Learn the art of Tattooing - Become a Tattoo artist. Dennis Nowakowski
paid him for the materials and appreciated his work. So he learned how to deal with customers and their demands on tattoos. His work developed further. At the end of 2014 came the point where he wanted to change his career. So he asked his friend Harald, who had tattooed for over 30 years, if he was interested in opening a tattoo studio with him. Enthusiastic about the idea, they got down to work. At the beginning of 2015 they opened their studio called Tattoo in Oberhausen. After some obstacles which just come with the self-employment, the first year passed by. More and more people became aware of Dennis' work. Sometimes even some of Harald’s customers switched to him, which Harald was quite happy with, because his schedule was bur tattoo at the seams.
A solid partnership developed, which still exists today. The former beginner and the veteran exchange their knowledge in a professional way and stand by each other faithfully in the service of the art of tattooing.
Introduction
Is it even possible to write a book about tattooing without visual aid? I was confronted with this question and, despite critical voices, I answered it with an unequivocal “Yes.” If somebody wants to learn this profession, he should be able to visualize things. With novels or audio books it works just as fine. The only difference is that you need to be able to visualize it for yourself. If you are not able to do this, you can’t advise a client who has a very specific idea of his tattoo motif. If you look around the internet or bookstores, you will find a lot of books, DVDs and Blu-Rays that deal with the topic of tattooing. Unfortunately at not very affordable prices, which discourages most buyers. Therefore I have set myself the goal to write a book that really anyone can afford.
Why this book?
Quite simply, I want to motivate young talents to face their fears and unwaveringly follow a path that will possibly take them further. It is sad to see talented people degenerate because nobody takes them by the hand and promotes their talents.
“Better let it go”, “it's just a fad” or “You won't be able to make a living from that.”
are only some of the sentences that take the courage away from ambitious people to take off professionally with what they are passionate about. Tattooing is a form of art that is becoming more and more popular, especially in Germany, and yet is still frowned upon by conservative people who cling to the traditions of hard work, such as craftsmanship. They take away the dream of talented inkers, comic artists, musicians, writers or actors to ever get a foothold with their passion.
“You'd better learn something decent”, “You've got to take over the company” or “These are just dreams.”
are the most common responses to your career choice. I don't want to denigrate solid professions, but I find it strange that there are no recognized training opportunities for exceptional jobs, such as tattooing. Is it just me, or does it perhaps say something about the backwardness of our country? But exactly here it shows who has the potential to become a tattoo artist and who doesn't. The first step always has to be taken by yourself. This also means to get away from the gossip of others who don't even know better. Those who do their job well, have no hobbies or dreams. These people take it upon themselves to decide about you and what you want to achieve. Scary are family members who laugh at you rather than support you. Distance yourself from these people and concentrate on your goal. In this case you want to become a tattoo artist - and a really good one at that.
This requires a good portion of self-confidence, as with everything you do seriously. Arrogance is often confused with this characteristic. High-flyers are eventually brought back down to earth, even more, they clap their hands with full force and that's it. This must be avoided. Self-confident, nice and courteous is the motto of a la tattoo relationship between tattoo artist and customer. Even more important is the talent. Every would-be tattoo artist can order machines, colors, equipment somewhere and go for it. Anyone can open a tattoo studio. I repeat myself - it is not yet a recognized profession, which is why talentless people who then call themselves tattoo artists, sprout from the ground like mushrooms and start to disfigure unsuspecting and obviously blind people. Which explains the phenomenon of tattoo shows on TV. Cover up shows everywhere you look. Every viewer just facepalms when he sees and thinks something like this:
“Those idiots. Why would they lie down there voluntarily?”
But the cover up professionals will fix it, right? I will go into more detail about this later. I’ll also go into more detail about further problems and solutions, which you should expect on your way of becoming a sought-after tattoo artist. The topics around machines, colors and techniques, I will talk about as detailed as possible. We will figure out the right shop, self-employment, dealing with customers, the right advertising and much more. One more thing first. Not every tattoo artist who has been in the business for a long time will pat me on the shoulder and confirm everything I say here. I would be very disappointed if everyone would do it the way I do, tattoo exactly the same style or express a similar opinion to mine. We are all too different for that. Everything here written down is based on my experiences, which I made over the last years. This book is only meant as a guideline to encourage talents and to support them to go their own way.
This book is divided into two parts. Learning to tattoo and becoming a tattoo artist. A consciously chosen decision by me. After all, one must first learn every executive activity in order to be able to boast about it later. You are not a tattoo artist just because you own tattoo machines and colors. Also not because there are people who sit down voluntarily and let you work on them. If you don’t bring the willingness and ambition to learn as much as possible about tattooing, you might as well leave it alone. After all, I want to reach as many people as possible, so that I can at least teach them the basic knowledge. Many terms and procedures will be repeated, because I rely on a subconscious conditioning. The more often you hear, see or read something, the better it is memorized. Similar to a film that you know all the lines from because you have seen it dozens of times. Since I'm such a film freak, I use many quotes to introduce different chapters. I also use various methods, which I have copied from well-known motivation trainers. In many parts of this book I will ask you to pause, to reflect and to ask yourself the right questions. This book should not only help you to become a good tattoo artist, but also to develop your personality. This is my declared goal for you.
“Enjoy reading and hopefully learning.”
I want to become a tattoo artist - How do I start?
“If you want to do something you've never done before, you have to do something you've never done before."
Congratulations, you've made a decision and you're going to go through with it. Three words will walk you steadily through this book.
“Hang in there.”
Everyone inks differently
Everyone approaches a tattoo differently, otherwise it would be boring. Nobody should copy my approach one hundred percent. It wouldn't make sense. It's just a guide to help you understand the material. Both technically and humanly. You're the operative hand, not me. To do something differently than I do is completely correct, if it’s easier for you and the work turns out even better. Now it’s time to explore to what extent your abilities are sufficient to stick a needle into the skin of other people. All prospective tattoo artists see only the technical execution of a work such as machines, colors, matrix paper “tracing paper for motifs”, outlines “contours”, ink depth, etc. They are keen on finally getting their art down. Full of zest for action, they get going and overlook details that ditattoouish a professional from a newcomer. Very often young people come to our studio because they want to learn to tattoo. Unfortunately, time hardly allows us to deal with them. Some tips and tricks are in there, but it frustrates me more and more to send these often times very gifted and grateful talents away. To hear that they were thrown out of other tattoo studios, literally chased away, I just can’t understand why. In our industry, as in many others, there is a real power struggle for the status position in society. Everybody wants to be the best, doesn’t tolerate any competition on the market and devalues other studios that actually