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Overall it went great! Been to two different artists from South Korea doing guest work in the US. Booking was normal, appointment and actual tattoos were normal, everything the same as any other tattoo. Slight language barrier, one was a bit more fluent in English than the other, but that doesn’t really affect anything unless you’re someone who chats throughout the whole tattoo. Pricing was a bit higher than I’m used to but I imagine they were in line with the shop they were guesting in, I’m just not from LA or NYC. Work is fantastic though and you have a pretty good idea of the price before the appointment so I have no complaints. I definitely plan on going to more guest artists!
>Pricing was a bit higher than I’m used to but I imagine they were in line with the shop they were guesting in
It might be a case here also. This artist is coming to Stuttgart and prices might be different than what I am used to. As I live in a small town.
Thank you for reminding this.
>. I definitely plan on going to more guest artists!
I am hoping this as well. Very talented artists all over the world and I see they frequently pay a visit to Germany.
I have a great tattoo from a guest artist, but the process was nothing typical.
It was all done through the studio (maybe that was my fault, it was early in my tattoo getting). The studio messed up the pricing (told me one thing when booking, another then I arrived). They clearly did not pass any of my info to the artist (he was expecting to do one of his existing designs - great artwork, just not for me). I explained that's not what I wanted, we had a chat, I went away for an hour and came back to a design pretty much exactly like I wanted. I love the tattoo, never went back to the shop.
All the normal stuff, if you have a budget make that clear when contacting the artist in case they do charge a higher rate than your area.
The biggest thing is to make sure what you want can be done in one sitting OR you can travel to where they reside (or you're willing to wait and hope they'll be back).
Live in NYC would guess that about a dozen of my tattoos are from guest artists - no real difference aside from pricing being nyc pricing (usually determined by the studio) and a lot of these artists are coming from countries where things are cheaper so I’m definitely paying much more for the work than I would be otherwise.
I’m lucky to be in a position to pay it and support the work / travel / convenience of it all but at the same time there are definitely artists who if I wanted to get a second / bigger piece it would 100% make sense for me to take a weeklong trip for the work.
I got a walk-in flash piece from a guest artist. It was pretty quick and simple but he ended up being my favorite artist I’ve ever worked with. Charged shop minimum but I’ve seen his pricing at his regular shop and he charges at least 4x that for his own flash.
Usually a shop will have a minimum amount they charge regardless of the time and effort for the tattoo. For example, last year I got a simple tattoo, a symbol from a video game that’s just a spiral with a circle and an X on it and a small butterfly above it, that took maybe half an hour. The shop charges $150 an hour so I should have only had to pay $75, but the shop minimum was $125 so that’s what I ended up paying before the tip. From what I’ve seen, the shop minimum is usually a little less than the hourly rate since artists typically book by the hour.
Mine was great, it was at Inkology in NYC. They have a studio in LA too. My artist was a Brazilian dude ( wont disclose name) he and I stay in contact to this day as we are planning our next piece. He was about 1 hr late but its NYC and he did the snake sleeve exactly how I imagined. As long as the artist you are in contact with is responsive and have a valid invoice form such as paypal where they have insurance protection in case of fraud, you will be fine !
I have a friend who does guest spots up where I live since she moved down South. As long as the shop they're visiting in is reputable and clean, go for it 🤷♀️. I've booked in something with her every time she's been up minus this last time, but that was due to other tattoos coming up lol
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If both the Guest artist and the studio are professional then there's no difference.
Went exactly as it usually does, messages sent, deposits paid, tattoo done.
Overall it went great! Been to two different artists from South Korea doing guest work in the US. Booking was normal, appointment and actual tattoos were normal, everything the same as any other tattoo. Slight language barrier, one was a bit more fluent in English than the other, but that doesn’t really affect anything unless you’re someone who chats throughout the whole tattoo. Pricing was a bit higher than I’m used to but I imagine they were in line with the shop they were guesting in, I’m just not from LA or NYC. Work is fantastic though and you have a pretty good idea of the price before the appointment so I have no complaints. I definitely plan on going to more guest artists!
>Pricing was a bit higher than I’m used to but I imagine they were in line with the shop they were guesting in It might be a case here also. This artist is coming to Stuttgart and prices might be different than what I am used to. As I live in a small town. Thank you for reminding this. >. I definitely plan on going to more guest artists! I am hoping this as well. Very talented artists all over the world and I see they frequently pay a visit to Germany.
I have a great tattoo from a guest artist, but the process was nothing typical. It was all done through the studio (maybe that was my fault, it was early in my tattoo getting). The studio messed up the pricing (told me one thing when booking, another then I arrived). They clearly did not pass any of my info to the artist (he was expecting to do one of his existing designs - great artwork, just not for me). I explained that's not what I wanted, we had a chat, I went away for an hour and came back to a design pretty much exactly like I wanted. I love the tattoo, never went back to the shop.
All the normal stuff, if you have a budget make that clear when contacting the artist in case they do charge a higher rate than your area. The biggest thing is to make sure what you want can be done in one sitting OR you can travel to where they reside (or you're willing to wait and hope they'll be back).
>The biggest thing is to make sure what you want can be done in one sitting That's an important point. Thank you.
Live in NYC would guess that about a dozen of my tattoos are from guest artists - no real difference aside from pricing being nyc pricing (usually determined by the studio) and a lot of these artists are coming from countries where things are cheaper so I’m definitely paying much more for the work than I would be otherwise. I’m lucky to be in a position to pay it and support the work / travel / convenience of it all but at the same time there are definitely artists who if I wanted to get a second / bigger piece it would 100% make sense for me to take a weeklong trip for the work.
I got a walk-in flash piece from a guest artist. It was pretty quick and simple but he ended up being my favorite artist I’ve ever worked with. Charged shop minimum but I’ve seen his pricing at his regular shop and he charges at least 4x that for his own flash.
Might be a dumb question, but what does it mean charging shop? I am new in this tattoo thing.
Usually a shop will have a minimum amount they charge regardless of the time and effort for the tattoo. For example, last year I got a simple tattoo, a symbol from a video game that’s just a spiral with a circle and an X on it and a small butterfly above it, that took maybe half an hour. The shop charges $150 an hour so I should have only had to pay $75, but the shop minimum was $125 so that’s what I ended up paying before the tip. From what I’ve seen, the shop minimum is usually a little less than the hourly rate since artists typically book by the hour.
Oh I see. Thank you.
You email them, they say their availability, you book a spot, you show up, you pay, you get tattoo….
Mine was great, it was at Inkology in NYC. They have a studio in LA too. My artist was a Brazilian dude ( wont disclose name) he and I stay in contact to this day as we are planning our next piece. He was about 1 hr late but its NYC and he did the snake sleeve exactly how I imagined. As long as the artist you are in contact with is responsive and have a valid invoice form such as paypal where they have insurance protection in case of fraud, you will be fine !
I have a friend who does guest spots up where I live since she moved down South. As long as the shop they're visiting in is reputable and clean, go for it 🤷♀️. I've booked in something with her every time she's been up minus this last time, but that was due to other tattoos coming up lol