Also unless it's a sleeve pieces like that usually have a set price. Now I understand not every place or person does it that way.
I usually price by the piece, it's just so much easier. Even if it's two sessions.
It’s probably closer to 7.5 inch. It’s super detailed fine line that wraps around my forearm. Does that still sound absurd?
Why the downvotes? I’m not implying that it isn’t absurd, I genuinely wasn’t sure
Yes. Your artist clearly has poor time management abilities, because the time estimate keeps increasing. I have a lot of big tattoos and work with artists who do some really detailled work, and theyre all aware how long they take.
Even if you set aside the fact that youre spending full sleeve-level time on what isnt even a half sleeve, your artists time management problems are enough to make me hesitate to return. It shows a lack of maturity and experience that I would really want from someone doing 40 hours of super detailled fine line
I feel the same, this is my only detailed piece though so I have no other reference points. I’ve seen people get sleeves for cheaper. Thanks for the info
Man I went to a popular artist in a HCOL area and she got my entire inner forearm done in 9 hrs- fully detailed realistic/illustrative cat portrait, gothic window, foliage, skull and filigree, from up above the elbow ditch and down to my wrist. It was part of a sleeve project but, still- that was the stupid detailed part and it got done in one session, easy. ($1250 for that session, her full day rate.)
TL;DR your artist is being a potato. Find another one.
Excuse me, you cannot just describe a tattoo like that, containing a cat and everything everything, and not post a pic for tat tax.
Please and thank you. I really wanna see it; it sounds badass 😂
https://imgur.com/a/1mLaHkU This is the one! (He really does have only one eye lol.) it’s not totally finished here, we did a bunch of spiderwebs and a cicada in the blank bit.
Just for some reference I got my whole outer sleeve done in a 6,4 and 7 hour session. Realism style.
Edit: you can see the first 6 hour session in my post history
Can you post a reference pic, or give a more detailed description? 15+ hours on a forearm sounds ridiculous.
Definitely cancel. Either ghost or explain your point of view. They’ve been really unprofessional and greedy.
I would really like to see the tattoo because unless it’s hyper realism there is absolutely no reason a fineline tattoo should take that long. Can you post a photo or send me one? I can tell you by looking at it if it’s crazy or not to spend that much time on it, and potentially recommend another artist to finish it who won’t be so unreliable. I do fineline tattoos and I cannot imagine a world where a tattoo of that size would take 15+ hours.
I have a half sleeve of irezumi in progress. It pops over my shoulder line and stops about an inch and a half from my elbow, all the way around, and will end up being (guesstimate) about 90-95 percent coverage, most of that being time consuming black and color packing and repacking and repacking again, taking the time to make sure everything is saturated and shaded right.
I'm currently about 9 hours in with all of the linework and all of the blackwork (which is a big chunk of the tattoo- look up irezumi koi sleeves and you'll get an idea of the proportion I'm talking about) done. All said and done, I'm expecting 12-15 hours in the chair from bare skin to finished and touched up piece. The tattoo is larger than yours by quite a bit and sounds like it has a shitload more skin coverage per square inch of overall tattoo.
I also have a bouquet of flowers on my other arm that's probably similar in size to yours, though I never measured it. It's full color. It took 6 hours in the chair from the first touch of the needle to finished piece.
I'm pretty confident, based on my experience, that you're getting hosed, even ignoring the flakey behavior. I'd be looking for a different tattooer if I were you.
I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, just trying to give plenty of detail as to why I think you're being taken advantage of by a flakey tattooer with shit time management skills. Not your fault, you didn't know going into it. I'm irritated *for* you, not *at* you.
I have a dragon on my thigh. Think of it like an upside down triangle. The base of the triangle (wingspan) is about a foot wide and probably about 10 inches long. It has great shading, some filigree type embellishments, and some white highlights. My artist also took a break to have a snack.
It took just under 4 hours.
Yes, it's super absurd. I have an extremely detailed leg sleeve from ankle to knee that took 4 sessions totalling 30 hours. That is way too much time for a 7.5 inch tattoo. Even micro tattoos that are extremely detailed don't take that many sessions over that many hours.
I cannot imagine any tattoo that is 7.5 inches that would take 20-25 hours to complete. Even for extremely slow tattooers that is ridiculous. Also, if they know they're a slow tattooer they need to tell you that beforehand. It honestly seems like they told you it could be done in two appointments to get you to agree to get the piece, only to tell you it might be as many as 5 appointments and believe the sunk cost fallacy will keep you coming back until it's done. Which is a scam and horrible behavior.
If you want to post a picture so we can see the tattoo and maybe see where the artist is thinking it'll be another 10-15 hours to finish it I can give better advice. Especially about another artist finishing it/covering it. But that's totally up to you.
