Extremely fast tattoo-artists , advantage or disadvantage?

[murci999]

Hello

i was just curios, i am planning a Chest-Piece *realistic B&G covers half of Chest* to go with my sleeve that i already have. 

i asked around pretty talented and known artists and got different answers

an artist said it takes no more than 4 hours to be complete, while 2-3 other artists said no, such a piece requires more than 5 hours and multiple sessions.

so what does this mean to you ? the fast artist charges by piece and not time because he is always fast, the others charge per hour or atleast i think so. 

does this mean the faster artist is a worse option? and the results will look not as good as another artist who works slower? 

btw, all these artists have nice portofolio and lots and lots of clients, and their results in B&G are almost the same.  

[Hogrider]

4 hours to complete a piece that covers half your chest doesn't sound like enough time to do a really good job, but it really depends on how detailed the tattoo is. I'm sure there are some tattooers that could do it, but I want a good tattoo, not a fast tattoo.

My advice is to find a good artist and not worry about how fast they are.  

Edited January 2, 2018 by Hogrider

[murci999]

well here is a photo of the piece, *inspiration photo* not copy. 

got different responses from different artists, all are great known artists with tons of clients and nice portofolio 

the fast guy, is a friend and he had done my sleeve and done work on friends, all are satisfied with results, the other slower guys have tons of photos and clients but i never got tattoed by them .

the fast guy said it doesnt make a difference the time spent on a tattoo, some guys with experience can go fast especially if the skin takes the ink in good, which is my case, i am lucky i guess.

so what you think ? is it something out of the ordinary to tattoo such a piece in 4 hours ? or will the result be shitty ? till now got good results from this guy and others too. i just asked around other artists because he is too busy now and not sure if he can tattoo my piece before i go in my vacation. 

[Hogrider]

If you have been satisfied in the past why would you worry about not being satisfied this time? You've got someone who you've worked with, you trust and are satisfied with; what is the big hurry that you can't wait until he is available?

I don't get the whole speed thing; either he is good or he isn't. I don't know, maybe I'm missing something here.

Edited January 2, 2018 by Hogrider

[Synesthesia]

The fastest guy I've been tattooed by is Chad Koeplinger. He did basically my whole inner bicep in under 2 hours, and a good chunk of that time was bullshitting about movies and stuff. If he had just hunkered down and done it without talking to me and everyone else in the shop, he could have banged out the whole thing in like 30 minutes. Personally, Chad is one of my all time favorite tattooers and I was thrilled to get anything by him, so the time really wasn't a factor to me. I will say he was also the single-handedly most painful guy to tattoo me, and he does have that heavy handed reputation. The very first line he pulled was basically an entire leaf to my rose in one go and I thought to myself "Holy hell, I don't know if I can take this for very long."  His lines are loooong and he goes hard. I'm not sure if that's due to his speed or just the way he does things though. 

In your case, I would be skeptical about anyone getting that black packed in that well and all those details in 4 hours. I think he could lay the ground work in that time, but I imagine you'd have to do another session to get in the kind of details you want. Especially since chest tattoos are notoriously painful and you might have trouble sitting well.

That said, some guys with a lot of experience and confidence are just quicker. Whatever they're comfortable doing to get me a good piece is fine by me. Ultimately I don't think speed matters, it's just about the work itself. Any links to their portfolios?

[murci999]

yes i mean, this fast guy did my sleeve, he did my entire inner bicep in 2:30 hours, my forearm with a realistic owl design which looks really good in like 2 hours, the only time he was slow is when he done the blue eye i got, took him 3 hours. realistic roses take him 1:30 max 2 hours. 

he even wants to rework the eye and tiger again, i dont see the reason why, he wants to do it for free, said it can look better. here i attach some pics of my sleeve, note that some parts are not yet healed. 

he said he is fast because he used to do alot of graffiti work before and they need to spray fast or the graffiti will not look good because the paint will run down.  and also he said that my skin takes ink extremly good, he cant be fast with all people.

