I’ve always wondered this… do they practise on themselves first? Do they tell the first few customers that they’re newbies? what happens when they make mistakes?
To be more clear, I mean they might feel confident as artists on paper or canvas or whatever, but surely skin is a rather different medium?
Typically they enter into an apprenticeship with an established artist. The few that I know did some of the first work on themselves.
They apprentice under an established tattoo artist that they’ve shown their portfolio to and paid for the trouble. After learning the basics and watching enough tattoos being done, they start doing some simple work. Frequently they practice on themselves first, and do their first few on friends willing to be their test subject and get a free tattoo in return.
As they’ve all mentioned, and the practice that they do on themselves tends to be on the their thighs. If you ever have the occaison to see a tattoo artist in short shorts you’ll see plenty of bad tats on the upper legs because that’s the area easiest to tattoo on oneself.
I came in to say you start with a piece of leather and then progress up from there. I was close, you start with FRUIT! :eek:
From http://www.tattoobodypiercinginstitute.com/HOW-COURSES-WORK.html
Dorothy Parker’s Elbow. A collection of essays and stories about tatooing that will tell you all about it.
What kind of fruit adequately simulates skin?
I heard (from actual tattoo artist) that they practice on the pig skin. Dunno if that’s true or if he was pulling my leg.
I was gonna guess that the beginning tattoo parlors and butchers of the world have a symbiotic unspoken agreement.
I guess mango peels seem like they’d be kinda skin like.
Edit:
Hah I may still be right
I had heard that aspiring dentists practice novocaine shots on oranges (something about the peel simulating gum tissue, I suppose). I asked my dentist about this, and she said no, they just practiced on one another back in dental school.
She said the first time she had to inject a colleague with novocaine right there in front of the class, the other students all chanted “Shot! Shot! Shot!”
I’ve heard some tattoo artists start apprentices out on fruit, pig skin, commercial rubber “practice skins,” etc., but I don’t think any of the artists that I know do. One of my best friends from college is a tattoo artist, and he’s of the opinion that there’s really no other medium like skin, so tattooing a piece of fruit or leather or whatever wouldn’t really prepare you anyway. If you were to apprentice under him, your first tattoo would be on yourself or a very trusting friend.
FWIW, on the TV show Miami Ink, the apprentice (Yoshi) spent most of the 1st season watching, then he did some practice work on oranges, then himself, then he’d do some simple work (lines, filling in, real basic stuff) while the mentor watched. Lastly, he did full tats (though small and simple) on friends. Also, during the whole process, he was encouraged to draw and sketch as often as he could. He was even scolded for not
Granted, it was a TV show, so of it may have been for show (tattooing oranges makes for a good spectacle), but it seemed a natural progression.
I saw a commercial for Miami Ink where the apprentice was tattooing a real, live pig while they were throwing creamed corn on his back to simulate clients losing their lunch. Good TV, but not standard practice. 