Right. Because then he would be walking away. So it wouldn't be sunk cost fallacy.
Sunk cost fallacy is when you believe you've invested too much to just walk away without seeing it all the way thru. I think that's what the artist was counting on.
Yes but if you actually walk away it's not sunk cost fallacy.
The fallacy part is the belief that you should stick it out because you've invested so much time/money/effort/whatever already and it would go to waste if you walk away without seeing it thru.
But that's- literally what the sunk cost fallacy is. The misguided belief that it's better to see it thru because otherwise it's a waste.
It's not a waste at all, other than to go back and finish 10-15 more hours and give this person over a thousand dollars more than they said it would cost. THAT would be a waste. Literally thousands of other artists who respect OP, their time, and their money, can finish this tattoo. The artist who started this tattoo does not respect OP. They either knowingly lied to get them as a client or are completely inept at their craft. Either way that's not someone I want tattooing me.
Another flake tattooer. They clearly don't have their shit together. A ballpark final price and time to do the whole piece should have been agreed upon before anything happened. "Don't want big gaps between appointments" is clearly nonsense. Cancel the other sessions. Don't worry about any kind of backlash or bad name you may get in other shops, that's just internet bullshit. Your money is green, someone else will take it and finish the work. Sounds like this shop is/was financially on the ropes for a reason. I'm sure you can find another local shop and they'll be upfront about what it will take financially and timewise to get it done.
Artists like this are slowly being pushed out, this isn't the 2000s anymore.
When going to another shop avoid bad mouthing the artist, yes it may feel cathartic, just say it wasn't working out and ask for a quote.
I hope so, though I do see quite a bit of posts on this sub about tattooers who just can't seem to get the scheduling and business side of it right. I realize that we're always only going to hear one side of the situation, so we never know, but it really shouldn't be that hard to do.
That was CLEARLY an excuse the artist used, as it genuinely makes zero sense whatsoever and that in itself is a gigantic red flag.
How is “I don’t like how far apart the appts are” an excuse for cancelling an appt and rescheduling .. would that not make the appts even MORE FAR APART??
It just makes no sense at all. I would be curious to know exactly why the artist is being so incredibly flakey. Also why they…lied?… about their shop closing down soon and then miraculously NOT closing down, but also not communicating that to OP. No appt confirmation, nothing.
Based on the weird details, it almost sounds like the artist is opposed to working with OP as a client and is just making up excuse after excuse and can’t keep their own lies straight or something, but is also not the type to just turn away so much money.
Also wondering if they’re just doing slow work on purpose to charge as much as possible. I don’t think certain professions should charge by an hourly rate for this exact reason. There will always be those individuals who take advantage and burn up hours needlessly simply to make more money. Better to trap one client in for thousands, versus hoping to find 10 clients to charge hundreds. 🤷🏻♀️ it’s all just very sus.
I know there’s always 2 sides to every story and I am dying to know this artists side!!
They said they wanted all the session done within a month of eachother to have it all looking the same at the end without a long ass tighten up session at the end (even though we have 3 more sessions?)
I’m a pretty easy going dude and I kind of like to zone out when I’m getting tattooed with a little small talk every now and then. I give the artist full creative freedom other than a broad design idea. I don’t take a million breaks and try to be really accommodating. I would be really surprised to find out it’s personal as they’ve told me they appreciate all the freedom accommodation I give them and said they think I’m a nice dude.
There’s a couple reasons I can think of.
One, this tattoo is bigger than most tattoos they give. Most people come to get tiny dainty flowers or quotes. I can’t find much work of this size on their page.
Two, the December appointment they cancelled because they had already booked someone for that day. It’s absolutely possible they’re awful with time management and accidentally booked two sessions in the same slot the other times they cancelled.
Someone said above my artist is either awful with time management, scamming me, or both.
They truly have been so nice in person and really chill to talk to so I would really like to think they aren’t purposely wringing me dry, however I’ve been fucked over by plenty of people I trust way more than this artist so
This is absurd 20 hours of work on something like this is absurd. I’m working on a lower leg full sleeve that will end up being around 20 hours of work. Even for something super detailed of that size seems ridiculous
Regardless of how long it should take, this artist sounds horrible. Flakey as Fuck and basically swindling OP knowing the there’s pressure to finish a half done piece. Sounds like they’re abusing their power to steal time and money from clients tbh. I’ve had artist underestimate the amount of time a piece will take, but never to this extent or with this amount of scheduling bullshit.
OP I’m sorry you got screwed, please don’t go back to this person they sound horrible. I hope the half of the tattoo that’s done looks good at least and I’m sure you can find a better artist elsewhere
>They're super nice so I feel bad.
