heathenist

In Portland. On IG @whthd_stv

Wait, we can't say F*** on here anymore?

You gotta be F***ing shitting me with that Hooper skull.

In that case I'll submit my other skull as well, because why not? This one was done by Mario Desa when he was still at Chicago Tattoo Co., back in 2011-12. The photo is a couple of years old, but the tattoo was a few years healed at that point.

I don't see anyone beating that Chad K/Jondix back, but I'll submit one of my skulls for the fun of it. I like the themed contests, at the very least they can serve as a good source of inspiration for people looking to get a certain thing tattooed. Anyways, here's my skull from Steve Byrne at ROA from a few years ago. Don't really have a healed photo, but found one that kinda works. It's loosely based off of a anti-bolshevik German propaganda poster I saw at the Harry Ransom center in Austin while I was in Austin earlier that day.

Get the fuck out of here with that attitude. Maybe tipping isn't expected in Australia, and that's fine if you don't tip there. But don't chalk it up to you making $35/hour and the artist making $180/hour because that's such a naive and bullshit way of viewing how tattoo artists are compensated. Most artists either have to rent out a spot in a shop or pay a percentage of their earnings to the shop, usually around 30% based on what I've heard. So that $180 is now about $120. I've also heard from artists that just to set up a tattoo costs between $20-40 (which is why shop minimums exist). So now it's down to about $90. Now take into account they only charge for the time they are actually tattooing you, not the time they are setting up, drawing, putting on the stencil, listening to what you want, etc. So a "one hour" tattoo, really probably takes a minimum of 1.5-2 hours. Now that's down to about $45 an hour. Now take into account that most artists don't work 9-5, instead, they might get a couple of tattoos a day, with lots of down time in between. After all of that, that $180/hour doesn't look so glamorous does it? Now take into account that the cost of living in Australia is much higher than in the US, and the fact that your artist only charges $180/hour when many artists in the states charge the same or higher. I don't mean to say that this means you should tip, but I think it's disingenuous to act like all tattooers are super rich just because they charge $180+ per hour. - - - Updated - - - Get the fuck out of here with that attitude. Maybe tipping isn't expected in Australia, and that's fine if you don't tip there. But don't chalk it up to you making $35/hour and the artist making $180/hour because that's such a naive and bullshit way of viewing how tattoo artists are compensated. Most artists either have to rent out a spot in a shop or pay a percentage of their earnings to the shop, usually around 30% based on what I've heard. So that $180 is now about $120. I've also heard from artists that just to set up a tattoo costs between $20-40 (which is why shop minimums exist). So now it's down to about $90. Now take into account they only charge for the time they are actually tattooing you, not the time they are setting up, drawing, putting on the stencil, listening to what you want, etc. So a "one hour" tattoo, really probably takes a minimum of 1.5-2 hours. Now that's down to about $45 an hour. Now take into account that most artists don't work 9-5, instead, they might get a couple of tattoos a day, with lots of down time in between. After all of that, that $180/hour doesn't look so glamorous does it? Now take into account that the cost of living in Australia is much higher than in the US, and the fact that your artist only charges $180/hour when many artists in the states charge the same or higher. I don't mean to say that this means you should tip, but I think it's disingenuous to act like all tattooers are super rich just because they charge $180+ per hour.

So good, can't wait to see this finished. @ironchef Jesus christ that thing rules. Henning always kills it. Funny enough I used a Henning front piece as a reference for my back, which I should be starting in the fall.

Ugh, I guess this means I need to see a dermatologist about having some moles removed. I have quite a few on my back, arms, chest, etc. Can't just tattoo around all of them. And I definitely have some that have been tattooed over already.

FTFY

Wow, I'm just putting it together that your last name is The Bourgeois. Incredible.

Hey, at least she will have a cool story about getting her first tattoo one day. "I was 17, on a trip to Belize and tricked my teacher into letting me get tattooed. My mom was pissed."

Yeah, this is the point I was trying to make. Sure, the teacher leading the trip should have known better, but the tattooer isn't really at fault here. And don't get me wrong, I wouldn't get tattooed by that dude, but I was expecting scratcher quality, when really it's just standard lower-tier shop work.

I think we probably need to see the tattoo. Honestly, the guys work isn't THAT bad. I was expecting scratcher quality. If you're really worried just go have her tested soon. Is the tattoo healed? Does it seem infected? - - - Updated - - - Why? Is it illegal to give tattoos to 17 year olds in Belize? If not, I don't really see what the guy did wrong.

I think this approach may work better for people who already have a number of tattoos, because the tattooer can kinda have a gauge of what you're into. Otherwise just find an artist you like and look through their flash or line drawings. Like others have said, originality is overrated. I can't imagine being an tattooer and having to constantly try to flex the creative juices all the time with people who want something original but aren't creative themselves. And don't get me wrong, I'm completely guilty of this as a collector. When I got tattooed by Matt Arriola I think I said "I want a trippy Jesus head". This was on a day's notice. Though, to be fair I did say I'd be happy with a traditional one too. It worked out and I got a great tattoo, but I know if I were him I'd just be like "okay, wtf is a 'trippy jesus head' supposed to look like?" Also, really glad to see @Valerie Vargas pop in with some wisdom.

This is the opinion I've always held: if you aren't a tattoo artist, then you shouldn't be designing tattoos for your friends. Especially if you don't know a thing about tattoos or tattooing to begin with. While there is nothing wrong with your art, it isn't really well suited to be applied as a tattoo, and any decent tattooer will redraw it. It blows my mind that people trust their non-tattooer friends to design tattoos for them (this shit happens sooooo often) but not the fucking people who have been tattooing for years and get paid to do that for a living. - - - Updated - - - Oh, yeah, and BHR rules. This fat line trend is bound to end soon enough anyways. Don't get me wrong I have some tattoos with pretty fat lines, and I'm sure they will hold up just fine. But I kinda think it's a little overboard sometimes, so much so that at a certain point you have to worry about how the fat line tattoos are going to age once the lines start to spread. BHR does really nice looking tattoos, I wouldn't worry at all about how they will age, in fact, I'd be surprised if his stuff doesn't age better than a lot of the overly fat lined tattoos.