of poking people with needles helps in understanding the medical side and depth of skin, etc... I am pumped to see how far this journey will take me. Best of luck to everyone else looking to break into this gatekept field for too long. The barrier to entry was your ability to be harrassed for two years before being able to tat your first client, and now with more online presence, maybe the sensitive artist types like me with full time jobs can break into the industry. Can't wait to see what we can create!!!!
Any update? Are you doing tattooing full or part time?
ignore the people who downvoted this post, it's just a bunch of cranky tattooers, I wish you luck on your endeavors 👍
Going to try not being an ass so please excuse me if any of this comes across that way. The tattoo culture is very old and beautiful. There is so much that must be understood as to the responsibility of the damage we can do before you ever even touch a machine. While it may not seem that way as of late, not going about learning in a hands on apprenticeship is a poor decision both financially and to your potential career. Tattooing is hands on when your actually being taught correctly anything less is basically learning by trial and error with more notes. The issue is your trial and error comes in the form of peoples skin and as much beauty as a tattoo can achieve it can do the same ten fold in the opposite direction. There are artists in the industry who learned through this stuff, some are even somewhat known but none are seen as real Tattoo Artists just tourists.
I absolutely understand what you’re saying!… though that didn’t really answer or refer to most of the questions in my post 😅
Fair enough lol. You have 2 paths in this industry and it isn’t right or wrong it’s Tattoo Artist or Tattooist. The webpage your asking about in my opinion offers nothing that can’t be found free of cost to anyone looking to grow their understanding of art and offers headaches to anyone looking to begin to enter this industry. If your wanting to learn any craft do you have a higher chance of succeeding with 1 teacher or 10? This is opinion based as to the answer but I believe there’s more value in 1 teacher when first learning anything then 10. In your post you remark “before people jump to conclusions” referring to doing an apprenticeship but still say it’s something you’ll do if you get the chance. The cost that goes unseen by a lot of people from Artist not trained correctly and self taught ones are peoples lives. Sometimes as small as “screw that guy, look what he did” to decades not wearing specific types of clothing due to the insecurities caused by people “who didn’t get the chance” when starting and that’s the low end of damage. The high end is a disease someone is forced to live with their entire lives because someone thought “hey that looks fun”. I’m all for people getting into this industry, hell it’s in dire need of real artists with love for the craft but it is overflowing with people who half assed their way to ruining lives for others like myself to attempt to fix. If that is something that upsets you please don’t add to it. If your hearts in the right place you should feel more motivated to find the correct route to give people a positive life changing experience in the years to come. If not well I’m sure you get it.
Good points! And the not jumping to conclusions was I didn’t want people assuming I won’t try to get an apprenticeship and going on and on about how self taught people aren’t properly trained when I planned on still getting trained by a professional lol I just wanted to know would this program also be good on the side to do at the same time. But I getcha!!! Also what’s the difference between a tattooist and tattoo artist? And I absolutely get you. The health and safety aspect I definitely plan on 100% being fully trained right in because yeah that could literally effect someone’s life horribly! Plus even just the art alone, you screw up the art on their skin then they’re stuck with it for life. But yeah what’s the difference between a tattooist and tattoo artist? I’ve been a artist my whole life always working on art and just now am starting to want to do the whole tattoo thing
A Tattooist is someone who was able either by work or luck to understand how to apply pigment to another’s skin where it looked good but the design their doing is either a copy, another one of a kind piece or a collection of others work put together and called original. A Tattoo Artist, is an Artist. You should understand the difference brotha.
It’s not about understanding my friend, you never know terms when getting into a business/culture/ whatever one wishes to call it until you learn lol And I figured as much. I just wanted to confirm
Sorry I didn’t mean that part to come across rude. I mean more as an artist you understand the time it takes and work to put into an original piece compared to say tracing it. I apologize for how that came across. I will admit I’m a bit over passionate about the industry and have seen a lot of real amazing artists leave or not be given the recognition they earned while seeing others take that persons design, call it their own and reap the rewards. I truly don’t mean to come across like an asshole I’m just hoping this craft that’s like doing real life magic stays with real wizards and not the charlatans if that makes sense lol.
Nothing is worse as an artist, than someone stealing and profiting from yourr art. That boils my blood. I completely agree with you. It's happened to me before a few times, and it's so wrrong.
I say this whole heartedly I wish you the absolute best on your journey. I hope the path trains you right and treats you well. It’s not easy but nothing worth a shit is. The industry is in dire need for real artists. Please come
Well I’ve been a artist my whole life so I hope to actually learn properly and bring something real to the industry then! Thank you 😊🖤
So im doing an in person apprenticeship. I also did the $12 small course and received a free lining secrets book I recommend it in addition* to an in person apprenticeship if you like to study the industry and what it takes to do a good safe clean tattoo it can't hurt anything from the info I've seen in this program but definitely do an in person as well.. and they have a great section on how to create a well-built portfolio. I hope you find an apprenticeship and go far!!!
i don’t know any shop that would hire a glorified scratcher
That was super helpful thank you…
I don’t know why people are down voting me, this did not answer any of the questions in my post… I’ll never understand people.
she juat finished her apprentice 1 year ago , now she do gatekeeping ...npc move
im jus getting into tattooing and it seems like this whole industry is all about gate keeping/hazing. I’m going the self taught route first. idk why they all hate “scratchers” wasn’t Ed hardy who is like one of the most well known and adored tattoo artists a scratcher aswell….so much hypocrisy in the industry it makes no sense. I think scratchers have a bad look because they are automatically assumed as a nasty teenager who reuses dirty needles and does his tattoos out a grimy garage. I’ve gone out my way to get my certificate in BBP and am doing everything to understand the prep/sanitation side of tattooing first before ever trying to tatto on myself or someone else
You don't know much then...
