A good tattoo school?
May 1, 2010 8:34 PM Subscribe
Any advice on tattoo school?
I'm thinking about learning how to tattoo, but I REALLY don't want to move. There aren't any tattoo studios in my general area, and I'm in grad school, so apprenticing isn't so much of an option for me. I am already an artist, I'd just like to learn some new materials. Do you know anyone who went to a tattoo school? Are any recommended? Is this a bad idea?
I'm thinking about learning how to tattoo, but I REALLY don't want to move. There aren't any tattoo studios in my general area, and I'm in grad school, so apprenticing isn't so much of an option for me. I am already an artist, I'd just like to learn some new materials. Do you know anyone who went to a tattoo school? Are any recommended? Is this a bad idea?
Tattoo school exists? How does that work? Is the tattoo school near where your grad school is?
I know I wouldn't want to get tattooed by anyone who hadn't received hands on instruction. Tattooing isn't something that can be learned by correspondence course.
posted by mollymayhem at 8:56 PM on May 1, 2010
I know I wouldn't want to get tattooed by anyone who hadn't received hands on instruction. Tattooing isn't something that can be learned by correspondence course.
posted by mollymayhem at 8:56 PM on May 1, 2010
I hang out with tattoo artists regularly, they all got where they are via apprenticeships and having friends who were willing to be practiced upon. I have never even heard of tattoo schools, but they sound like cash-in bullshit. Find an artist willing to take you on, practice, and forget about this tattoo school nonsense.
posted by griphus at 9:47 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by griphus at 9:47 PM on May 1, 2010
Oh, and make sure you practice on yourself, too. If there's one thing I don't trust it is a tattoo artist who isn't pretty much head-to-toe inked.
posted by griphus at 9:50 PM on May 1, 2010
posted by griphus at 9:50 PM on May 1, 2010
Tattoo school exists? How does that work?
They work by you paying 8k-10k to attend a few-month course, for starters.
From everything I know about them, tattoo schools are regarded very poorly. I understand the frustrations of finding an apprenticeship--my sister has been looking for one for over a year now--and I don't particularly agree that it's the only way it could possibly be done (I think the barriers to entry are particularly difficult for women) but it's really how the industry works.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:02 PM on May 1, 2010
They work by you paying 8k-10k to attend a few-month course, for starters.
From everything I know about them, tattoo schools are regarded very poorly. I understand the frustrations of finding an apprenticeship--my sister has been looking for one for over a year now--and I don't particularly agree that it's the only way it could possibly be done (I think the barriers to entry are particularly difficult for women) but it's really how the industry works.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 10:02 PM on May 1, 2010
I've spoken with several tattooists over the years who say that the technical skills of tattooing can be taught in an apprenticeship (along with "This is how a tattoo shop runs"). But do you actually have the artistic chops? It's not all copying flash.
What you might want to consider is some formal art training. Lots of people who can work a tattoo machine and permanently inscribe images on people's skin have underdeveloped artistic talent. And it shows.
best of luck.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 10:05 PM on May 1, 2010
What you might want to consider is some formal art training. Lots of people who can work a tattoo machine and permanently inscribe images on people's skin have underdeveloped artistic talent. And it shows.
best of luck.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 10:05 PM on May 1, 2010
Response by poster: i've pretty much ruled out the idea of apprenticing, seeing as how i live on an island off the coast of maine. there's just nothing i can do about that-- i'm not moving. a couple weeks in the fall for a course sounds reasonable enough, so that's what i'm thinking about. it seems like a good way to see if it's for me: a couple week course will cost me far less than the time that it takes for an apprenticeship. i'm in grad school for fine art right now, so i'm not worried about my chops, or even the way that a tattoo shop works-- this is just something i really want to check out artistically. so i really am thinking about schools. are any of them good?
thanks for your answers so far!
posted by simonemarie at 10:58 PM on May 1, 2010
thanks for your answers so far!
posted by simonemarie at 10:58 PM on May 1, 2010
seeing as how i live on an island off the coast of maine.
Any chance it's Chebeague?
are any of them good?
Not really good enough to be worth the money, or so I understand. It's a little like bartending school. It's mostly bullshit, a way to separate enthusiastic people from their money. But, it can be a way to show that enthusiasm and get your first job.
If you're not going to ink as a career, I'd almost say just order the tattoo machine and practice on pig skin from the butcher.
posted by Netzapper at 11:19 PM on May 1, 2010
Any chance it's Chebeague?
are any of them good?
