Tattoo Artist

Tattoo Artist

Tatted Mom

Tucson, AZ

Female, 32

I'm a tattoo artist who underwent a standard apprenticeship under a certified tattoo artist. I am an artist first, tattooer second, which means I put creativity and art into my tattoos, not just the 'you pick it, we stick it' type of tattooer. Apprenticeships for tattooing vary by state, according to the laws. I'm also a trained body piercer, as well. Any questions about the job or apprenticing, I'd be happy to help!

PLEASE NOTE: I will NOT price tattoos. Seek a shop for that.

SubscribeGet emails when new questions are answered. Ask Me Anything!Show Bio +

Share:

Ask me anything!

Submit Your Question

422 Questions

Share:

Last Answer on May 23, 2014

Best Rated

I just finished my first tattoo on practice skin. Came out great but the white highlights I put on last did not 'take', and didn't show at all. Could this be the ink quality or the skin?
Thank you!

Asked by Tony over 11 years ago

It's more than likely the practice skin. That stuff is thick, and really is not a lot like human skin at all. White is a tricky color, too. You may have not gone deep enough with it.

I have a tattoo I need help with, but I'm on a budget. Is it weird or bad to go in and say I have X (~$300) dollars and I need this covered or fixed, and I am open to any and all ideas? Is it ok to ask them to try & keep it under a certain $ amount?

Asked by madh0us3 over 11 years ago

That's perfectly normal. 

Hullo! I got a tattoo on the outside of my foot two weeks ago. I was able to go almost a week and a half with keeping it uncovered, but now I need to cover it. I've used gauze and bandaids - both had ink on them when I took them off. Advice?

Asked by Nichole about 12 years ago

You should not re-cover a tattoo after the first few days, and especially not 2 weeks later. However, to answer your question, tattoos can take up to a month to heal, depending on the area of the body, and ink can purge from the skin at any time during the healing process. The only concern is when the tattoo scabs and the scab rips off before it's ready; then you might be left with an empty spot where the ink came out completely.

I asked a tattoo artist to fill in a little gap between two lines of an old tattoo (about 16 years old) and he drew a line to fill it in. Now the line is super dark compared to the rest of it. How long will I have to wait until it fades to match?

Asked by Cathy almost 12 years ago

A while, probably. When I'm asked to add a line, or touch up a single line of an old tattoo, I usually go light, so the tattoo inks blend together in a matter of months, or, I touch up everything in the area to match my new ink. 

If I had an artist do my tattoo, and go to another artist to get it touched up and they use different inks, will you be able to tell in the tattoo after the touch up? And will it look bad?

Asked by Kayla Kibbe over 11 years ago

Different inks can result in differences between the old tattoo and the touchup. It could blend fine, and it could be a trainwreck. It all depends on the artist's ability to match the color or blend the old tattoo into the touch up work.

I got a tattoo about 4 days ago and it was supposed to be with golds and browns but turned out kind of orange. Is there anyway I can change the color? & if I can what would be te best color to change it to?

Asked by Kay almost 12 years ago

The ink may not be done settling in your skin. During the healing process, especially if the area slightly scabs, the colors will go from vibrant to muddy brown and back to vibrant once the final healing stages are done. If you still aren't happy with the colors once it's completely healed, head back to your tattoo artist and have them put the golds and browns in.

My body seems to reject colors anytime there is more than one color in any spot. I have a butterfly that is shaded with 2 colors of blue (light and dark). My body is only holding the dark blue and pushing out the light blue. Is that normal?

Asked by Stephanie over 11 years ago

It is normal for the body to accept some colors more than others, yes. However, with that said, I will say that areas that are over-worked will push the ink out more quickly. So, it may not be a question of whether or not you take light blue, it may be a question of how much your artist over-worked the skin when they were putting the light blue in.