The Complex and Incredible Tattoo Artistry

Tattooing is a medical procedure that requires ample designing talent, creative interpretation and artistic rendition. Tattoo is a complex form of art that spans over several fields of discipline – medical, drawing, chemistry, animation and a whole lot more. And tattoo artists in Brisbane aren’t getting the recognition and respect that they so deserve.

To be a tattoo artist you first have to be an artist. Someone who have the natural dexterity on design and drawing. If you can’t draw a fish that looks like a fish, then you better find another art form to pursue. First, you have to master your drawing and design skills. And then you have to practice transferring the design from paper to skin.

You have to consider that paper is plain, unyielding and constant. Skin is moving, growing and changing. The ink on paper is drawn, glided on. The ink in tattooing is injected onto the skin. The paper will not mix with or change the chemical properties of the ink. The skin and the body will.

Even the best and most renowned Brisbane tattoo artists of today started from the bottom – doing tattoos for free, if they find somebody who’s wiling. They will spend a minimum of one year under the tutelage of the experts. Learning designs, learning techniques and learning the business.

Don’t ask tattoo artists to show you their first tattoo job. Most will decline, and the few who will agree will show you their twentieth job. It is that bad. So the next time somebody offers you a free tat, think again. Or put into a contract a free cover-up job, in maybe five years.

Tattoo artists are experts in rendering creative designs based on their client’s description. During the consultation, the client will bring in sample designs or speak of what he or she wants. Artists are adept in understanding what clients want and are able to recreate that understanding into a specific design. There is no room for misinterpretation and confusion. That is why tattoo artists perfect the design on paper before transferring it to skin.

It is only in tattooing that artists need a license. Artistry is supposed to be a form of expression and licenses are control and restrictions. Since when do artists need a license?

Maybe it is the gruesome aspect of the art. Tattooing is not for the fainthearted. It entails blood, sweat and pain. Artists have to desensitise themselves to be able to do their job. Poking and pricking people with a needle a thousand times is not the most delightful thing to do.

Artists have to ignore client screams, pants and cries. Heck, they know tattoo hurts like hell, and here they are screaming at the sight of needles.

Artists focus on finishing the job fast and exactly how the client wants it. But often, trying to keep the client from moving too much is a lot more work.

Then why are there Brisbane tattoo artists who keep doing it? And do inspiring artists willing to undergo all the training, the learning, the mistakes and go through the long and hard climb to tattoo excellence and notoriety?

Because they are artists. They live for the art. All their efforts, thoughts and dreams are tattoos. They have found their niche and they love what they’re doing.

And for the perks of the job. Yes, there are perks to being a tattoo artist. The most important and fulfilling of which is happy and satisfied clients. And then there’s the creativity, the designs and the challenge. Oh, and the money.

So, do you want to be a tattoo artist?