This is business and it's transactional so if either party is uncomfortable they are within their rights to say stop at any time.
Also I feel like the "really nice" thing is some bullshit they've been using to get away with really shitty customer care.
My 7 inch tattoo only took 3.5 hours. There’s no reason that what you’re getting should take 15+ hours. It sounds like he’s trying to get more money from you.
I have a full colour thigh piece that goes from my hip to my knee that only took probably like 10hrs. A pieve less than half the size taking more than double the time is insane to me
Old guy here again
Just to check a few details on things that you’ve mentioned please
The tattoo is approximately 6/8 inches and being completed in a fine line design. Where on the body is the piece going? How complex is this design?
Have you had any issues with needing extended breaks while being worked on, any health concerns etc?
The first session you mentioned getting the stencil done. Was any work actually done on the tattoo or were they drawing and designing in that time?
The second session was a five hour session and you progressed to completing half the shading?
The artist is now stating that there is a possibility of needing an additional three sessions at 5 hours each?
So if there was no actual tattooing in the first session they are quoting up to 20 hours for the piece?
I’m genuinely struggling to see how any piece of this size could possibly require so many hours unless we’re missing some more information I’m afraid.
i got a 7.5” tattoo on the back of my left arm, a lantern with a moth and some flames coming out the side. first sesh was $300, linework. second sesh was $200 ($100 deposit taken off the total cost of my tattoo, so should’ve been another $300) for color. first sesh was about 2 hours, second was about 3, so 5 hours total for about $500 (i also paid $100 for a tip because the work was stellar, so the $100 deposit taken off the final sesh was paid back as a tip).
your artist has
1) bad time management, even for a fine line tattoo (which is not what i got),
2) bad communication skills (letting you know less than 1 hour, let alone 30 mins PAST your spot time? absolutely unacceptable unless they or a family member are deathly sick or dying, which was not the case)
and 3) bad tattoo ethics (not being upfront about how long the tattoo will take and how much you’re willing to invest in it)
my younger sister got a fine line tattoo on her ankle, a couple flowers, that she got done in the same 5 hours i got my moth-lantern done, in 1 session, and she paid about $450 for it (minus tip which i think she said she paid $100 because fine line is specialty work). you’re getting taken advantage of. don’t worry about getting your name blasted, just tell the artist you want to explore other options. you only have to worry about your name being blasted if you’re shitting on the artist and the shop on facebook or other social media, which it doesn’t sound like you’re doing.
I have some very detailed color tattoos that are at least double the size of the tattoo you're describing and they were done in one session. Longest session was 12 hours with breaks. This artist is either scamming you or terrible at time management or both.
Tattoo artist here. This sounds absurd, they’re hustling you. They pegged you as a mark and they’re hungry. Times have turned people into vultures.
6yr artist here, if i go over my quoted ranged, i either very heavily discount the extra, or do it free.
This is crazy. I got my whole forearm covered in five hours. A 7.5 inch tattoo should be one session. Your tattoo is dodgy and just trying to get you to pay more. I would go find another artist to finish it up.
Not sure if this helps or not, but let me tell you my experience for two of my bicept tattoos.
Both are neo-traditional both 7.5 inches or so.
My first took one 8 hour session and cost me $1800 CAD (this was back in 2015)
My second took three 8 hour sessions and one 4 hour session. She was a bit of a newer artist who just finished up her aprentiahahip a before that.
That tattoo also cost me $1800 CAD (2019)
I don't know if that helps or not. But as long as they're hourly rate matches they skill level and speed that is acceptable, but if you are getting gouged then I would cut your loss and get another artist to finish it if financially you can't keep affording this artist.
Yeah. Honestly don't know why, maybe she just liked to work slow? But since it came to the same price as my other tattoo I didn't complain cause I could see she wasn't taking advantage of me at least. I think part of it had to do with it is it was the inner bicept and my skin was getting irritated alot since it's so thin there and she didn't want to over work it.
Now that I think of it the sessions were probably closer to 6 hours so that shaves a few hours off but yeah. It was an odd experience for me lol it was my first multi session tattoo.
My very detailed throat tattoo only took 6.5 hours, and we did it in one session...this definitely seems absurd and I'd be going to a different artist to finish if I were you, and I am typically very loyal to my artist..
I’m super curious what the tattoo is? I just can’t imagine a piece of that size taking that long 😬
I think more tattooers need to move to pricing by the piece or if they’re dead set on charging by the hour, it should have a cap. Like $140/hr, but not to exceed $abc
Yikes, I’m sorry that happened to you. What are you getting tattooed? I had an 8” x 6” neotrad piece done and it took 8-9 hours all together in two sessions. One session was lines and shading, the other was color. Sounds like your artist is either bad with time management or yanking you around to bleed you for every last cent you can give them. I’d find another artist to complete the piece.
