Tala's Tattoo Blog

Being the paralogical animal I tend to represent I welcome your stories…  As a story teller I take pleasure hearing the tales of life writ large in your emotion, awareness, and experience…  I invite you to share… 

Contrary to some tattoo artists; I want to know the meaning your tattoo illustrates, the significance, how you’ve come to prefigure what you want in a tattoo.  Does this signify a necessity to hear/read/glean the essence of your tattoo?  Nope.  But; if you want to express your process, your perception:  I’m happy to listen, and comment, if you so desire…  . 

In my world view tattoos always have substance, subtelty and weight…  The ink going into your skin accents an authority in your life.  Tattoos are literally signs.  They may be words, images or a combination of both…  In any case; rather; in ALL cases, tattoos have meaning…  From the death of a family member to getting a tattoo while drunk on shore leave, each has a story. 

Randomly choosing a shop to walk into, throwing a dart at the flash and subsequently having the tattoo delivered into and through the dermis IS a story.  Try to get a random tattoo…. Really… see what happens.  It will, it must, necessarily;  have moment, pertinence, pith.  The human mind will make it have meaning, create interpretability; especially if one assigns it zero distinction at the outset…    Tattoos cannot not have semantic and/or iconic phrasing…  We are creatures of consequence… Ideation and fate abound. 

What if you want to keep your story to yourself?  Well, if you choose to keep your story to yourself, I’m happy to just do the tattoo.  But… if you want to inform the artist, I’m happy to accept and delight in your allegory, your journey….   

Tala
http://www.talatattoo.com
415 902–4794
San Francisco, CA 94110

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I’m an artist.  I’m not special necessarily.  I doubt anyone is.  I mean; think
about it… there are billions of people on the planet and billions who’re
already gone, passed away in the far reaches of time. What could they think of
us?  Were they special in their time? 

I’m an artist.  There are differences in people.  Like many I embody,
literally, many of those differences.  However one may explain oneself, we are
all part of; as well as apart from… those around us, our culture, the world. 
The difference of course makes the difference in how one represents visually,
kinesthetically, intellectually, emotionally, physically.  We are all works of
art continuously conditioned and subsequently conditioning our environment. 

I’m an artist.  Primarily visual, but that bleeds, (literally, liberally), into
many other genres, other mediums, other modalities.  I’m a writer.  I’m an
opinionated, critical…  and yet: open-minded individual.  I’d better be if I
want to learn anything. 

I’m an artist.  Emotionally biased toward sensation and non-logical
determinism.  I have this knack, this trick, where I see the end near the
beginning.  It infuriates those for whom logical progression is necessary.  (It
makes it easy to confuse some folks, but my process is like that, a leap from
start to finish…)

I’m an artist.  Study, research, thought, analysis, and persistent redundancy
are necessary for my expression in any of the artistic realms.  A muse helps. 
Dreams are even better, once the work of focus has been exhausted and the body
is allowed to relax.  Epiphany comes from a bit of effort… at least for me
effort of some sort is the prerequisite more likely to generate illumination,
an implicit intuition…

I’m an artist. I literally move to the beat of a different drummer. A funky
drummer to be sure. In my tattoo environment you’ll be treated to Funk, Blues,
Soul, R&B, Jazz, a bit of Country, some show tunes, Swing, Hip-Hop and a
smattering of Rap. I like drums, bass, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, strings,
guitar, keyboards and… did I mention… FUNK.   

I’m an artist… fated to be an artist.  I don’t always love producing art.  At
times the production of art, for me, requires effort; sometimes struggle.  The
exertion makes the result that much sweeter.  Oh… happy accidents are very
welcome; but a part of me finds it exquisitely exhilarating  when I must needs
strive to redesign, reconstruct, renovate my technique and/or understanding of
the explicit artistic endeavor.  The tattoo that is…

I’m an artist.  Not all my work is fantastic, mind-bending, acid-flashback
chiaroscuro induced nightmares nor noir dreamscapes.  However, my desire is to
achieve artistic breakthroughs pushing a resultant beauty, drama and visually
arresting work evoking distracted emotion coupled with unexpected and
seductively idiosyncratic symbolism…   in a nutshell… 

I’m an artist.  Technique is paramount.  Without intent of persistent
discipline or the ability to replicate the rendering today… tomorrow, or more
importantly; to improve the technique of today tomorrow… one is lost as an
artist.  That is to say; I must be capable of rendering, at the very least,
adequately in the medium currently being worked.  (Here: ink in skin.) 
However, that is not enough.  I must be more than adequate.  I must be in the
top ten percent with my skills.  That too is not enough.  I must consistently
work to improve my skills and develop better and/or improved technique.    