i had an appointment with him 5 hours to finish my chest, but sadly i ve been working the holidays and new years eve in 24 hours shifts (i work in the medical field)

so i was too tired and overslept my appointment, he has a wait list of 9 months, so thats shit, i got a whole sleeve just missing the chest piece, and want it so bad before summer, we agreed to do it in 2 sessions of 2-3 hours, the problem is that these two sessions will be 2 days one after the other, so dont know if thats possible. 

have spoken with 3 other artists as a back up Plan , and offered to pay double the wage just to get it done, all 3 said they need minimum 7 hours, all of them accepted, 2 of them refused that i pay double the wage, but one of them said he can do it on a sunday but i have to pay 3k for it . i mean i do well but 3 k just for a chest piece is extreme imo. 

i trust my guy, he has done good work, is fast, reliable, honest, but too busy, what made me ask the questions here is that i was a bit surprised that i spoken with 3 good artists all said 7 hours minimum, but he said 4-5 hours max. we can do it. 

anyway, i think they are all talented guys, they are all germany based, here is links to their pages :

https://www.facebook.com/Conrad-Böhm-Tattooartist-447550322097385/                   *my fast guy*

https://www.facebook.com/markybarkytattoo/           *quoted 800 euro for the piece without accepting bonuses, min 7-8 hours*

https://www.facebook.com/ConstantinSchuldtHeavenofcoloursZwickau/          *didnt accept a bonus, but said can be done in 2 sessions of 4 hours* said in 5 hours its impossible to do such a lion. 

https://www.facebook.com/EngelhardRandy/      *normal price 1500 euro, but because he is too busy, he can do it on a sunday and for that i must pay double, so 3000 euro for the chest piece* 

[Synesthesia]

Your guy's work is alright but it isn't as detailed as some of the other portfolios you linked to, which is probably why he can do it in 4 hours and they can't. If you don't want tons of detail, that's fine, it just depends on what you're looking for. In my opinion, those last two you linked were the best artists out of the bunch for what you want, but it's all up to you and what you find aesthetically pleasing. 

I also personally think it's kind of silly to look elsewhere or pay extra just to have it done by someone as soon as possible. If you like your guy, stick with him and wait until he can do it. It's only a few months of waiting out of your life, don't go with someone you don't like as much or pay double just because you're in a rush. 

[murci999]

the last guy wanted 3000 just for a chest piece, isnt that a bit too much ? i mean my guy and others charge around 700-800. i will be sticking with my guy, will do the chest piece this week i hope in 4-5 hours. 

honestly i am not a tattoo-expert, from looking at all these guys portofolios i see that all their work is good with veryyyy tiny differences, the 3k guy is the best but is it worth forking out almost 20k euro for a sleeve? the others do similiar work maybe a tiny bit 5% worse but for 4-5k you get a sleeve, i cant really spot that big differences am not an expert, and like i said my artist wants to rework the eye i have for free,said it turned out bad, but i like it , dont see whats bad about it. 

anyway offtopic question : lets say in the future i become OCD and an expert on tattoos and decide i need more details on the tiger or on the lion, make it look more realistic, better, can i go say to this 3k guy and let him do it ? or its impossible? the only options are laser or cover-up ?

[Oiocha]

 Get the work you want the first time and do your research BEFORE not AFTER diving in.  I would stick with the piece as is and respect the artists work as it is or was done.  Also good work ain't cheap and cheap work ain't good so make your decision based on what you want not what you want to pay; save the beer money and buy the champagne I always say.

[murci999]

you are 100% right, i did alot of research before diving in, and still trust my fast guy and like his work, but i am no expert, for example i viewed all the portofolios of the guys above, and couldnt spot a difference in work done between the 20k sleeve and the 5k sleeve, but now hearing from you guys that there are some major differences between these guys, got me thinking, what if now am extremly satisfied and happy with the results, but after a year or two i get OCD and demand more details,  what if now i love beer more than champagne, but later on in life i think to myself, man i want that champagne.  so the question is : if you have a tiger tattoo or lion tattoo done good realistic but you want to improve it and make it look even more realistic with more details, can that be done ? without laser and cover-ups ? 

i am still sticking to my fast guy, he has done all my work and i ve been satisfied

[Synesthesia]

It sounds like he only was asking 3k because you were impatient and wanted him to work on a Sunday, unless I misunderstood? That said, the price is the price. It's up to you if that's worth it or not. "Too much" is an opinion. If you want someone more expensive to do the tattoo, it's worth waiting and saving up money to have it done the way you want it, imo. 