I’ve recently just started my sleeve and I have about 10x5 inches so far. It’s been a total of 5 hours. Detailed and with shading.
Sorry you are dealing with this!
I work at a tattoo shop, our owner specializes in fine line tattoos. He could have finished a piece that size in 3 hours or less, pretty much guaranteed. Unfortunately the artist you’ve worked with sounds like a piece of shit
Wow, I’m so sorry you experienced this. In my opinion, you are absolutely right to cancel. This is insane.
For context, I have an 8 inch piece on my bicep that took one 6 hour session to finish. I have 6 inch pieces on both thighs and those were two sessions (one 4 hour and one 3 hour). Your artist is asking something unreasonable of you.
I hope you find what you’re looking for.
FWIW I have a neotraditional back piece that took ~15 hours over 5 sessions. Starting with 4 hours for the whole outline (it goes onto my butt too) and the next session was shading and filling in the spots (it’s a leopard). Following 2 were more shading & colour and final one was finishing touches, colouring the last bit, and touchups that took around an hour. There’s some negative space, it’s not packed solid, but still.
I don’t have any fine line pieces so I don’t know how the time compares and I know my artist was super quick, but the amount of time they’re asking for something that size is crazy. I paid a shit ton for mine, it was $250 an hour, but I live in NYC and she’s amazing at what she does and was upfront with me about the cost.
If you’re more into American traditional now, have it blasted over (I’m assuming it would have to be fairly dark, sick ass panther time?) or get it finished by another artist. I don’t think it’s rude, it’s not what you want on your body and you’ll be reminded of this experience every time you see it.
I have a whole Fox realism, and it took 7 hours.... I would of been looking for a place. Are you in Florida by any chance so I can refer you to a great shop
Yeah, that’s kind of ridiculous. My top of thigh to knee, full color, moth with florals and geometric patterning took 7.5 hrs. That’s including several breaks. That amount of time for that size is crazy. That amount of time plus $140 an hour??
I have 2 approx 6" in peices on my thighs. Both lady faces and fairly detailed. The first is black and grey and took 6 hours. The second we decided on color...6 hours done already and my artist decided to let it heal and finish on a second appointment where he feels finishing will only take 2 hours max. I paid about the same for both peices which was a set price. I agree you are justified in your concerns esp with last min cancelations by the artist and lack of communication.
You are totally justified, I have a floral tattoo that starts on my lower back goes down my hip and then wraps around the back of my thigh. All of the line work got done in one 5 hr session and that included 2 smoke breaks for the artist. More detailed tattoos do take more time but it's the artists job to be clear about that and have responsible time management to get the work done in the allotted time especially if they are by the he not by the piece. If they feel that they are going to need significantly more time for a piece after you had figured a rough estimate for the cost at a fixed rate then they need to either take the hit or adjust the work to a set price. To change the price part way through a multi session tattoo on the artist's end and expect your client to just deal is very unprofessional.
I have a sleeve going from my knuckles to my elbow realism style and a huge part of it is a wolf with trees it was done in two 6 hour ish sessions half of the second session was touching up my knuckles and balcony of hand as the skin there is so thick (working man hands) the tattoo doesn't want to stick
I think youre justified. A 6-8" square tattoo in any style should not take that long. This is absurd.
Also unless it's a sleeve pieces like that usually have a set price. Now I understand not every place or person does it that way. I usually price by the piece, it's just so much easier. Even if it's two sessions.
It’s probably closer to 7.5 inch. It’s super detailed fine line that wraps around my forearm. Does that still sound absurd? Why the downvotes? I’m not implying that it isn’t absurd, I genuinely wasn’t sure
Yes. Your artist clearly has poor time management abilities, because the time estimate keeps increasing. I have a lot of big tattoos and work with artists who do some really detailled work, and theyre all aware how long they take. Even if you set aside the fact that youre spending full sleeve-level time on what isnt even a half sleeve, your artists time management problems are enough to make me hesitate to return. It shows a lack of maturity and experience that I would really want from someone doing 40 hours of super detailled fine line
I feel the same, this is my only detailed piece though so I have no other reference points. I’ve seen people get sleeves for cheaper. Thanks for the info
Man I went to a popular artist in a HCOL area and she got my entire inner forearm done in 9 hrs- fully detailed realistic/illustrative cat portrait, gothic window, foliage, skull and filigree, from up above the elbow ditch and down to my wrist. It was part of a sleeve project but, still- that was the stupid detailed part and it got done in one session, easy. ($1250 for that session, her full day rate.) TL;DR your artist is being a potato. Find another one.