Previous Shops Tala has worked in
Tala Tattoo – simply the best, trust me.  San Francisco  415 902-4794
Black and Blue Tattoo, Best of the Bay 2007, 2008
PierceInk   San Jose
Gotham   San Francisco
Leona’s Tattoo   Gurneville on the Russian River

Tala is a commercial and fine arts photographer and a writer as well as a
tattoo artist.  Tala has worked with computers, is a master machinist,
mechanic, programmer and metal worker.  Tala is an astrologer, a clinical
hypnotherapist and an educator.   Tala is a business consultant and has advised
numerous businesses how to successfully increase their profit.  Tala has also
been the subject of documentaries and has been interviewed by various media.

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well, really, any tool available, but here we’ll be focusing on photography…

So… what does working with a camera do to an artist?  What specific actions-
things- must one do when using a camera as an extension of, an adjunct to,
tattoo art?  (Aside from the fact that one MUST make at least acceptable photos
of tattoos if the tattoo artist is going to publish or advertise their work.) 
Perhaps a better question is: what could one potentially learn as a painter,
sculptor,  tattooist… in fact, anyone producing art, by using a camera? 

The question may be answered in a number of ways, but here are a few for your
mastication… 

Using a camera forces the photographer to do certain things.  Not the least of
which is LOOK.  Part of the beauty of the process of photography is the need to
compose in the camera.  Now, you may NOT compose in the camera, but then you
run the risk of loosing the image, part of the image, or most importantly…
detail.  All photo capturing processes have a limited information capacity
including processes which rely on chemical/film/metal and/or digital
production…  Resolution of lenses and lens distortion play a part in
composition.  Available darkness plays a part…. (yes, yes, I know, most
photographers refer to this as “available light,” but when you turn it on it’s
head you might see something different, ya?)   Composition is about what one
leaves OUT of the image as much as what one puts into the image. 

Another factor is shutter speed.  The time from the press of the button to the
moment when the curtain actually moves and the image is captured.  There is
ALWAYS a lag, even in the most expensive and well engineered cameras.  One must
learn to anticipate the shot as well as how to frame it.  (What has that got to
do with other media including tattooing?  Well, yet again, it trains the artist
to LOOK.)  When the mind/eye/heart are synced a more interesting set of image
options open up.  One starts to see the world in stills and…perhaps,  in
moving frames, captured and framed art, continually evolving and presenting
itself from moment to moment. 

A good friend once asked me what the most important tool for a photographer
was/is… Of course the answer was off my radar… She said: “The WALL.”  Huh? 
Yup, the wall is your best friend as a photographer, painter, graphic designer,
tattoo artist… in fact ANY artist benefits from putting her/his work up on
the wall and LEAVING it there.  Study it.  Walk away.  Come back and study it
some more.  Ignore it.  Walk past and glance at it.  Leave it up on the wall
for a good amount of time…  weeks or months.  Have friends and family
critique the work.  (Doesn’t matter if they don’t know or understand art. 
You’ll know if their critiques mean anything and you’re inviting them to be a
part of your life, your process.)  Have other artists look at your work.  Have
several artist friends and/or acquaintances over to view the work… more than
once.  LISTEN to the artists.  You don’t have to do what they suggest, but it
might be worth trying at some point on some other image… or the one they’re
critiquing…  Conversely, spend time with artists who invite you to critique
their work…  There’s a ton o’ info there!

Perspective is probably an artifact of the use of lenses…Italian perspective
is simply an understanding of optics.  No doubt the result of using the Camera
Obscura and later… lenses…  Lenses were a HUGE factor in how the west and
the world literally changed viewing and creation of art.  Lenses distort.  A
friend proudly displayed a painting of a race car in action and proclaimed the
artist never painted from photographs… Perhaps, but the artist had several
artifacts from photography in the painting including compressed depth of field
and limited plane of focus including an out of focus thumbprint from a specific
type of lens.  Thus suggesting; images from cameras have played no small part
in his understanding of what a picture SHOULD look like… 

Cropping… my favorite… While I do everything possible to crop in the
camera, there are often better images within the image I’ve captured on film. 
These refined images may be perceived through the use of two of my favorite
tools; 2 pieces of black art board cut into wide “L” shapes such that they may
be placed over an image and used to isolate the most pleasing composition
possible.  (This is also a great tool to use when composing/designing a
tattoo…  There are times when a tattoo looks better using part of the image
instead of the whole enchilada…)   Cropping your photographs translates back
into how you shoot/compose images in the camera and… how you see and render
tattoo art. 