Not really good enough to be worth the money, or so I understand. It's a little like bartending school. It's mostly bullshit, a way to separate enthusiastic people from their money. But, it can be a way to show that enthusiasm and get your first job.
If you're not going to ink as a career, I'd almost say just order the tattoo machine and practice on pig skin from the butcher.
posted by Netzapper at 11:19 PM on May 1, 2010
i've pretty much ruled out the idea of apprenticing, seeing as how i live on an island off the coast of maine. there's just nothing i can do about that-- i'm not moving. a couple weeks in the fall for a course sounds reasonable enough, so that's what i'm thinking about. it seems like a good way to see if it's for me: a couple week course will cost me far less than the time that it takes for an apprenticeship. i'm in grad school for fine art right now, so i'm not worried about my chops, or even the way that a tattoo shop works-- this is just something i really want to check out artistically. so i really am thinking about schools. are any of them good?
From everything I've heard about them, no--they're not any good. And the big problem is that, if you want to legally tattoo in most states, you'll need to be hired by a reputable shop--and they'll want you to have had an apprenticeship. I don't know how experienced you are with tattoo culture, but it's insular and, in some ways, very much mired in tradition. Frankly, you have a very good chance of being laughed out of a shop if you try to get a job in one after being through a tattoo school. And again, this is a legal issue as much as it is one in terms of skill.
If you want to hear some perspectives on it from those within the body mod community, check out this thread. Just a warning: it degenerates into all-caps fighting and grar-ness.
I feel for you. My sister explored similar avenues, and comes from a similar background--she's got a BFA and an MFA, and has worked in graphic design for years. It's been exceedingly difficult for her to find an apprenticeship, even in New York. Honestly? She's turned to scratching (at least she took a blood-borne pathogens course first, but still, it is what it is), and one of her methods of learning has been to get tattoos from as many people as possible and talk to them about their craft and cobble together information that way. And I can tell that it's been much harder than she initially anticipated. Frankly, after working at it for almost a year, I'd still feel uneasy about being tattooed by her in terms of her control over line work, despite the fact that, again, she's a wonderful and talented artist. And she commented to me the other day how exhausting doing tattoo drawings for other people is. It's different than even graphic design. She's hoping of building up an impressive portfolio this way, to use to find an apprenticeship. And honestly? Though "scratchers" are probably almost as poorly regarded as people who go to tattoo schools, at least she'll have only spent the money on her equipment (a considerable chunk of change) and time. It shows dedication--really important in the tattoo community--in a way that sinking a chunk of change into tattoo school doesn't.
So the nature of the tattoo community, in my experiences (heavily tattooed individual here, natch) is that it's somewhat of an all-or-nothing proposition. That might seem frustrating to you, but you're talking about people's skin here. I'd rather not be tattooed by an art school dabbler. If it's something you're serious about, you've got to plan to make sacrifices for it. And if you're not serious about it, then it's really not worth the time or the money that tattoo school will entail.
I really think the thing to do would be to wait until you're out of graduate school and seek out an apprenticeship off the island. What with email being what it is, you can start contacting them now to establish yourself as someone who's interested. Good luck to you.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:05 AM on May 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
From everything I've heard about them, no--they're not any good. And the big problem is that, if you want to legally tattoo in most states, you'll need to be hired by a reputable shop--and they'll want you to have had an apprenticeship. I don't know how experienced you are with tattoo culture, but it's insular and, in some ways, very much mired in tradition. Frankly, you have a very good chance of being laughed out of a shop if you try to get a job in one after being through a tattoo school. And again, this is a legal issue as much as it is one in terms of skill.
If you want to hear some perspectives on it from those within the body mod community, check out this thread. Just a warning: it degenerates into all-caps fighting and grar-ness.
I feel for you. My sister explored similar avenues, and comes from a similar background--she's got a BFA and an MFA, and has worked in graphic design for years. It's been exceedingly difficult for her to find an apprenticeship, even in New York. Honestly? She's turned to scratching (at least she took a blood-borne pathogens course first, but still, it is what it is), and one of her methods of learning has been to get tattoos from as many people as possible and talk to them about their craft and cobble together information that way. And I can tell that it's been much harder than she initially anticipated. Frankly, after working at it for almost a year, I'd still feel uneasy about being tattooed by her in terms of her control over line work, despite the fact that, again, she's a wonderful and talented artist. And she commented to me the other day how exhausting doing tattoo drawings for other people is. It's different than even graphic design. She's hoping of building up an impressive portfolio this way, to use to find an apprenticeship. And honestly? Though "scratchers" are probably almost as poorly regarded as people who go to tattoo schools, at least she'll have only spent the money on her equipment (a considerable chunk of change) and time. It shows dedication--really important in the tattoo community--in a way that sinking a chunk of change into tattoo school doesn't.
