BREAKING NEWS: The Worlds BEST Tattoo Artist Actually SUCKS at Drawing!?

There is far more to being a good tattoo artist, beyond simply being able to draw. Typically, when we think "tattoo artist," we imagine an artistically inclined individual who has been drawing since the first time they ever picked up a pen (or a crayon)*.... But would you believe that some tattoo artists are not artistically inclined by their own accounts? I know, it sounds bizarre, but the facts in this truth are the fabric and the making of "anything is possible"... This is a prime example of when you were growing up and your parents told you "with the right amount of effort, you can be anything you want to be." Yes, they meant it! But let me be clear: if YOU were that kid who struggled to draw even a stick-figure, yet you had big dreams of growing up to be a tattoo artist- the "amount of effort" needed to achieve such a goal is definitely gonna be a mighty generous helping! Your folks were right though, it absolutely IS possible! Believe it or not, there are actually more ways than one, to be a successful tattoo artist without mastering the skill of drawing.

As with anything, tattoo application is a process. In order to complete the process of tattooing, several steps must be meticulously followed and done properly. When a process is carried out and concluded successfully, the end result will be the proof or the product of that success. Some of the greatest outcomes have been produced by groups or teams of people who shared a joint effort in completion of the steps that lead to a specific victory. This being said, the process of tattooing is no exception; it's a process which multiple parts can contribute to the completion of. In this instance, someone else could draw the piece and transfer it onto the skin for you to trace. Beyond the knowledge of needle depth and comprehension of the task, technically all you would need is a steady hand and of course the needed equipment for a healthy execution.

On the other hand, perhaps you are more of a "one-man-band," who prefers to work alone or without a team. Even still, you are capable of tattooing without being skilled at drawing! Aside from the fact that drawing is actually something that can be taught and learned, there are other ways to go about creating a design on your own.

Think way back to elementary school worksheets. Perhaps you can recall an assignment in which you have a piece of graphed paper and a numbered set of instructions: showing simple lines, curves or shapes to make in each tiny box of the graphed paper... Though separately, each numbered, tiny box appears as something seemingly minute and simplistic; advantageously, once you've completed every step for each box on the graphed paper, you are clearly able to see that those little boxes come together as a whole to create one big picture. If you completed the worksheet with care and accuracy, taking your time to be sure your placement within each small square was precise, then your final product on the graphed paper as a whole looked and probably even felt a lot like you had drawn a really nice picture.

This method is mathematical, it's geographical, it's time-consuming! BUT, if you are meticulous and methodical and extremely determined, it's absolutely do-able. It's best to condition yourself by finding other ways to practice before actually implementing upon human flesh. Some people practice tattooing on pig-skin or prosthetic flesh. There are also books like this one that provide a miniature staging of real customer interactions and cover-up requests you might encounter while working in a tattoo shop. This particular type of interactive practice book is super helpful when it comes to a tattooists apprenticeship, because not only does it provide simulations of "real-life" situations for you to practice on- but even better, once you've completed all the practice tattoo activities, the book magically transforms from a workbook to a portfolio that showcases examples of your tattooing abilities.

It goes without saying that creating cover-up tattoos is even more difficult than tattooing a design on virgin skin. So, in itself, every tattoo artist should undergo special training on the subject of cover-up art. So by utilizing this type of training early in your studies, you're pretty much "killing two birds with one stone," to put it very simply... But to reel it all back in, and keep this article true to its subject: using a tattoo cover-up practice workbook as an aspiring tattoo artist who can not draw well* .. Having a pre-existing piece on the skin, as you would in the instance of a cover-up, will give you a bit of a guide to follow; you can create your "graph" over the existing art and as you make your series of small lines, curves and shapes in each little square- whose "whole" will end up being your final piece- and you can do so while following the shapes and curves of the tattoo you are doing the cover-up practice work on.

In summary, just like your folks used to say (or maybe they didn't- in which case your need to hear this was even MORE extreme)* "WITH THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF EFFORT, THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN'T DO!!" Follow your dreams, little buddy. You got this ;)

Also, the cover-up tattoo practice book I use and LOVE is literally around ten bucks on Amazon ! Considering the gain, you absolutely can't beat that. So, if you're interested, here's where I found it at: https://www.amazon.com/Tattoo-Artist-Portfolio-Interactive-Challenge/dp/B0BHBKXGDK/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=tattoo+artist+cover-up+practice+book&qid=1667465211&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIxLjc3IiwicXNhIjoiMC4wMCIsInFzcCI6IjAuMDAifQ%3D%3D&sr=8-2