These are but a few points on the use of cameras/photography to improve any art
form.  The most important bit here is the focus… not necessarily through the
camera/lens, but the focus on producing art.  The discipline aimed at the
outcome.  When one lives the art, sleeps it, breathes it, views it in everyday
interactions one must change the form of the art produced…   Necessarily

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So, the debate about what makes a good tattoo often takes a number of
spins/turns…  With many artists dumbing down their response by stating the
following: The only good tattoo is what the client wants.  Is that true?  Yes
and no… 

Yes if the only concern is having the client feel good about the tattoo right
now.  And please understand; there are many clients who only want the tattoo
they want and… it has to be the tattoo they’ve brought to you right now…  As an
artist I need to remember, people change their minds.  They learn new ways of
looking at the world.  They mature.  They get art educations.  They change…
inevitably… 

As a tattoo artist and a member of a community, a place, the world; I believe I
have a duty to help my clients get the best I can give them right now. 
(Hopefully my skills continue to advance and my work continues to get better
over time.)   So… suppose a client brings me the image shown below…  With some
slight alteration this will make a stunning tattoo…  Is it the best tattoo I
can give my client?  (Scroll down past the image to read and see more…)

What about the image below?  Would this make a “better” tattoo?  Well, yes and
no…  No if the client is only interested in black tribal tattoos and that’s
their plan for the canvas of skin… now and in the future.  (remember… people
change.)    Yes; it is a better tattoo if the client is looking for maximum
impact from a visual image rendered on the body.  The image below, when
concentrated in the skin, is STUNNING and I guarantee people will look at it
and be blown away.  Additionally this tattoo will age more gracefully and hold
its pop and wow value far longer than the black tribal above.  However… the
black tribal above is STILL a fantastic piece of art and will get it’s own fair
share of “Damn thats a FINE tattoo” compliments…   

So, if you’ve read this far I’m now in the December Doldrums and… it’s the
end of a year and… the end of the decade!!!  If you contact me, book an
appointment, and put your booty in my chair for either of these images before
January 1st, 2010, I’ll give you 50% off.  If you make the smart choice and get
the image below, I’ll give you an additional 10% off.  That’s 60% off normal
fees.  I really, really want this image in my portfolio…  Don’t you too want a
kick-ass tattoo?   Bring a friend and they can have the image you don’t get!!!
Call me now!  415 902–4794.

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You’ll find a LOT of disagreement on this subject.  Read all the art theory you
want, all the color theory, it’s all interesting, informative, full of science
and reason.  All good stuff.  Color/light/dark/value… Reflected vs
transmitted.  Truly delightful and all a good read and worth thinking about.

Is black a color?  Well, yes and no…  If we’re talking value and all we have
are black and not black, is there color?  Depends on what is meant by color. 
See, we’re getting into nominalizations and epistemology here and I’d really
rather talk about the requirements of DRAMATIC imagery. 

What’s so important about drama?  Do you really need an answer to that
question, given the nature of North American Culture?  We live drama.  So, from
my personal point of view, (there’s a song in there…), drama is, and
therefore… BLACK, is a necessary and required component of tattooing. 

View the Dutch Masters and… El Greco, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi.  Dark
pushing light forward.  To see bright color one must have an abundance of Black
and also, importantly, de-saturated color.  A very bright painting/tattoo will
generally have perhaps 10% pure saturated color.  Saturated color will
generally be located closest to, right next to, the darkest black. 

All that said, most good black isn’t.  My blacks often depend on the complement
of the major color theme of the tattoo.  My blacks often contain that/those
complimentary color/s.  So, is Black a color? 

A good tattoo may not have a great deal of black in it, however, a GREAT tattoo
must have an abundance of BLACK.  I expect my clients to want and achieve
the possession of great tattoos.   