So the nature of the tattoo community, in my experiences (heavily tattooed individual here, natch) is that it's somewhat of an all-or-nothing proposition. That might seem frustrating to you, but you're talking about people's skin here. I'd rather not be tattooed by an art school dabbler. If it's something you're serious about, you've got to plan to make sacrifices for it. And if you're not serious about it, then it's really not worth the time or the money that tattoo school will entail.
I really think the thing to do would be to wait until you're out of graduate school and seek out an apprenticeship off the island. What with email being what it is, you can start contacting them now to establish yourself as someone who's interested. Good luck to you.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 7:05 AM on May 2, 2010 [3 favorites]
I understand that you want to take a short course to see if it's for you, which is fair enough. However, think about what would happen afterward, if you decide it is for you. If you want to tattoo for a living in a reputable shop, you will have to apprentice. If you never plan on moving to a place that has a tattoo shop, it seems to me like it would be a waste of your time and money to go to a tattoo school, even to just see if it's for you. And that's on top of tattoo schools being, as mentioned above, mostly just a way to part enthusiastic people from their money.
In short, it's a bad idea. Your time would be better spent hanging out in a tattoo shop for those couple of weeks.
posted by bedhead at 9:45 AM on May 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
In short, it's a bad idea. Your time would be better spent hanging out in a tattoo shop for those couple of weeks.
posted by bedhead at 9:45 AM on May 2, 2010 [1 favorite]
I'm going to assume you don't have any tattoos?
Apprenticing is the only way you're going to break into tattooing, and it's a very long and arduous process. Many tattoo artists have gone to art school, but that doesn't give you a background for working in a completely new medium: someone's skin.
I've never heard of tattoo school. I've always been under the impression that any legit tattoo artist did things the old school (and only) way, apprenticing for years with multiple artists so they can learn many different styles.
posted by loriginedumonde at 5:31 PM on May 2, 2010
Apprenticing is the only way you're going to break into tattooing, and it's a very long and arduous process. Many tattoo artists have gone to art school, but that doesn't give you a background for working in a completely new medium: someone's skin.
I've never heard of tattoo school. I've always been under the impression that any legit tattoo artist did things the old school (and only) way, apprenticing for years with multiple artists so they can learn many different styles.
posted by loriginedumonde at 5:31 PM on May 2, 2010
As tattoos get more mainstream, and more shops open (and tattoo quality consequently goes down) my argument becomes less strong, but-
Tattooers are supposed to be dedicated to their craft. They are sticking art on someone that should be there for the rest of their lives, so you should be dedicating your life to make sure that art looks as good as it possibly can.
Blowing way too much money on a few weeks of "school" is not dedication.
Dedication is moving close to the shop, living on a $150 a week, crashing couches, eating what the tattooers at the shop decide to buy you, working too long at least five days a week, and not even touching a machine for months.
No tattooer worth a shit is going to let you work in their shop without knowing that you went through the same ordeal they did to prove themselves.
posted by gally99 at 6:58 PM on May 2, 2010
Tattooers are supposed to be dedicated to their craft. They are sticking art on someone that should be there for the rest of their lives, so you should be dedicating your life to make sure that art looks as good as it possibly can.
Blowing way too much money on a few weeks of "school" is not dedication.
Dedication is moving close to the shop, living on a $150 a week, crashing couches, eating what the tattooers at the shop decide to buy you, working too long at least five days a week, and not even touching a machine for months.
No tattooer worth a shit is going to let you work in their shop without knowing that you went through the same ordeal they did to prove themselves.
posted by gally99 at 6:58 PM on May 2, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
If I went to an artist and learned that he'd never had an apprenticeship, but only gone to a school, I'd walk right out the door.
The issue is that an apprenticeship gives you lots of time to learn and improve your skills. You tattoo a bunch of oranges, give away lots of free (shitty) tattoos to your friends, and the whole time somebody's there telling you what you're doing wrong. You just cannot do that in a few-week course.
Think about it like this: for you, this is just another medium. For the person getting the tattoo, it's their fucking skin for their whole fucking life, man. Also, you've got to remember that most of your designs will be commissioned. They're going to make a request, review the draft, and then request changes. It's more like graphic design than fine art.
Tattoo schools are great for learning new techniques after you have the basics. But they aren't the way to learn the fundamentals.
posted by Netzapper at 8:53 PM on May 1, 2010 [4 favorites]