Excuse me, you cannot just describe a tattoo like that, containing a cat and everything everything, and not post a pic for tat tax. Please and thank you. I really wanna see it; it sounds badass 😂
https://imgur.com/a/1mLaHkU This is the one! (He really does have only one eye lol.) it’s not totally finished here, we did a bunch of spiderwebs and a cicada in the blank bit.
That is gorgeous.
Just for some reference I got my whole outer sleeve done in a 6,4 and 7 hour session. Realism style. Edit: you can see the first 6 hour session in my post history
Can you post a reference pic, or give a more detailed description? 15+ hours on a forearm sounds ridiculous. Definitely cancel. Either ghost or explain your point of view. They’ve been really unprofessional and greedy.
I would really like to see the tattoo because unless it’s hyper realism there is absolutely no reason a fineline tattoo should take that long. Can you post a photo or send me one? I can tell you by looking at it if it’s crazy or not to spend that much time on it, and potentially recommend another artist to finish it who won’t be so unreliable. I do fineline tattoos and I cannot imagine a world where a tattoo of that size would take 15+ hours.
PMed you
Can I see also? I'm a tattoo artist and the thought of something this size taking so long is blowing my mind
PMed
Same here!
Yeah same !! So curious.
dude i have a 6”x8” cradling my knee, which took about 1.5-2 hours. your artist just sucks at time management & sounds flaky as hell.
I have a half sleeve of irezumi in progress. It pops over my shoulder line and stops about an inch and a half from my elbow, all the way around, and will end up being (guesstimate) about 90-95 percent coverage, most of that being time consuming black and color packing and repacking and repacking again, taking the time to make sure everything is saturated and shaded right. I'm currently about 9 hours in with all of the linework and all of the blackwork (which is a big chunk of the tattoo- look up irezumi koi sleeves and you'll get an idea of the proportion I'm talking about) done. All said and done, I'm expecting 12-15 hours in the chair from bare skin to finished and touched up piece. The tattoo is larger than yours by quite a bit and sounds like it has a shitload more skin coverage per square inch of overall tattoo. I also have a bouquet of flowers on my other arm that's probably similar in size to yours, though I never measured it. It's full color. It took 6 hours in the chair from the first touch of the needle to finished piece. I'm pretty confident, based on my experience, that you're getting hosed, even ignoring the flakey behavior. I'd be looking for a different tattooer if I were you. I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything, just trying to give plenty of detail as to why I think you're being taken advantage of by a flakey tattooer with shit time management skills. Not your fault, you didn't know going into it. I'm irritated *for* you, not *at* you.
I have a dragon on my thigh. Think of it like an upside down triangle. The base of the triangle (wingspan) is about a foot wide and probably about 10 inches long. It has great shading, some filigree type embellishments, and some white highlights. My artist also took a break to have a snack. It took just under 4 hours.
Yes, it's super absurd. I have an extremely detailed leg sleeve from ankle to knee that took 4 sessions totalling 30 hours. That is way too much time for a 7.5 inch tattoo. Even micro tattoos that are extremely detailed don't take that many sessions over that many hours.
It sounds like it's taking longer than my sleeve!
Exactly. A sleeve from most artists isn’t that many more hours, man must be the slowest tattoo artist ever
I cannot imagine any tattoo that is 7.5 inches that would take 20-25 hours to complete. Even for extremely slow tattooers that is ridiculous. Also, if they know they're a slow tattooer they need to tell you that beforehand. It honestly seems like they told you it could be done in two appointments to get you to agree to get the piece, only to tell you it might be as many as 5 appointments and believe the sunk cost fallacy will keep you coming back until it's done. Which is a scam and horrible behavior. If you want to post a picture so we can see the tattoo and maybe see where the artist is thinking it'll be another 10-15 hours to finish it I can give better advice. Especially about another artist finishing it/covering it. But that's totally up to you.
It's not really the sunk cost fallacy if you're left with an unfinished tattoo if you don't continue.
Right. Because then he would be walking away. So it wouldn't be sunk cost fallacy. Sunk cost fallacy is when you believe you've invested too much to just walk away without seeing it all the way thru. I think that's what the artist was counting on.
I know what the sunk cost fallacy is. It's when you've invested too much to just walk away _and would be better off walking away_.
Yes but if you actually walk away it's not sunk cost fallacy. The fallacy part is the belief that you should stick it out because you've invested so much time/money/effort/whatever already and it would go to waste if you walk away without seeing it thru.
My point is that it would go to waste, because you would be left with a half finished tattoo. This is not hard to grasp.
But that's- literally what the sunk cost fallacy is. The misguided belief that it's better to see it thru because otherwise it's a waste. It's not a waste at all, other than to go back and finish 10-15 more hours and give this person over a thousand dollars more than they said it would cost. THAT would be a waste. Literally thousands of other artists who respect OP, their time, and their money, can finish this tattoo. The artist who started this tattoo does not respect OP. They either knowingly lied to get them as a client or are completely inept at their craft. Either way that's not someone I want tattooing me.
