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Whats a decent gun for a new artist

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jahtooth
Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 2:45 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 718 Location: Capo Beach, SoCal
I have a buddy that is an incredible artist, he has interest in tattooing, but doesnt know what he needs to get started.

Pretty much interested in a cheap gun just to get him tattooing on some chicken breasts (or however you practice) and see if he gets into it. Any advice on what to tattoo on for practice is appreciated too.

~Tooth
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Guest
Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 4:45 pm Reply with quote
Most professional tattooers will strongly discourage someone from just jumping into tattooing, & buying a machine with no prior knowledge/experience. Tell him to research and familiarize himself with tattoo history etc. Make sure he understands that although he may be a great artist, tattooing is whole different ball game. It can possibly take him years & years to achieve on skin what he may be capable of with paint etc. In a decision to start tattooing he will have to throw everything out the window and start from scratch(literally)in this medium.
It pays off to learn the right way, and buying a cheap gun is usually a bad decision. Like with anything else, you get what you pay for. To purchase most quality tattooing supplies you need to be an experienced tattooer working in a professional shop and have proof of this. The reasoning for this is because people in the tattoo community do not want untrained scratchers out there tattooing people. Besides giving people bad tattoos that will probably be covered/removed by them sooner or later, there is a high risk for transmission of diseases without proper knowledge & sterilization equipment, and ultimately it makes the tattooing community look bad. If he really understands what he is getting into and he is still genuinely interested he should speak with some experienced tattooers & look for someone willing to offer him an apprenticeship. He will learn a lot more in a professional shop than he ever will on his own. To really become good & progress at tattooing you need to devote the majority of your time to it. Your social life & everything else will have to take the back seat for a while. I'm not trying to discourage your friend, it just requires a hell of a lot of dedication & patience and not everyone is up for it.
jahtooth
Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 5:49 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 718 Location: Capo Beach, SoCal
Cool, i totally understand that. Any other opinions?
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seth c
Posted: Tue May 18, 2004 10:21 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 26 Jul 2002 Posts: 4197 Location: baltimore
my advice is for him to never even consider being a tattooer. at this stage in the game, it's a flooded market, with far too many tattooers to fill the positions. unless he is a PHENOMENAL artist, then chances are he'd only be another mouth to feed, contributing nothing to the craft other than another idiot to wear shiny dice/flames shirts and talk about free blowjobs from gap toothed redneck cunts.

imagine if a football team had 150 players, and each took a turn on the field during a game. wouldnt be much fum would it?

about 10 years ago, there were maybe a handfull of tattooers in each town. everyone had plenty of work, even during the slow season. as the years went on, and more and more tattooers jumped on the bandwagon, the pie got sliced into more and more pieces, and after a while, people who were used to a decent slice, were cut down to a sliver of pie... then just crumbs. soon we'll have to lick the stain off the pie plate just to try and taste what was once there.

now, how is a guy who has been tattooing for most of his life, has no formal education and no other usable skills, going to feed his family if any more art student motherfuckers want to jump on his game?

imagine if your buddy has owned a skateshop since 1985. keepin it real since the heyday. being fair and honest, and looking out for the kids who kept him in business. wouldnt it suck if some douchebag paintball entrepaneur decided that he wanted in on some of that action, so he opens up a discount skate hut next to your buddy, thereby forcing him to either go under, or succumb to the corporate bullshit.

i dunno.. i'm just about fed up with the "hey, my buddy draws good, he should do this for a living" bullshit.

tell him to go into computer aided design.. there's a much more promising future in it.
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jahtooth
Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 11:48 am Reply with quote
Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 718 Location: Capo Beach, SoCal
Quote:

On 2004-05-18 23:21, seth c wrote:

imagine if your buddy has owned a skateshop since 1985. keepin it real since the heyday. being fair and honest, and looking out for the kids who kept him in business. wouldnt it suck if some douchebag paintball entrepaneur decided that he wanted in on some of that action, so he opens up a discount skate hut next to your buddy, thereby forcing him to either go under, or succumb to the corporate bullshit.

i dunno.. i'm just about fed up with the "hey, my buddy draws good, he should do this for a living" bullshit.




Wow, thanks for your opinion, not what i was expecting. My buddy has no intention of doing it as a career. He already has a career in other mediums of art. He is contracted by Disney and a few others. He is more than some guy who can draw well.

Ha ha, now that i think about it more, this is the response i should have expected. Just thought you guys might have some positive advice. Without it i guess my buddy will just have to figure it out himself. Like i said he's not looking to open the "skate hut" of tattoo shops, or a shop at all. Just looking for some equipment advice, not career advice.
Thanks anyway
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jkelly
Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 3:32 pm Reply with quote
ORDER OF THE SKULL ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 11 Aug 2003 Posts: 7129 Location: Wild in the streets
your not going to get positive advise from any tattooer when your friend wants a gun to tattoo chicken out of his kitchen...You would not believe the scarred up shit that comes in the shop that is way beyond repair.. Hell man, he works for disney, sounds like a hell of a gig to me. I would love to be hiding cocks in cartoons for a living
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jkelly
Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 3:39 pm Reply with quote
ORDER OF THE SKULL ORDER OF THE SKULL
Joined: 11 Aug 2003 Posts: 7129 Location: Wild in the streets
theres a hell of alot more to it than just the right gun as you put it...how about sterilization. Your friend would be lucky if all he did was a bad tattoo.. while he is at it he can throw a little hepatitis into the mix to really fuck up their day
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jahtooth
Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 3:57 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 718 Location: Capo Beach, SoCal
Obviously he would not be tatooing till all other aspects such as health issues are fully understood. Already have an autoclave (sp?). As for inking a chicken, thats just what i heard about practicing. You are assuming alot. Maybee hepatitis is spread by those guys that cant get any helpfull advice from those in the know, so they go for it on their own.

As for hiding dicks, seems you know alot about that. ha ha, (just playin, couldnt resist)

Thanks for the attitude.
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jahtooth
Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 6:19 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 06 May 2003 Posts: 718 Location: Capo Beach, SoCal
J - Check your PM's (about Jims Ramp Jam).
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seth c
Posted: Wed May 19, 2004 7:07 pm Reply with quote
Joined: 26 Jul 2002 Posts: 4197 Location: baltimore
well... ESPECIALLY since your buddy has no intention of dedicating himself 100% to the craft, then he really should steer clear of the tattoo business.

sounds like he's got a hell of a job already, and for him to just decide to experiment on people's skin to experience another medium, is an affront to all i stand for regarding the craft.

if someone would have given me the same advice years ago, i might have persued a career as an illustrator. but, i dedicated not only my entire life for a looooong time to learn the craft inside and out, but also my skin. unless your pal is heavily tattooed, or has intentions of being, then i find yet another reason for him to avoid tattooing. it takes dedication, in many ways. some of that dedication is the willingness to wear some shitty tattoos.. its only fair, as none of us started out as good tattooers, and we all did our share of shitty work.
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