Etiquette -- after the design is drawn up

[bongsau]

My first tattoo...the tattooer explained to me that he does his drawings the night before to keep the idea fresh in his head to make the tattoo (and this is very typical from all the tattoos I've received in the last 10 years). So I showed up on the day of the appointment, saw the drawing and asked the gentleman to redraw/fix a few minor details. By the 4th time he said "Look kid, I'm not going to redraw the Last Supper. You want a tattoo today or not". Best advice I ever got and one of the strongest tattoos on my body.

Moral of the story, if you don't ask you will not get an answer. But if you ask for something nitpicky be prepared to accept no for an answer if you still want the tattoo.

Unless you asked last-minute to add a penis onto your tattoo. Then the answer will always be yes.

[real meta]

Something that bums me out sometimes about the culture of tattoo "collectors" is a preoccupation with being a "cool" client, i.e. someone who seems "down" and who the tattooer hits it off with. I wonder if this is maybe where these kinds of anxieties come from. Fuck that. You sound polite and respectful, which is probably how most of us aim to be in most customer service situations. That is how I try to behave in most of my day-to-day dealings too. Beyond that, I try not to worry about whether or not I am "cool", or anyone's fave. That shit gets a bit too high school for me. Also I am not cool.

Funny, I was just thinking about this recently. I have a bit of social anxiety, and am pretty awkward in general, so I think when I started getting tattooed by more widely known people I cared about them really liking me more than I should have. Because they were people that I really admired, you know? I don't recall resorting to overly blatant name dropping or anything desperate like that, but I definitely remember their opinion of me being a concern in my mind.

I use past tense here because I'd like to think I've moved past that--as long as I'm courteous, I'll sit in silence if that's how I feel, IDGAF.

[deadsp0t]

All but one of mine was drawn and ready and I think of asking 'for' changes and make it asking 'about' changes. I've asked about small changes twice, once he said yes we'll def do that and the other he said it wouldn't look right and I went with it both times.

[Killercook76]

I could understand that situation.. My last artist drew it up the day of my tattoo. I actually prefer that because 1. It really cool watching someone the whole process. 2. The artist usually ask me if i want it like this or that.

Ultimately if your artist draws a design and you aren't feeling certain parts then don't feel bad and tell him/her. Even if the artist gives you a look or whatever it's better than not saying anything and not being 100 percent happy with your tattoo. I'm sure the artist knows better but still it wouldn't hurt to discuss and come up with a compromise.

[CABS]

Out of all my tattoos, I've only asked for a redraw once. The artist had a border around the design, and I'm not into borders. When I first saw the design, I was a bit hesitant and said that everything looked good. As the artist was walking away, I decided to speak up and say I wasn't into the border at all. The artist told me why they wanted the border, but I held my ground.

It's gonna be on you forever, so you have the right to speak up. We eventually came up with a design that we were both into.

But typically with all my tattoos, 9 times out of 10 I love what the artists drew up. You gotta pick your artist wisely.

- - - Updated - - -

Funny, I was just thinking about this recently. I have a bit of social anxiety, and am pretty awkward in general, so I think when I started getting tattooed by more widely known people I cared about them really liking me more than I should have. Because they were people that I really admired, you know? I don't recall resorting to overly blatant name dropping or anything desperate like that, but I definitely remember their opinion of me being a concern in my mind.

I use past tense here because I'd like to think I've moved past that--as long as I'm courteous, I'll sit in silence if that's how I feel, IDGAF.

I don't necessarily care about tattoo artists liking me, per se. But I do want to have some kind of common ground with my tattoo artist as well. Not looking for BFF's, but someone I can comfortably shoot the shit with.

[MadeIndelible]

You have to figure out what part of your fear is your own nerves about getting tattooed in the first place, and what part is about the outcome of the design. Generally, as CABS said, you have to pick your artist wisely.

As for the friends and tattooers topic, I am the furthest thing from your typical cool person, but I do have limited tattoo knowledge that I like to talk about with others, seeing as I rarely get the opportunity in real life. Meeting LSTers changed some of that, but still, I have a life outside of tattoo collecting that I wouldn't expect most to care about.

[baberry64]

It's amazing how far this will get you in life in general.

For artist and customer alike!

[keepcalm]

Reviving this to ask:

What if it's a walk-in tattoo, you give the artist an hour or two (or whatever) to draw it up, you come back in, and you just really don't like it at all. Is it super-rude to ask for a complete redraw? What if you decide you just don't want it anymore -- should you offer to pay for the time it took the artist to do the drawing?

I don't think it would often be the case that your vision and the artist's were SO far apart, but what if?

[el twe]

That seems like such a hypothetical situation, but I (as a client only, not a tattooer) imagine the same "rules" stand - if you really aren't digging it, give the artist a little more insight into what you want and ask for it to be re-drawn without being a dick. I've never been clear on whether or not drawing time is part of the hourly rate or not, so just go with what they charge you at the end.