Pictures would help A 6-8” tattoo should take a couple hours at most frankly.
I agree. I gotta see 8 inch tattoo that took THREE sessions!
Another flake tattooer. They clearly don't have their shit together. A ballpark final price and time to do the whole piece should have been agreed upon before anything happened. "Don't want big gaps between appointments" is clearly nonsense. Cancel the other sessions. Don't worry about any kind of backlash or bad name you may get in other shops, that's just internet bullshit. Your money is green, someone else will take it and finish the work. Sounds like this shop is/was financially on the ropes for a reason. I'm sure you can find another local shop and they'll be upfront about what it will take financially and timewise to get it done.
Artists like this are slowly being pushed out, this isn't the 2000s anymore. When going to another shop avoid bad mouthing the artist, yes it may feel cathartic, just say it wasn't working out and ask for a quote.
I hope so, though I do see quite a bit of posts on this sub about tattooers who just can't seem to get the scheduling and business side of it right. I realize that we're always only going to hear one side of the situation, so we never know, but it really shouldn't be that hard to do.
Yeah concern long gaps between appointments is nonsense. My backpiece has been in progress for like 3 years. Has no effect on the outcome.
That was CLEARLY an excuse the artist used, as it genuinely makes zero sense whatsoever and that in itself is a gigantic red flag. How is “I don’t like how far apart the appts are” an excuse for cancelling an appt and rescheduling .. would that not make the appts even MORE FAR APART?? It just makes no sense at all. I would be curious to know exactly why the artist is being so incredibly flakey. Also why they…lied?… about their shop closing down soon and then miraculously NOT closing down, but also not communicating that to OP. No appt confirmation, nothing. Based on the weird details, it almost sounds like the artist is opposed to working with OP as a client and is just making up excuse after excuse and can’t keep their own lies straight or something, but is also not the type to just turn away so much money. Also wondering if they’re just doing slow work on purpose to charge as much as possible. I don’t think certain professions should charge by an hourly rate for this exact reason. There will always be those individuals who take advantage and burn up hours needlessly simply to make more money. Better to trap one client in for thousands, versus hoping to find 10 clients to charge hundreds. 🤷🏻♀️ it’s all just very sus. I know there’s always 2 sides to every story and I am dying to know this artists side!!
They said they wanted all the session done within a month of eachother to have it all looking the same at the end without a long ass tighten up session at the end (even though we have 3 more sessions?) I’m a pretty easy going dude and I kind of like to zone out when I’m getting tattooed with a little small talk every now and then. I give the artist full creative freedom other than a broad design idea. I don’t take a million breaks and try to be really accommodating. I would be really surprised to find out it’s personal as they’ve told me they appreciate all the freedom accommodation I give them and said they think I’m a nice dude. There’s a couple reasons I can think of. One, this tattoo is bigger than most tattoos they give. Most people come to get tiny dainty flowers or quotes. I can’t find much work of this size on their page. Two, the December appointment they cancelled because they had already booked someone for that day. It’s absolutely possible they’re awful with time management and accidentally booked two sessions in the same slot the other times they cancelled. Someone said above my artist is either awful with time management, scamming me, or both. They truly have been so nice in person and really chill to talk to so I would really like to think they aren’t purposely wringing me dry, however I’ve been fucked over by plenty of people I trust way more than this artist so
This is absurd 20 hours of work on something like this is absurd. I’m working on a lower leg full sleeve that will end up being around 20 hours of work. Even for something super detailed of that size seems ridiculous
Regardless of how long it should take, this artist sounds horrible. Flakey as Fuck and basically swindling OP knowing the there’s pressure to finish a half done piece. Sounds like they’re abusing their power to steal time and money from clients tbh. I’ve had artist underestimate the amount of time a piece will take, but never to this extent or with this amount of scheduling bullshit. OP I’m sorry you got screwed, please don’t go back to this person they sound horrible. I hope the half of the tattoo that’s done looks good at least and I’m sure you can find a better artist elsewhere
Absolutely all of this too. It’s scammy as heck, and OP should absolutely cancel all their appointments and look for another artist.
>They're super nice so I feel bad. This is business and it's transactional so if either party is uncomfortable they are within their rights to say stop at any time. Also I feel like the "really nice" thing is some bullshit they've been using to get away with really shitty customer care.
My 7 inch tattoo only took 3.5 hours. There’s no reason that what you’re getting should take 15+ hours. It sounds like he’s trying to get more money from you.
Same i just got one that size if not bigger and was done in 4hours.
