For TATTOOERS ONLY, what's your biggest pet peeve?

[YOMONEY]

william, i need to get set straight from artists.. thats how i learn.. its not done in a rude manner, and maybe theyll laugh about it when i leave.. but im with the artists in this thread.. i see this dumb shit all the time in shops.. artist seem to handle it well, and im standing there like "really?".. i think its more of a common sense thing.. nobody had to tell me how to take an image or idea to the shop.. i just always thought of the best way possible, which isnt hard.. those "yo, dawg i want this cross" phone guys are annoying... people are just too pushy and fucking dumb about stuff.. theyre the same way outside of tattoo shops.. if you bumped into them anywhere else youd notice how fucking dumb they were..

[Billy Chop]

I realize tat tattoos have become more "culturally acceptable" in the past decade or so, but it drives me insane when kids from the suburbs come in looking to get a neck/hand/face tattoo without having any other work... Seems like everyone wants the "warped tour" sleeves these days. Wrist to fingers. Drives me nuts.

[chasewheeler]

i tell people who bring in reference on their phone 2 print it cause i cant trace that small and they look at me like im dumb, when they ask me if i can look it up is say the internet is down the i go 2 the back and look it up, trace it and ask if its close, but i might change something in the pic just 2 get my kicks. but the worst is kids with out supervision. u cant bring your shitty kid to the tattoo area and get them the fuck off my pool table, so i say the kids can wait outside. the best is aaron coleman's shop it says absolutley no children not because he doesnt like kids but because they have shit parents who think a tattoo shop is a free for all. i dont want 2 hear your crying shit bag kids leave them at home or bring someone 2 watch them out front and control them

[Shannon Shirley]

that's a" lolapallooza body suit", for the record...

I realize tat tattoos have become more "culturally acceptable" in the past decade or so, but it drives me insane when kids from the suburbs come in looking to get a neck/hand/face tattoo without having any other work... Seems like everyone wants the "warped tour" sleeves these days. Wrist to fingers. Drives me nuts.

[Brock Varty]

that's a" lolapallooza body suit", for the record...

There is a different kind of body suit? Damn, I have been fooled.

[Billy Chop]

Haha. Thanks Shirley! Lollpallooza bodysuit and warped tour sleeves... awesome.

[Shannon Shirley]

with yer shirt on, you can look badass.....

Haha. Thanks Shirley! Lollpallooza bodysuit and warped tour sleeves... awesome.

[David Flores]

When someone emails you about how much they like someone's work at the shop, in this case Traditional and Japanese, and wants to get tattooed, but they want the tattoo to be super realistic, feminine and artistic (her term was she didn't want clip art). Luckily in this case she sent a reference that actually has black outline and some black shading, so what she wants and what she says she wants might be two different things. But in cases like this I hate having to feel like I am convincing someone to get something they don't want, even though they will have a better tattoo if they listen to me. Oh well, i guess I should be thankful people are willing to travel to get tattooed.

[slayer9019]

New Pet Peeve, When someone emails you about how much they like someone's work at the shop, in this case Traditional and Japanese, and wants to get tattooed, but they want the tattoo to be super realistic, feminine and artistic (her term was she didn't want clip art). Luckily in this case she sent a reference that actually has black outline and some black shading, so what she wants and what she says she wants might be two different things. But in cases like this I hate having to feel like I am convincing someone to get something they don't want, even though they will have a better tattoo if they listen to me. Oh well, i guess I should be thankful people are willing to travel to get tattooed.

She might be in the same boat I was when I got my first tattoo, actually sounds strikingly similar. I got exactly what I asked for but not what I wanted. Between that experience and hanging out LST, I learned what is good or bad. Now knowing this I can see the frustration you got on your hands.

[mattmcclaintattoo]

I dont like when people constantly have to ask if they are sitting okay, i am usually a very nice dude and i understand reassuring the client to get them through a tough spot but when you ask me if you are sitting okay 450 times when im on one line and you already know my response regardless is going to be "doing great man!" that kinda urks me. i also hate when people chew gum as they get tattooed and chew with there mouth open for some reason its like needles on a chalk board to me and i just cant stand it.

[Dennis]

I realize tat tattoos have become more "culturally acceptable" in the past decade or so, but it drives me insane when kids from the suburbs come in looking to get a neck/hand/face tattoo without having any other work... Seems like everyone wants the "warped tour" sleeves these days. Wrist to fingers. Drives me nuts.

I hate seeing neck/hand tattoos when the person has no work on their arms, especially if they are younger. I think they focussed on how cool they felt they would look rather than the social implications of such a visible, hard to conceal tattoo.

[kingofcosta]

We get loads of people walking in and saying "I want a sleeve tattooed" to which we obviously reply "Okay mate, what do you have in mind?", they then say "I don't know."

Honestly? You want your whole arm covered, but you haven't given any thought to what with?

[Colored Guy]

I hate seeing neck/hand tattoos when the person has no work on their arms, especially if they are younger. I think they focussed on how cool they felt they would look rather than the social implications of such a visible, hard to conceal tattoo.