Artemisia Gentileschi Painting: Judith Slaying Holofernes – Oil on Canvas

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If you’ve been waiting for your artist to have the time to get the ink in your
skin, if your artist is booked in advance, you may find December and January to
be your friend…  The holidays are fraught with drama for most folks.  People
literally die at this time of year.  It’s tough for the toughest to get
through.  This means many more openings in a tattoo schedule.  Clients have
holiday emergencies with family, work and more importantly… MONEY… $$$.

The result of this is an opportunity for you.  If you’re one of the lucky ones
who takes care of their money, has a happy family and one for whom the holidaze
are an easy time, well, you can talk to your artist and she, or he, may just be
able to find time to fit you into one of those slots a less fortunate client
has vacated.  Trust me on this and take advantage of it asap if you’ve been
waiting for your artist to have the time…  Truly, the time is now. 

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Have Patience – Artwork takes time!

Artwork takes time. It requires reference, thought, sketching,
thinking, contemplation, insight and it evolves from the first
contact to the time we start inking your skin.

If you expect the process to be quick, simple and involve little
thought; choose a piece of flash off the wall, off the internet, out of
one of my books. If you want a custom piece it will require
patience on your part. Just because we have an appointment
scheduled for your tattoo to begin on a certain date does NOT
mean it will start at that time. I’ll do everything in my power to
make certain we do start as scheduled, but… poop drops… or…
in other words, unfortunately… SHIT HAPPENS.

A tattoo artist doing custom work is always looking to make/find
time to draw, paint, think, catch a bite to eat, hold the kids and/or a
conversation with a friend. If you’ve never tattooed you can’t
imagine the amount of time going into all the tattoos an artist does
in a week. I literally spend all my waking hours preparing for and
researching tattooing.

I have a friend, another tattoo artist, working out of his home who
is booked more than a year in advance. He’s lucky; most of his
clients simply give him a general idea and he designs what he
knows will be a kick-ass tattoo for them. They trust him. You’ll
have to trust me if you want a great tattoo. I’m not booked a year
in advance… YET, but I will be. Soon. (He charges $400 per
hour… I’m still a bargain – now.)

Most tattoo artists are working on designs up until the time the
client walks into the shop for the appointment. There is simply
NEVER enough time. For this reason it is extremely unrealistic to
expect a design to be emailed to you prior to the appointment.
Please don’t ask, I won’t email a design under any circumstances.

A large portion of my earnings go to support the process of your
tattoo. I’m constantly researching art techniques, tattoo
techniques, purchasing equipment including better tattoo machines
– (they’re not all created equal!) – and… tubes, grips, ink, needles.
Add to that the number of reference books I own, (which are
pushing me out of house and home), and continue to acquire and
you may begin to get an inkling of how little is left for fun… I am
obsessed with art and the art of tattooing – to your benefit! We
haven’t even begun to talk about computers and software yet!

Most of the design work viewed at your consult and/or your
appointment is unfinished. That is to say ;the design/artwork is an
idea, a rough sketch, ready for a stencil, but contains no color, no
shading. You’ll need to trust me for shading and/or coloring. I
have it in my head. If you want finished artwork to view prior to
being tattooed it will cost you dearly. I’ll charge you for
design/artwork time at the tattoo rate. I’ll estimate the time for
artwork and receive that amount from you before starting the
design.

My artwork, especially tattoo design, is becoming more complex,
more intricate, requiring much more of my time for drawing.
Consequently I have to manufacture time to draw, paint, etc;
usually taking time away from tattooing. Needing compensation
for my time… I charge for design work. Hourly payment for design
equals hourly charges for tattoo time. Also; when the designs are
more complex, they require larger deposits.

If I’ve run into something needing to be addressed before we start
your tattoo session we may use all or part of your tattoo session for
discussion of your design/artwork. A discussion about a major
design issue may mean a complete change in the tattoo and
will/may require another deposit for additional work. This is fair.
It’s unfortunate, but not always possible to tattoo on the day of
your tattoo appointment. Please be patient. It means you get a
better tattoo in the long run.

I’m expressing these thoughts and business practices here to
further insure a fantastic result for you. If you want a shitty tattoo
there are plenty of folks who’ll throw one on you. I have deeper
integrity. I expect your desire in wanting an extraordinary kick-ass
tattoo is a major part of choosing me as your tattoo artist.