When I got my Rose of No Man's Land, I came to the appointment with a whole mess of references that I liked bits and pieces of, but the artist didn't even ask to look at them. He drew up his version of it (and I've loved most all of his similar work any way), and while it wasn't necessarily what I had imagined for my tattoo, I realized that it was a great piece of art and I didn't really have anything to say against it. I fucking love the tattoo, and even though it probably wouldn't have been my first pick of designs it fits the spot perfectly and I have no complaints.

[Colored Guy]

With my recent experiences, I will not have anything put on me unless it is in a stencil-format and I like it enough to proceed to the tattooing stage. Minor changes along the way is one thing, sometimes things lead to another which is fine with me.

In the past, I have rejected artwork before the stencil was cut at great risk to offending the artist and we came up with another plan. In this case, the artist really was not listening to what I wanted and didn't take into consideration all the reference material that I left with them. But we pulled it off in the end and we were both happy. This is why I like to see the artwork a week or 2 in advance of the appointment.

Rob

[CultExciter]

Reviving this to ask:

What if it's a walk-in tattoo

With walk-ins, I generally just pick it off the wall.

[Graeme]

With walk-ins, I generally just pick it off the wall.

Yep, or have decent reference in hand. I get the impression that if you want a tattoo that's going to require a couple of hours drawing you're better off getting an appointment.

[scubaron]

..... This is why I like to see the artwork a week or 2 in advance of the appointment.

Rob

I'd like that too, but all the artists I've gone to show me their sketch the day the tattoo is being done. Not sure what is the norm.

[keepcalm]

Yep, or have decent reference in hand. I get the impression that if you want a tattoo that's going to require a couple of hours drawing you're better off getting an appointment.

Fair point. I like the feeling of getting something on the spot, but I also like more personalized designs. Guess you can't have it all!

I'm on cancellation lists for a couple of SF artists I like -- am wondering how that will work. Not sure how much advance notice I'll get if they have a spot open up!

Thanks, all.

[Fala]

Same thing with me @scubaron and the day-of. (This is part of the reason why having to cancel an appointment in May was so heartbreaking, it was the first time I got to see a sketch before the tattoo session, and now I get to deal with vividly knowing what it is I'm missing.) I kinda like the trust that one has to have with the day-of stencil/tattoo timing.

[Colored Guy]

I'd like that too, but all the artists I've gone to show me their sketch the day the tattoo is being done. Not sure what is the norm.

I suppose there is no set norm, but earlier is always better than later. I've drawn up some complete tattoos or part of them myself, all we needed to do is cut the stencil and get going. This is why I like the days of flash on the wall. You knew exactly what you were getting up front.

[scubaron]

.... I kinda like the trust that one has to have with the day-of stencil/tattoo timing.

Yes and it makes choosing the right artist really important. I'm kind of a research junkie so I don't mind. Also spoiled to have so many great artists in the area.

Enough talented artists and customer demand that it seems many of the artists can stick to their preferred style and subjects and still be booked out for months.

[CultExciter]

Drawing something up 1-2 weeks in advance?

[Graeme]

Fair point. I like the feeling of getting something on the spot, but I also like more personalized designs. Guess you can't have it all!

I don't think the two are necessarily in contradiction. Read this article by JoJo Ackermann, especially the part where he talks about how he can do the same design on ten different people and have ten different tattoos at the end of it. Take a look at the sheet of roses that Adrian Sanchez posted on his blog here and notice how different they all are despite them all coming from the same line drawing. And this is even before we get into placement, how these tattoos go with your other tattoos, and so on and so forth. Basically, even if you pick a tried and true classic off the wall, you're still getting a unique tattoo.

[keepcalm]

Great read -- thanks, @Graeme!

[polliwog]

I would find getting a stencil in advance stressful. I know I'm indecisive, and I know it's not based in anything other than general anxiety, so seeing the sketch minutes before I agree to having it tattooed on me is best.

A couple times I've seen a drawing go through several iterations, get placed against my body and redrawn, and become a stronger design along the way. Ron Wells was particularly meticulous with his rose - it's pretty amazing to watch someone think through their design decisions with their pen or pencil.

[cptrixie]

My 2cents - for all my recent work I've had a mix of "see it when I show up" and "hey, whatcha think?" In all cases but one I've been super stoked with what I saw. I am starting my second half sleeve this weekend and for the first time asked him to change something.

Strangely, I felt REALLY bad asking for a change! I know he's cool with it, and I know I am giving him a lot of latitude so his style will come through... but I wish I could have just gone with it. Unfortunately, I just couldn't. So.. now I'm waiting to see the next rev and as long as it gives me the feel I am looking for, I think we'll be golden.

Only 6 sleeps to go! (I have been waiting for this appointment for something like 4 months.)

[exume]

Somewhat related:

On Friday I went in to Lifetime tattoo to catch Mr Shrewsbury during his short little guest spot, I had a weird spot I wanted filled, showed it to him, mentioned a few ideas and he asked me to come back in about an hour. We grabbed a bite to eat but it was super hot out so we went back after about 20 minutes, looked at the walls the remainder of the time, Adam came down with 2 drawings! It was nice to have a choice but damn was it difficult deciding between the two. I would have been happy with either for sure and wouldn't have asked for changes really, but he seemed stoked to be able to do something weird that he was really into.