Tattoo supply info wanted!
rgswartz on BIX
cheap as possible) tattoo equipment? (Guns, ink, needles, etc.)
All the ads I've seen in tattoo magazines look to be way overpriced.
I also don't know diddly about what manufacturer's equipment is
reliable.
Where feasible, any tattoos I get I want to both design and ink myself,
and anything of any size just takes too damn long by hand. Also, I've
been getting requests since I did a friends back. (A 5" diameter circular
design--it took about 2 hours to ink it to its current state, but it'll
take that long again to finish it.)
It sucks that it's illegal in Mass.; I can't just walk into a shop and
ask someone about equipment or watch them work.
_Rich_ _X_
rgswartz on BIX
>cheap as possible) tattoo equipment? (Guns, ink, needles, etc.)
(I'm even responding to my own post)
No one knows or cares to respond??? (or am I being too impatient?)
_Rich_ _X_
rgswartz on BIX
Well, I can speak for myself, I have not responded because I will not
support scratchers... if you go through an apprenticeship process you
will know what equipment you need, where to get it, what needs to be
done to it, and how to use it...
those people you work on will be lucky if all they get from you is bad
artwork that will need to be reworked by a professional tattooist...
do youself (and those you might work on) a favor, find an experienced
artist and apprentice...
-paul
The.I...@dartmouth.edu
The apprentice at Sign of the Wolf Tattoo
-----------------------------------------
Paul,
Thanks, at least, for responding at all.
As for the "will be lucky if they get bad artwork that needs to be reworked,"
isn't it kind of insulting to make that sort of blanket statement without
knowing me or what I'm likely to do? If I go ahead with this, I'm not putting
anything on anyone who I don't know and who doesn't understand exactly what
the situation is until I have sufficient experience and portfolio. Any work
I'll do will be on myself or close friends until the abovementioned point
is reached.
As for the apprenticeship idea, I can understand its benefits, but I think
it's impractical in some situations. For example, as I said before, I live
in a state where it's illegal, plus I have a full-time job and a son to care
for--not a situation where an apprenticeship is feasible.
I also have some other theoretical problems with apprenticeship. First, there
are going to be a limited number of good artists to apprentice to. Second,
in almost all other fields, apprenticeship has gone by the wayside. There's
obviously some reason for this. Third, if you compare artists attending
art school with tattoo apprenticeship, some will "graduate" still producing
nothing but shit. It's no guarantee of anything but technique, if that.
Last, I think apprenticeship is encouraged by current tattooists to help keep
down competition and to keep control over who's doing it. The whole idea
of it appears elitist to me.
Thanks again for responding,
_Rich_ _X_