What are best practice ways to develop concept art for a tattoo?
March 30, 2019 8:17 AM Subscribe
I'd like to get a tattoo that is a graphical description of Carl Sagan's famous "We are made of star stuff" quote. I am not at all creatively inclined and would like to pay someone to develop this concept for me before engaging with a tattoo artist. (I have a vague idea along the lines of a super nova that fades into the skin.) I do not know how to find someone to help with this.
Best answer: would like to pay someone to develop this concept for me before engaging with a tattoo artist
Don't do this. Tattoo artists are literally artists, it's their job to take it from your idea to ink-in-your-skin. Bringing a design to a tattooer is like bringing your own blueprints to an architect, writing your own maintenance manual and bringing it to a mechanic, bringing a diagnosis to a doctor, etc.. You will end up with a vastly worse tattoo for bringing them a design, and the better artists won't do your design verbatim. So guess what kind of artists will say "sure, whatever"...
Look for a tattoo artist who does work you like, contact them, and do a consultation. They'll tell you what does and doesn't work in tattoos, and come up with something that makes you happy and looks good.
posted by so fucking future at 8:32 AM on March 30, 2019 [16 favorites]
Don't do this. Tattoo artists are literally artists, it's their job to take it from your idea to ink-in-your-skin. Bringing a design to a tattooer is like bringing your own blueprints to an architect, writing your own maintenance manual and bringing it to a mechanic, bringing a diagnosis to a doctor, etc.. You will end up with a vastly worse tattoo for bringing them a design, and the better artists won't do your design verbatim. So guess what kind of artists will say "sure, whatever"...
Look for a tattoo artist who does work you like, contact them, and do a consultation. They'll tell you what does and doesn't work in tattoos, and come up with something that makes you happy and looks good.
posted by so fucking future at 8:32 AM on March 30, 2019 [16 favorites]
I mean, sometimes you can have an artist you already like and commission them to design a tattoo in their style, but it sounds like that isn't the case for you -- and, speaking from experience (and as so fucking future says), they'll often put their own spin on the style when actually giving you the tattoo. So better to find a tattoo artist whose work you like, and go with them. Everyone has their portfolios online and on instagram these days. I found my current artist by googling [name of my city] [style I want]. I've also just walked into a studio I knew I liked, talked about what I wanted, and then picked from the artists recommended to me.
Note that some artists will charge you specifically* for their time to create the design and some won't. (I've had both happen with tattoos I've gotten done.)
*I mean, I hope the people that didn't just rolled that cost into their hourly fee....
posted by kalimac at 8:39 AM on March 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
Note that some artists will charge you specifically* for their time to create the design and some won't. (I've had both happen with tattoos I've gotten done.)
*I mean, I hope the people that didn't just rolled that cost into their hourly fee....
posted by kalimac at 8:39 AM on March 30, 2019 [4 favorites]
I am not at all creatively inclined and would like to pay someone to develop this concept for me before engaging with a tattoo artist.
Good tattoo artists work with you and do this part of the process, not-that-great tattoo artists will just take what you want and put it on you. I've had both done, and far prefer the professionalism of the former. I have a largeish piece that I had no design for other than the level of what you're describing (for me it was, I want a coffee plant on my arm). I met with the artist, we went over sizing, coloring, and other options, and she sent me a few roughs that I was able to preview. We had to change one part on the fly because bodies are weird, and (at least I think) it looks great.
This design process is typically rolled into the hourly fee, but like Kalimac says, not always. This is part of why there is a discrepancy in pricing between good tattoo artists and not-that-great ones.
Also, expect a wait. The better an artist is, the longer they're booked out. Patience is a virtue for sure in this arena.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:49 AM on March 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
Good tattoo artists work with you and do this part of the process, not-that-great tattoo artists will just take what you want and put it on you. I've had both done, and far prefer the professionalism of the former. I have a largeish piece that I had no design for other than the level of what you're describing (for me it was, I want a coffee plant on my arm). I met with the artist, we went over sizing, coloring, and other options, and she sent me a few roughs that I was able to preview. We had to change one part on the fly because bodies are weird, and (at least I think) it looks great.