Deposits are applied to the finished tattoo only when the drawing
is negligible requiring little work to render. That stated… Deposits
are NON-Refundable for ANY reason. EVER. If you’re unsure
about your tattoo, me or any aspect of the process, stop, think
about this implicitly and deeply and then commit to me as your
artist for the duration. This is a collaboration and the money
you’re investing is for something you really, really want. Be sure
you want it and are committing to the time and patience required to
achieve the result.

You agree to the deposit and it either pays for time spent in
creating artwork, to insure your showing up for your appointment,
or… it is applied to the last session of your tattoo. Once you give
me the deposit you have committed to your tattoo. We can/may
make changes in the design. Changes MAY incur further charges;
they may not. How much you place on a deposit depends on our
relationship, how stoked I am about your tattoo, your showing up
on time, and especially how much preparation I have to do for your
tattoo.

When you get a tattoo from me it may take a year or more to
complete, really. Larger takes longer. Greater complexity takes
longer. That said… design often takes longer than you may have
expected and, the design may require changes. It’s a process you
MUST be prepared for. If you’re not getting your tattoo soon
enough it’s because I’m making sure you get the best possible
tattoo I can give you. Please be patient. Recognize this process of
tattooing with anyone is just that, a process. Enjoy it. Relax and
expect the best. I do. And… I plan for the best. For you.

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What makes a good tattoo? How can I tell?

Tattoo Design Considerations…
What makes a good tattoo? Really…

Ultimately it comes down to what you, the client, wants; but… there
are some over-riding fundamental design issues that make for a
readable, legible, sharp, long-lasting tattoo which contains that
magical and artful “WOW” factor.

• Contrast of value (light vs dark)
• Contrast of line (thin vs thick)
• Contrast of color (opposites on color wheel)
• Contrast of Positive/Negative Space
• Contrast of Texture (smooth vs rough)
• Placement and Flow of tattoo on body (fit on body)
• Proportion (size, weight, area, style)
• Lost and Found edges
• Strong negative space
• Technique and/or tattooing experience (time spent tattooing, ability)
• Excellent tools and materials (inks, machines, needles, tubes, power supplies)
• Size of Tattoo (Small Tattoos ain’t cute!)

The previous list of design elements does not have to be contained in
one tattoo nor is it an exhaustive list. A great tattoo can be created
using only one or two of the design principles above. However, a good
tattoo will generally contain many, if not most, of the tattoo design
principles outlined above…

A good tattoo will be understood, read, and readable across the room,
across the street and through time. To achieve that end the tattoo has
to be designed such that the tattoo is recognized for what it is at a
distance. You know a good tribal design when you see it across the
street. Simple bold lines/shapes which fit the area of the body it
lives on. (Tattoos are part of a living organism, they are alive and
constantly changing just like your body is changing.) You “know” a
good dragon design across the street for the same reasons…

A tattoo design that is TOO busy will be unreadable across the room.
(It may be unreadable from two feet for that matter.) Too much detail
with too little contrast within any area will read as a crappy tattoo.
If you have to stop and ask yourself; “What is that?”, you’ve been
informed at a deep deep level just how poorly that particular tattoo
was conceived and executed.

A tattoo of small fine lines spaced closely together will eventually
become an unrecognizable amorphous blob. Bold lines, bold
transitioning areas of dark to light or contrasting areas of
dark/light, complimentary colors, complimentary texture, caligraphied
lines and negative/positive space will all help to improve the
readability of the tattoo design.

A tattoo of muted pastels may look great the day of the tattoo when the
color and contrast appear brighter due to skin trauma, plasma and blood
mixed with the ink. But… one year later that tattoo will be a mess
of unrelated, marginalized and faded areas of zero contrast and be
completely unreadable… The simple use of pastels ONLY… lacks enough
contrast to read independently from skin tone. The whitest skin is one
value brighter than medium grey, therefore MOST skin is nearer the
middle of the white-black spectrum. Compare that grey, (yes if you
photograph skin in black and white; skin is grey), to a sheet of white
paper or canvas. You may be surprised. As tattoo artists we have a
shorter value range to work with and therefore greater contrast of all
design elements is necessary to execute a good tattoo design in the
skin. (If you want to call attention to the tattoo and… while it
ain’t necessarily ALWAYS about attention, it’s generally the point.)

