Tattoo help/ pricing help

[JDog]

Tucker-54, also keep in mind with tattoos. Color does not cost any more than Black/Grey shading. Artists will charge by the hour most of the time. A few will charge by the piece.

A good tattoo is never cheap but a cheap tattoo is almost never good.

Always steer clear of shops that offer 2 for 1 tattoos. This screams "We are desperate for work and are willing to sacrifice artistic integrity to get people in the door"

[PigPen]

Tucker-54, also keep in mind with tattoos. Color does not cost any more than Black/Grey shading. Artists will charge by the hour most of the time. A few will charge by the piece.

A good tattoo is never cheap but a cheap tattoo is almost never good.

Always steer clear of shops that offer 2 for 1 tattoos. This screams "We are desperate for work and are willing to sacrifice artistic integrity to get people in the door"

Excellent points JDog

[Marz]

I agree, a good artist is worth every penny.

One thing is to try to go to someone that has a good reputation, poor artists dont stay around too long and good ones are usually booked out for about a month. I had a hell of a time finding an artist that was not only good but wasn't a flake. I met a couple that had done brilliant work but flaked out... one, I went to 2 appointments, consulted, gave him the art, came back to see it drawn up... flaked... came back again.... he didn remember to bring it... it takes awhile to sift through the BS o tattoo artists (although Zulu is top notch, prob. among the top 10 in the LA area).

Remember, a good tattoo is something to be proud of, a bad tattoo is something to be ashamed of.

[Alexander215]

so, you're saying like $500? i kind of just want a ballpark estimate.......also, do tattoo shops ever do like financing, or is it pay up front kind of stuff??? i'm just wondering, cuz im going to need to save up and stuff


Thanks for the replies guys!

Cash usually, though some of them will have debit machines. I can't think of ANY that do financing, there would be too much risk in that.

[Alexander215]

A good tattoo is never cheap but a cheap tattoo is almost never good.

Didn't Socrates say that?

[JDog]

A good tattoo is never cheap but a cheap tattoo is almost never good.

Didn't Socrates say that?

Actually I  believe it was Aristotle

[SlickEric]

A good tattoo is never cheap but a cheap tattoo is almost never good.

Didn't Socrates say that?

It was Plato.

[PORKY]

WELL... as far as financing, if you defaulted on payments, would you REALLY want to deal with someone REPOSSESING their work ?  OUCH!  you may find an upper end shop that sells gift certificates that you could buy antil you have enuff to get your ink , or they may even just put your ink job in "LAYAWAY"till you grt it paid for , but on the other question "is it BIG?" anything bigger than a $bill square is considerd med to large, and MOST places a color piece WILL BE more expensive than just a black piece due to slightly extra work n extra cups and such . if you dont believe me ask your artist for a black price AND a color price . I would guess 10/15 % higher. IF youve never been inked b4, your artist MAY ask for a test to see how well your body deals with tattoo ink and how well it is going to hold. some people are color sensitive to certain colors, I dont hold white/yellow very well , it leaches out quick. no sense in me even GETTING white , cuz itll be gone in 2 weeks BUT...  everybody is different. if you are going to get ink that will be exposed to the sun often   then wait till the fall to get it so it will be covered for a while because during the initail healimg and up to about 6 months sun will bleach the ink right back out, so MAKE SURE it has a chance to "set" well specially if youre a swimmer , cholorine LOVES new ink !

[GASlick]

I get my ink done in winter or fall because I have a pool at the house and I am sun whore.  That gives it a few months to set good.

[X The Hierophant]

Also worth mentioning that sun will fade a tattoo even if it is set and healed (it may take much longer - as in years - but I plan to be around for years so ...).  Personally I always put sun block on my tats as a few hours in the sun isn't worth damaging the tattoos.

[Mikekoz13]

Also worth mentioning that sun will fade a tattoo even if it is set and healed (it may take much longer - as in years - but I plan to be around for years so ...).  Personally I always put sun block on my tats as a few hours in the sun isn't worth damaging the tattoos.

                      X-

                                        That is excellent advise. One thing my artist stressed was to keep sunblock on the tattoo whenever I was in the sun.....

[PigPen]

Also worth mentioning that sun will fade a tattoo even if it is set and healed (it may take much longer - as in years - but I plan to be around for years so ...).  Personally I always put sun block on my tats as a few hours in the sun isn't worth damaging the tattoos.

                      X-

                                        That is excellent advise. One thing my artist stressed was to keep sunblock on the tattoo whenever I was in the sun.....

I had a buddy who did not heed that advice. He has a great tat that faded and is now in desperate need of touch up.

[JDog]

I slather all my ink in 30SPF and will reapply every few hours.

There is a girl here at work who got a flower tattoo last year and went to the beach 2 weeks later and the tattoo burned severley now it looks like a big ink blob, you cant even tell what it is. Stupidity.

Porky, Re:  Color vs. Black pieces, all the artists and shops that I have dealt with charge BY THE HOUR. So regardless of wether you have color or black shading it all takes time so therefore doesnt cost over the other. Some shops may be different and charge by the piece but it is rare.

[Marz]

Shops I have found that charge by the piece usually do so with a piece of flash from the wall that they are very familure with.

I have a skull that I picked out off a wall and it was 30 bucks, dude did the tatt in about 6 mins.

[Alexander215]

Tucker-54, also keep in mind with tattoos. Color does not cost any more than Black/Grey shading. Artists will charge by the hour most of the time. A few will charge by the piece.

A good tattoo is never cheap but a cheap tattoo is almost never good.

Always steer clear of shops that offer 2 for 1 tattoos. This screams "We are desperate for work and are willing to sacrifice artistic integrity to get people in the door"

Here some shops have a base rate and add per hour. Some shops will just eye the piece and put a set price on it [like the one I go to] Some will go by square inch, some just go by hour. The pricing is as diverse as the abilities of the artists.