A different artist can always touch up something later, but I would just embrace what you have, which is solid. You risk ruining it by having someone else get their hands in it.

[murci999]

naah he wasnt impatient, before i could offer him anything, i just said i need some work done but i work alot and dont have time on normal days, his secretery said ok he can tattoo you 7 hours on a sunday but that means double the fee because its a sunday so 3k for the chest piece. 

i am sticking to my artist, i know few guys who got their sleeves from him years ago, and their sleeves look solid, no fading or burnouts. 

the reactions i get from people are positive, they like my sleeve, i just got a bit OCD now when you told me the other 2 guys work is more detailed and much better, so i thought to myself, now i cant spot a difference and am satisfied and happy, what if after a year i will be really OCD and demand more perfection, and ready to fork out 20k to that expensive guy to give more detail to my pieces, would that be possible in the realm of tattoos? or you are stuck with what you have, you cant make a lion look more detailed or a tiger more realistic, either laser or coverup, no other options of improvments

i just googled a bit myself, saw tons of pictures of before/after of for example tiger tattoos realistic, that looked ok before, but in the after rework pic they looked freakin amazing, with no cover up or laser, just the same size, same model, only more detail.

[Oiocha]

Detail doesn't make better.  Traditional is good with barebones details, its all in what you want man.  Don't worry about improving it unless the artist wants to.

[Hogrider]

20 hours ago, murci999 said:

an artist said it takes no more than 4 hours to be complete,

 

12 hours ago, murci999 said:

i had an appointment with him 5 hours to finish my chest,

we agreed to do it in 2 sessions of 2-3 hours,

but he said 4-5 hours max. we can do it. 

First you say he said 4 hours, then you have an appointment for 5 hours, then you agreed to 2 sessions of 2-3 hours which could be 6 hours, then back to 4-5 hours max. There is a lot of difference between 4 hours and 6 hours.

You really seem all over the place here. Throw in OCD and it is a recipe for disaster.

My opinion is forget about fixing it later. I think you are as liable to make it worse as you are to make it better. Get it done right the first time. Pick an artist, don't be in a hurry, make a decision and don't second guess yourself. I still don't get what the rush is??

[murci999]

i am in no rush, just got mad of losing a full day appointment that i was waiting for since months, and i will not want to get tattoos in summer and sunny weather. no way.  

right now i am not OCDing to improve , hopefully never will, as i said, i cant really tell the difference between 20k *super* sleeves and 5k *alright* sleeves at least when it comes to B&G works, on the other hand, you guys here on the forums with more experience can see stuff that i cant see. and anyway from what i found out, pics in portofolios of artists look always massivly better than real life!. 

so the fastest guy didnt want to give an exact time-frame, but said 4 would be enough, he always gives me appointments of 3 or 4 hours but finishes off sooner, now for the chest he planned initially 5 hours but said he can do it in 4, depends on my pain-tolerance in the chest area, heard it hurts like hell, till now i had no problems with pain on other parts of the body.

so after losing my appointment of 5 hours, he agreed to squeeze me in into 2 sessions in 2 days each 2-3 hours max.  

can you even tattoo say 50% of an area today and then immediatly the following day you tattoo the rest 50% ?? i thought you should take a rest of 2 weeks between sessions for the skin to heal

 

[Hogrider]

3 hours ago, murci999 said:

can you even tattoo say 50% of an area today and then immediatly the following day you tattoo the rest 50% ?? i thought you should take a rest of 2 weeks between sessions for the skin to heal

 

Yes, people do it all the time. I wouldn't only because the skin is going to be really sensitive the next day, but there is no reason you can't or shouldn't.

[murci999]

thanks man, guess i will be in a world of pain on the 2nd session

[Hogrider]

2 hours ago, murci999 said:

thanks man, guess i will be in a world of pain on the 2nd session

Well, everybody is different and every time can be different. I didn't have much pain doing my first chest panel and even less on my second one. The first time I had work done on my stomach it was awful, the second time, it was nothing. I've heard about how awful the back is for some people, but other than the love handles, I had very little pain getting my back done. At one point I almost fell asleep. I've found that after the endorphins kick in, it's much less painful, so you'll be OK.