People often deride traditional Flash tattoos as simple when the only
thing simple about traditional American Flash is the elegance of design
and the ability of that flash to be read as well designed tattoos
today, tomorrow and forty years from now. (That said; Not all flash is
good flash… Consult with an artist who knows…)

Portraiture: To do ANY illustrative or photo-realistic work on the
body generally requires an INCREASE in contrast, (especially most
candid photos), and that generally means more and darker black, purple,
green, brown and/or blue in strategically placed areas of the design.
Not all photos or illustrations are good or great in terms of their
execution or design… If you want to know if a design is tattooable,
call me, set up an appointment, email me your ideas and come to your
consultation with an open mind… Tattooing is an art form. Good
tattoo artists recognize good tattoo design principles and can
articulate how those principles work in your design… (Or,
conversely, a good artist will let you know what design principles are
lacking in your design… Ask!)

Balancing elements of a design is a talent for some folks and takes
work and experience for others. All of us have something to learn and
any design can be improved with enough time and money. Positive and
negative space are one of the most interesting challenges in any
artwork, especially any work being executed on the body. EQUAL
AMOUNTS of positive and negative space, light and dark (which is VERY
much different than pos/neg space), line style, color contrast, size of
design elements, and texture will create a VERY BORING tattoo. A good
design needs an imbalance of pos/neg, light/dark, diffuse/sharp,
texture/smooth, line weight and color contrast to generate a confident,
readable and well executed tattoo.

Non-Traditional tattoos may not be good tattoos in terms of design, but
your tattoo may be about something other than design, readability,
sustainability and longevity. You may want your tattoo because it
means something special to you. Does that make it a bad tattoo? Well,
it makes it your tattoo and that’s fine. It may not be a design I want
to execute or that I want attributed to me. In that case I’ll let you
know and… pass you along to someone who will be delighted to render
your design. Cause… I believe the customer is always right in their
desires, needs and wants; except when it comes to a choice I’m going to
pass on, and then: they’re still right; they’ll just have their tattoo
rendered by another artist. Then… we’re all happy.

Small intricate tattoos can look stunning beside that dime your artist
photographed it next to. Wait till next year and after the ink bleeds
it’s normal amount of distance through the skin and what you have is…
THE BLOB. Congratulations, you’ve just made the “It ain’t cute.”
tattoo choice of every girl who wants their first tattoo. Notice that
wasn’t; “Ain’t it cute?” There’s a reason for that… Trust me, get a
BIGGER tattoo; you’ll be MUCH happier. Really… Or, I’ll be happy to
cover that blob you got back in the day, give you something to be proud
to wear.

Ink spreads under the skin. Ink spreads under the skin. ALL ink
spreads under the skin. Have I stated that enough? Good. That means
ANY line will be wider over time. Fuzzier too. It’s inevitable.
That’s the purpose in bold wide lines in tattooing. They look very
much the same after ten, twenty or thirty years… so… your tattoo
looks good a generation from now. Make sense? Any questions?

Apprentice tattoos are SHITTY tattoos. (That’s WORSE than crappy by
the way.) It’s the nature of the level of skill and it matters NOT the
talent of the artist. The apprentice tattoo will have to be repaired
at a later date. If you’re lucky your apprentice will inform you of
the consequences of apprentice tattooing. See, with minimal skill you
get marginal tattoos AT BEST. Let me reiterate that last point:
MARGINAL TATTOOS… AT BEST… PERIOD. That stated, a great talent
near the END of an apprenticeship under a great teacher MAY be able to
give you something good, BUT… needle in a haystack… I’m just
sayin’…

The worst thing about apprentice tattoos is line work, coloring,
shading, placement, time management, lack of experience and general
attitude that the apprentice can do anything before they’re ready and
without guidance or instruction. (Basically everything…) On the
other hand… you may like shitty tattoos and in that case an
apprentice who’s in the first year of their apprenticeship would be a
perfect choice. Ya gets what ya pays for…

Good ink is an absolute necessity for a good tattoo. Even crappy black
ink will produce poor results. When we throw color into the mix it
gets even more interesting. So, how do you know your artist is using
good ink? You don’t. Ask the artist how they arrived at their current
choice of inks. How long have they been tattooing? Who trained them
as tattoo artists? How rigorous was the training? What do they do as
an artist to improve their tattoo technique?

Good equipment will make it easier for a good tattoo artist to do their
job of tattooing you. A good artist can use almost any piece of crap
tattoo machine and create a great tattoo. It takes more effort, but it
can be done.

I prefer great equipment, well manufactured, well tuned.
I like well made tools and I’m constantly searching for and building
better tools/equipment.

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