Beginning Tattoo Kit

June 11, 2017 4:41 AM

Hi Mefi, my fella has expressed interest in learning to tattoo and I would like to get him a starter kit for his birthday. I would like to know where to get a good quality kit with all the tools and inks one would need to begin practice.

With much respect to the trade- I know that in order to become a tattooist you MUST apprentice and work your way up- I would like him to have the tools and to feel out whether it becomes something he would like to pursue seriously. He has a great eye for detail and a steady hand and lots of interest in the art form. So any suggestions?

Thanks!

posted by catrae to Media & Arts (6 answers total)

Sorry, no. Any kit you will be able to purchase will be garbage, and by doing this he will make a pariah of himself in the tattoo community.

If he wants to tattoo, he should be at a shop, drawing, every day, until they let him get coffee, take out the trash, run the register. Some day someone will say 'hey, come watch how I setup my station.'

It's dumb, but exactly how it works.
posted by so fucking future at 8:00 AM on June 11, 2017 [6 favorites]

Nope, the quality gear is only sold within the community. What you're looking for doesn't exist.

Good tattooers have a massive library of reference books. A number of artists who've worked on my have also contributed to these books. If you're looking to encourage this interest, this might be a good direction to go instead.
posted by mollymayhem at 8:38 AM on June 11, 2017 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I follow a lot of tattoo artists on instagram and they often post tools for sale and don't ask if you apprenticed first or whatever, so maybe try that? Find shops in your area, then look up their instagram accounts and try to find the individual artists' profiles and go from there. Seriously I know like five people selling tattoo machines on IG.
posted by masquesoporfavor at 9:18 AM on June 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

Good materials are going to be HUNDREDS of dollars. Not to mention that you should ever teach yourself. Get him good watercolor supplies instead so he can work on his portfolio. Some black ink, liquid watercolors, and cotton rag paper. In the meantime he can get whatever certification he needs to do tattooing before being an apprentice.
posted by Crystalinne at 9:26 AM on June 11, 2017 [4 favorites]

I follow a lot of tattoo artists on instagram and they often post tools for sale and don't ask if you apprenticed first or whatever, so maybe try that? Find shops in your area, then look up their instagram accounts and try to find the individual artists' profiles and go from there. Seriously I know like five people selling tattoo machines on IG.

Very few of those people (if any) will sell machines to some random person. And again, even if you get good equipment, you will do irrecoverable damage to your reputation if you start tattooing on your own. It's a very small and connected profession, and there is an established path in.
posted by so fucking future at 11:06 AM on June 11, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: And yet, there are decent enough tattoo rigs and fake flesh to practice on available on eBay. Big Clive tore one apart a month or two ago on his YouTube channel. (bigclivedotcom). I'm sure good machines are better, but for practicing technique on not-humans, it seemed like it would be fine, though not really durable enough for professional use.
posted by wierdo at 11:43 AM on June 11, 2017 [3 favorites]