[murci999]

so here is a pic as promised, completed in 2 hours !!!! unbelievable, but like i said, am not a tattoo-expert, but i like it alot. 

what do you guys think ? does it look bad and rushed for a piece done in 2 hours? 

[Synesthesia]

On 1/2/2018 at 9:32 PM, murci999 said:

the reactions i get from people are positive, they like my sleeve, i just got a bit OCD now when you told me the other 2 guys work is more detailed and much better, so i thought to myself, now i cant spot a difference and am satisfied and happy, what if after a year i will be really OCD and demand more perfection, and ready to fork out 20k to that expensive guy to give more detail to my pieces, would that be possible in the realm of tattoos? or you are stuck with what you have, you cant make a lion look more detailed or a tiger more realistic, either laser or coverup, no other options of improvments

i just googled a bit myself, saw tons of pictures of before/after of for example tiger tattoos realistic, that looked ok before, but in the after rework pic they looked freakin amazing, with no cover up or laser, just the same size, same model, only more detail.

What I said was in my opinion, those two artists were better. Not necessarily for their detail, I just like their composition and contrast in their work better. I'm covered in traditional style tattoos, so I don't necessarily factor detail into what I think is good. What I said was highly detailed tattoos generally take longer, which is why they say it's impossible to do in 4 hours and your less detail oriented guy can do it in that time frame. But I'm not the one wearing the tattoo, so what I think is better doesn't really matter to you.

Your tattoo came out solid. Once again, in my opinion, it would have benefited from a little more detail to achieve more realism...but if it's what you want and you're happy with it, who cares what an internet stranger thinks.

[Dan]

I would just like to add a thought about tattoo time and money.

knowing I have done my research on the artist and have discussed the art with that person, I put my trust in them,

since I already am there and I am good with the artist and art, I know their skills and style, and I am prepared for long time or short,

I never ask how much time it will take or how much it's going to be,(that's just me)

when they are done I ask how much then and pay for it and tip.

simple enough, it works for me.

 

Edited January 4, 2018 by Dan

[Gingerninja]

I agree with @Dan 99%..I do ask for a ballpark on time since I have to travel for my tattoos. I need to have an idea of what kind of time we think it's going to take. I also ask the hourly rate (way in advance) so I can bring a pile of cash. :)

[Oiocha]

I'm in the same boat as @Gingerninja I ask for rate, ballpark time, and bring the amount of money expected of me plus some.

[Hogrider]

18 hours ago, murci999 said:

so here is a pic as promised, completed in 2 hours !!!! unbelievable, but like i said, am not a tattoo-expert, but i like it alot. 

what do you guys think ? does it look bad and rushed for a piece done in 2 hours? 

If you are happy, that's all that counts. It's not very detailed and there isn't much contrast. Also, I wouldn't call it inspired by the piece you posted, it's pretty much a copy.

Edited January 5, 2018 by Hogrider

[murci999]

really? the artist made changes to the piece as he said he doesnt want it to be a copy of the original piece. 

but with realistic animal tattoos its always hard to make big enough changes so that it looks different to the original piece.

for my eyes (normal guy) and for the eyes of people around me, no body could tell a difference in details or contract or such things, thats why i appreciate your honest opinions, i am not OCD, i like the piece very much as it is and glad i have done it with this fast guy, he is also a friend now and all touch ups in future *if necessary* will be free.   i love every bit of the sleeve i got, only the tiger not so much, i think i will have it redone sometime in future, either by same guy or someone else. but all in all, i am happy, and most important advice i got from tattoo experts, i dont remeber if here or somewhere else, someone told me YOUR INK MUST BE GOOD bUT NOT PERFECT!!!, always remembar that and be happy. 

btw does my sleeve with all the lines connecting the pieces resemble realistic japanese works? or only realistic? or even traditional? to me and few guys who saw it in real life, they said its like a mix between realistic japanese and normal realistic works.