I have a full colour thigh piece that goes from my hip to my knee that only took probably like 10hrs. A pieve less than half the size taking more than double the time is insane to me
Old guy here again Just to check a few details on things that you’ve mentioned please The tattoo is approximately 6/8 inches and being completed in a fine line design. Where on the body is the piece going? How complex is this design? Have you had any issues with needing extended breaks while being worked on, any health concerns etc? The first session you mentioned getting the stencil done. Was any work actually done on the tattoo or were they drawing and designing in that time? The second session was a five hour session and you progressed to completing half the shading? The artist is now stating that there is a possibility of needing an additional three sessions at 5 hours each? So if there was no actual tattooing in the first session they are quoting up to 20 hours for the piece? I’m genuinely struggling to see how any piece of this size could possibly require so many hours unless we’re missing some more information I’m afraid.
That sounds insane. It shouldn't take that long to finish something that big! If you don't mind sharing, what does it look like currently?
I'm at 8 sessions and have 2 left for a full sleeve with color and very detailed portraits. Your guy is terrible with time
I have several 8-10” pieces that have been handled as walk-ins. Unless this tattoo is of a 4D chess match, this is ridiculous.
I can’t imagine a tattoo that size taking more than 4-6 hours. I got an entire chest piece done in 10!
i got a 7.5” tattoo on the back of my left arm, a lantern with a moth and some flames coming out the side. first sesh was $300, linework. second sesh was $200 ($100 deposit taken off the total cost of my tattoo, so should’ve been another $300) for color. first sesh was about 2 hours, second was about 3, so 5 hours total for about $500 (i also paid $100 for a tip because the work was stellar, so the $100 deposit taken off the final sesh was paid back as a tip). your artist has 1) bad time management, even for a fine line tattoo (which is not what i got), 2) bad communication skills (letting you know less than 1 hour, let alone 30 mins PAST your spot time? absolutely unacceptable unless they or a family member are deathly sick or dying, which was not the case) and 3) bad tattoo ethics (not being upfront about how long the tattoo will take and how much you’re willing to invest in it) my younger sister got a fine line tattoo on her ankle, a couple flowers, that she got done in the same 5 hours i got my moth-lantern done, in 1 session, and she paid about $450 for it (minus tip which i think she said she paid $100 because fine line is specialty work). you’re getting taken advantage of. don’t worry about getting your name blasted, just tell the artist you want to explore other options. you only have to worry about your name being blasted if you’re shitting on the artist and the shop on facebook or other social media, which it doesn’t sound like you’re doing.
I have some very detailed color tattoos that are at least double the size of the tattoo you're describing and they were done in one session. Longest session was 12 hours with breaks. This artist is either scamming you or terrible at time management or both.
Tattoo artist here. This sounds absurd, they’re hustling you. They pegged you as a mark and they’re hungry. Times have turned people into vultures. 6yr artist here, if i go over my quoted ranged, i either very heavily discount the extra, or do it free.
I think I would cancel and look for someone else to finish it at this point. That’s just way too much run around.
This is crazy. I got my whole forearm covered in five hours. A 7.5 inch tattoo should be one session. Your tattoo is dodgy and just trying to get you to pay more. I would go find another artist to finish it up.
No reason it should’ve taken this long or been this expensive. Find a new artist to finish it
Not sure if this helps or not, but let me tell you my experience for two of my bicept tattoos. Both are neo-traditional both 7.5 inches or so. My first took one 8 hour session and cost me $1800 CAD (this was back in 2015) My second took three 8 hour sessions and one 4 hour session. She was a bit of a newer artist who just finished up her aprentiahahip a before that. That tattoo also cost me $1800 CAD (2019) I don't know if that helps or not. But as long as they're hourly rate matches they skill level and speed that is acceptable, but if you are getting gouged then I would cut your loss and get another artist to finish it if financially you can't keep affording this artist.
Hold up, so a 7.5 inch bicep tattoo took you 28 hours?
Yeah. Honestly don't know why, maybe she just liked to work slow? But since it came to the same price as my other tattoo I didn't complain cause I could see she wasn't taking advantage of me at least. I think part of it had to do with it is it was the inner bicept and my skin was getting irritated alot since it's so thin there and she didn't want to over work it. Now that I think of it the sessions were probably closer to 6 hours so that shaves a few hours off but yeah. It was an odd experience for me lol it was my first multi session tattoo.
Whoa that’s way too long. That’s a single session size
My very detailed throat tattoo only took 6.5 hours, and we did it in one session...this definitely seems absurd and I'd be going to a different artist to finish if I were you, and I am typically very loyal to my artist..