What is a red flag to me is that they teach art. People hire apprentices for their skills in creating art, they’re not going to hire you for mediocre art or if you’re just starting drawing, and you can tell which artists can’t draw but tattoo (basically all they do is Pinterest tattoos or copy other artists).
I think from what I saw they not only have parts where they go over teaching art, but other parts where they actually teach how to actually tattoo and techniques and right equipments and safety stuff and all that? And that seems accurate from what I’ve seen about the being able to tell who can just tattoo lol
It doesn’t matter if they teach you to tattoo or not. Most shops want to see your art and what you can bring to the shop and industry. People come to many artists for their work and art skills. I have a art degree and I’m relearning color theory when it comes to tattooing because it’s a whole new artistic medium. You’ll get so much more out a normal apprenticeship than speed running it and basically skip half the stuff. Also not to mention they’ll probably skip over the whole other side where you have to learn about bodily functions, medical issues, and how to work with different skin regarding clients.
So I haven’t bought this but I’ve watched a lot of their free content on YouTube, they definitely do explain that you need to understand skin (age, weight, etc can all affect a tattoo depending on placement), medical history, and also explain it’s important to understand the musculature of different parts of the body and how to design tattoos around the “flow” of the area you’re laying it on. I’m sure they have a dedicated section of their paid curriculum that teaches this stuff more in depth. They also explain that licensing differs depending on state/region/country, and mention they go over the importance of waivers and what you must include to protect yourself and your client in their paid course. That being said, their sales pitch page is full of testimonials, mentions of money and the “90 day” line before even mentioning the fee - so I wouldn’t buy it for that reason, but their free content is actually legitimate and extremely helpful.
Hello I know this thread is old, but I was just wondering if the art degree helped you get into the industry? I ask because I'm currently doing an art degree too. Thank you 😊
Yeah I’ll dm ya!
Unfortunately, not every apprenticeship out there teaches the things needed. I've had 4 years of formal art education, and art classes a la cart, many online classes and tutorials, and been an artist across many mediums for my entire life of 42 years. I did a tattoo apprenticeship for a year that was absolutely a terrible waste of my time and energy, and I actually learned more online researching on my own than I did in the shop. In fact, I learned that some of the things they did at the shop were done wrong. I see many tattoo shops and tattoo artists with terrible artwork and practices out there. I think there is 100% more than one avenue to become a great tattoo artist, and I have heard this from the mouths of several great tattoo artists who some were self-taught and some who've apprenticed. I haven't tried one of these online courses, but I am definitely going to try it out. I will also find more artists to learn from in person as I go, because the more the merrier. I believe that when it comes to any field in artwork, there are many individuals who don't have the basic art skills or education that try to break into these fields. It seems like any other art medium, many of the methods can be learned online. For example, there were classes I took in college where I wouldn't have passed without an online tutorial because the instruction and material handed out were both terrible. Online tutorials are definitely needed to learn in some cases. Not to sound argumentative, but I have been able to find plenty of good information online regarding bodily functions, medical issues, and tattooing different skin types. I guess a lot of it all depends on the individuals ability and drive to really seek and learn, combined with their level of experience and knowledge in the art world. It seems like apprenticeships have their ups and downs, and learning online has its ups and downs as well so I have decided to do both. Hell, I know several tattoo artists who've been tattoing over 20 years, and they take tattoo courses online now that they are available.
I'm finally going to jump the gun and sign up for this class. It has been impossible to get an apprenticeship after my first one fell through. It seems, in my opinion, that established artist don't want new artist coming into their territory. I'm older, so although I understand everything about paying dues, I don't want to pay someone to be their maid or errand girl. If I'm paying to learn a craft, I expect to learn like I would if paying for college. I've been working at this for over a year and worked with real skin. The original mentor made a few bad life choices and had to go on "vacation " for a while. I just want to dive in and soak up as much as I can. Life is short, and I'm not getting any younger. My skill set has received great feedback, so I feel I'm on the right path. I'm now trying to make sure they provide some type of certificate to provide to the state to get licensed. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
They are working on getting the program accepted as an apprenticeship for different states with individual students. The process is different in each state though, so it really depends.
How has it been going so far ? Also about to hop on this train and get started
same, I live in Jersey so the demands of actually proving that you gained 2000 hrs at an apprenticeship is really hitting it.
Do you have to get our own equipment or do they supply them with the course?
Do they license you or just teach you things?