Getting tattooed for all the wrong reasons... 1/2 the fun is having them under wraps and showing them to whom and when you want.

Rob

[Chelsea Shoneck]

I get irritated with really animated talkers. The client chair I have to use wobbles like a carnival ride, so trying to pull clean lines on animated talkers is an uphill battle. But since this is something most people do unconsciously, there's nothing I can do about it.

[Brock Varty]

I get irritated with really animated talkers. The client chair I have to use wobbles like a carnival ride, so trying to pull clean lines on animated talkers is an uphill battle. But since this is something most people do unconsciously, there's nothing I can do about it.

Would you rather someone talk too much or not at all?

[David Flores]

We get loads of people walking in and saying "I want a sleeve tattooed" to which we obviously reply "Okay mate, what do you have in mind?", they then say "I don't know."

Honestly? You want your whole arm covered, but you haven't given any thought to what with?

I usually get the "How much do you charge for a sleeve?" My responses vary from "depends on if you want it super sized or not" to "a few thousand". If anything hearing the same thing over and over again gives you the chance to use different Jedi magic and see if you can convince people to just get a nice tattoo. The thing most people walking off the street don't understand is how much a commitment a sleeve is both to the customers and tattooer. Spending twelve hours drawing something and then having them flake on it is not fun, and the deposit hardly covers the time lost. I can't recall a time when someone came in looking to get a sleeve and actually got one, but plenty of people that just came in to get a tattoo ended up with a sleeve eventually.

[Colored Guy]

I usually get the "How much do you charge for a sleeve?" My responses vary from "depends on if you want it super sized or not" to "a few thousand". If anything hearing the same thing over and over again gives you the chance to use different Jedi magic and see if you can convince people to just get a nice tattoo. The thing most people walking off the street don't understand is how much a commitment a sleeve is both to the customers and tattooer. Spending twelve hours drawing something and then having them flake on it is not fun, and the deposit hardly covers the time lost. I can't recall a time when someone came in looking to get a sleeve and actually got one, but plenty of people that just came in to get a tattoo ended up with a sleeve eventually.

An open-ended question posed by the clueless. I bet most who ask that have no tattoos at all. I'm workin' on mine, one session at a time. I wish I had the time and $$ to schedule it all in.

Rob

[Jason Lee]

I agree with almost everything said so far...but for me personally I love to watch someone ask to have stars from neck, down shoulder blade, across ribs down hip and stop on the thigh. also applies to butterlies and tribal. I dont have a personal issue with any of those subject matters, but to cover that much area with something you obviously thought two seconds about getting just irks me. two years down the road when you have a kick ass idea for a tattoo and you have nowhere left to put it I bet you feel like a dumbass. unfortunately i get to feel that way for you before you even get it.

[Colored Guy]

I agree with almost everything said so far...but for me personally I love to watch someone ask to have stars from neck, down shoulder blade, across ribs down hip and stop on the thigh. also applies to butterlies and tribal. I dont have a personal issue with any of those subject matters, but to cover that much area with something you obviously thought two seconds about getting just irks me. two years down the road when you have a kick ass idea for a tattoo and you have nowhere left to put it I bet you feel like a dumbass. unfortunately i get to feel that way for you before you even get it.

Lots of people only get tattooed ONCE in their lifetime. Maybe this is it for them. You see the people around... one little fading washed out tattoo on an arm, maybe on their ankle. No plans to get it freshened or slap something awesome over it.

Rob

[Jason Lee]

Lots of people only get tattooed ONCE in their lifetime. Maybe this is it for them. You see the people around... one little fading washed out tattoo on an arm, maybe on their ankle. No plans to get it freshened or slap something awesome over it.

Rob

this is true, Im talking specifically about the people doing sessions to fill up half their body with something they thought looked cool in a magazine. most people getting tattooed once in their lifetime think about that decision before they put ink on their body. It means something to them. And a majority of people that get that one little piece often come back for more. I can understand someone loving the idea of getting a galaxy scene, or a garden full of flowers and butterflies, or a hand drawn custom tribal sleeve. im talking about the people that throw 40 or 50 hours into getting something they thought 2 minutes about getting. Its frustrating to me.

[bhess246]

Sex Offenders as tattoo artists. . . . . more to come on that topic in another thread later.

[BoMcConaghie]

My biggest pet peeve is tattooers with multiple apprentices who never apprenticed themselves.

[Julio Avila]

Clients that follow me around as I'm setting up for their tattoo.

Dude I'm only enlarging your design on the copy machine. BACK IT UP, SON!!

[Cary Brief]

people trying to bargain. I always charge a fair price for a good solid piece of work. ANd the people I have always found trying to bargain are wearing $150 sneakers and name brand everything, but want to save $20 on a lifetime investment

[else]

Sex Offenders as tattoo artists. . . . . more to come on that topic in another thread later.

Oh lord. The thought makes my skin crawl. I'm going to have to use super google-fu to make sure that I don't run into that EVER.