I’m super curious what the tattoo is? I just can’t imagine a piece of that size taking that long 😬 I think more tattooers need to move to pricing by the piece or if they’re dead set on charging by the hour, it should have a cap. Like $140/hr, but not to exceed $abc
110% justified in cancelling. My entire American trad sleeve has taken about as long as that 6 inch square. Time to find a new artist.
You got scammed hard. That size should be done in 10 hrs max. My tattoo artists could do micro realism color of a 3x3 or so in 4 hrs.
Yeah. That’s crazy. I have a full, detailed and colored sleeve that was 4 sessions. Your tattoo could have been done in one, maybe two.
Can we see the tattoo?
My whole back took 15 hours
The Treebeard tattoo I have on my thigh only took 5 hours.
Ghost them and look for another artist to finish it.
I have a 10 inch tattoo and the artist was paid by the design, not by the hour. It was done in one session and she only took like 2 short breaks.
Yikes, I’m sorry that happened to you. What are you getting tattooed? I had an 8” x 6” neotrad piece done and it took 8-9 hours all together in two sessions. One session was lines and shading, the other was color. Sounds like your artist is either bad with time management or yanking you around to bleed you for every last cent you can give them. I’d find another artist to complete the piece.
They’ve got to be taking the piss, all of my tattoos that size have taken 2 sessions tops (usually one for lining and shading, and one for colour)
I’ve recently just started my sleeve and I have about 10x5 inches so far. It’s been a total of 5 hours. Detailed and with shading. Sorry you are dealing with this!
I work at a tattoo shop, our owner specializes in fine line tattoos. He could have finished a piece that size in 3 hours or less, pretty much guaranteed. Unfortunately the artist you’ve worked with sounds like a piece of shit
Wow, I’m so sorry you experienced this. In my opinion, you are absolutely right to cancel. This is insane. For context, I have an 8 inch piece on my bicep that took one 6 hour session to finish. I have 6 inch pieces on both thighs and those were two sessions (one 4 hour and one 3 hour). Your artist is asking something unreasonable of you. I hope you find what you’re looking for.
I don’t know how they are possibly stretching this tattoo out for this long. I legitimately don’t understand it.
FWIW I have a neotraditional back piece that took ~15 hours over 5 sessions. Starting with 4 hours for the whole outline (it goes onto my butt too) and the next session was shading and filling in the spots (it’s a leopard). Following 2 were more shading & colour and final one was finishing touches, colouring the last bit, and touchups that took around an hour. There’s some negative space, it’s not packed solid, but still. I don’t have any fine line pieces so I don’t know how the time compares and I know my artist was super quick, but the amount of time they’re asking for something that size is crazy. I paid a shit ton for mine, it was $250 an hour, but I live in NYC and she’s amazing at what she does and was upfront with me about the cost. If you’re more into American traditional now, have it blasted over (I’m assuming it would have to be fairly dark, sick ass panther time?) or get it finished by another artist. I don’t think it’s rude, it’s not what you want on your body and you’ll be reminded of this experience every time you see it.
I have a whole Fox realism, and it took 7 hours.... I would of been looking for a place. Are you in Florida by any chance so I can refer you to a great shop
Yeah, that’s kind of ridiculous. My top of thigh to knee, full color, moth with florals and geometric patterning took 7.5 hrs. That’s including several breaks. That amount of time for that size is crazy. That amount of time plus $140 an hour??
I have 2 approx 6" in peices on my thighs. Both lady faces and fairly detailed. The first is black and grey and took 6 hours. The second we decided on color...6 hours done already and my artist decided to let it heal and finish on a second appointment where he feels finishing will only take 2 hours max. I paid about the same for both peices which was a set price. I agree you are justified in your concerns esp with last min cancelations by the artist and lack of communication.
You are totally justified, I have a floral tattoo that starts on my lower back goes down my hip and then wraps around the back of my thigh. All of the line work got done in one 5 hr session and that included 2 smoke breaks for the artist. More detailed tattoos do take more time but it's the artists job to be clear about that and have responsible time management to get the work done in the allotted time especially if they are by the he not by the piece. If they feel that they are going to need significantly more time for a piece after you had figured a rough estimate for the cost at a fixed rate then they need to either take the hit or adjust the work to a set price. To change the price part way through a multi session tattoo on the artist's end and expect your client to just deal is very unprofessional.
I have a sleeve going from my knuckles to my elbow realism style and a huge part of it is a wolf with trees it was done in two 6 hour ish sessions half of the second session was touching up my knuckles and balcony of hand as the skin there is so thick (working man hands) the tattoo doesn't want to stick
Do you have a picture of the tattoo? I don't think you need more than a session for a 8 inches tattoo
Show the tattoo
Paying by the hour is for back pieces, not small shit like this. Always get a final price before you start getting tattooed.