I’ve been asked many times what someone should look for when trying to find a good artist. The best way you can do this is to look at their portfolio, whether it’s in a book at their shop or online. If they don’t have good work in their portfolio, they’re probably not good artists.
The shop may be clean, the people there might be nice, and the design they draw up for you might be exactly what you want, but if your artist doesn’t stand up to the points listed above, then you’re going to get a bad tattoo.
It’s okay to walk into a shop, talk with an artist for a while, and decide you don’t want a tattoo from them. Even if the artist has a bad attitude about it or tries to convince you to just let them do it, remember this is going to be on your body for the rest of your life.
This is fucking fantastic thank you!!
2 Small clarifications: in the TARDIS comparisons, the better tattoo (right) is watercolor, not trash polka; if you are anemic (as I am), there is a strong possibility you will bruise no matter how great our artist is. If you take your iron like you should, then your chances of bruising will decrease significantly. A suggestion: know the style of tattoo you want before getting one, research artists who are good at that style, then check out their shops and portfolios.
^Reblogging for that information!