This design process is typically rolled into the hourly fee, but like Kalimac says, not always. This is part of why there is a discrepancy in pricing between good tattoo artists and not-that-great ones.
Also, expect a wait. The better an artist is, the longer they're booked out. Patience is a virtue for sure in this arena.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:49 AM on March 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
In addition to the advice about being willing to wait/being patient you should also be aware that many artists aren’t great about having finalized work ready for your review beforehand - even if you meet with them for an intro to explain what you want and communicate before your appointment. If it is important to you to have a definitive version of what you’re getting inked before you arrive for your appointment you should be explicit about that and also expect that not all tatto artists will want to accommodate. You should never not be totally happy w the plan but I know from personal and second hand experiences that a bunch of artists will spend the first part of your (first?) appointment finalizing the design instead of doing that as a stand alone step beforehand.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:01 AM on March 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 10:01 AM on March 30, 2019 [3 favorites]
so fucking future is 100% correct. Tattooists are serious professional artists and the good ones will be much happier working with you to create something you're excited about than doing flash tattoos or having you come in with something already worked up, and they'll be able to help you pick out colors, handle placement, etc. Decide how far you're willing to travel and start checking out the portfolios of artists in that range. Pick one whose work you like and go talk to them, schedule a consultation, be prepared to make a down payment, and if you decide you like them, work with them. If they make you uncomfortable in any way at all, move on - there are other artists who you will be able to have the right relationship with.
Also, a serious piece of advice about picking an artist: a lot of the really good artists have their time booked out months in advance, and you'll have to get on their schedule. When you find the artist you want to work with, talk to them about how much time you need to book and just be ready to wait a bit if that's what will work for them. This is a situation where you pay for quality, and with a piece of artwork etched into your skin you really really want to work with a good artist.
posted by bile and syntax at 10:08 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
Also, a serious piece of advice about picking an artist: a lot of the really good artists have their time booked out months in advance, and you'll have to get on their schedule. When you find the artist you want to work with, talk to them about how much time you need to book and just be ready to wait a bit if that's what will work for them. This is a situation where you pay for quality, and with a piece of artwork etched into your skin you really really want to work with a good artist.
posted by bile and syntax at 10:08 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]
So I did this, because the art I wanted was very culturally specific (it was a henna-style design) and the tattoo artist I engaged isn't from that culture. The tattooist was fine with me bringing in art from elsewhere - it would have been inappropriate and against her own ethics to try and design something that wasn't linked to her culture. The most she did was enlarge the design but I don't think there were any significant changes. Both the tattooist and the original designer were people I knew from other parts of the queer arts community and I quite liked the idea of having multiple queer artists represented on my body.
(South Asian tattoo artists are kind of low on the ground, and the tattooist was mainly doing them as a side gig to raise money for her arts endeavours so I wanted to support her.)
So if there's some particular cultural reasoning for it I think it'd be ok. I mean, people bring in work from other artists and people all the time - fanart, art they see elsewhere made from a non-tattoo artist, people's photos, pop culture, handwriting. You'd have a conversation with your tattoo artist for sure, but I guess it depends on whether you're trying to reflect something specific in the art, like a culture or an artist's style, that your tattoo artist might not necessarily be able to do.
posted by divabat at 10:59 PM on March 30, 2019
(South Asian tattoo artists are kind of low on the ground, and the tattooist was mainly doing them as a side gig to raise money for her arts endeavours so I wanted to support her.)
So if there's some particular cultural reasoning for it I think it'd be ok. I mean, people bring in work from other artists and people all the time - fanart, art they see elsewhere made from a non-tattoo artist, people's photos, pop culture, handwriting. You'd have a conversation with your tattoo artist for sure, but I guess it depends on whether you're trying to reflect something specific in the art, like a culture or an artist's style, that your tattoo artist might not necessarily be able to do.
posted by divabat at 10:59 PM on March 30, 2019
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posted by nuclear_soup at 8:22 AM on March 30, 2019 [2 favorites]