What it Pays to be a Tattoo Artist
Tattooing is a career that can be extremely rewarding, for both you and your wallet, and there are several ways to make sure that it is. Unlike most other fields, tattoo artists usually don't get things like vacation time, or a salary, hourly wage, or often, even health benefits, so in order to be a successful, financially comfortable artist, there are several things you have to know, and do, to make it work. Also keep in mind that most tattoo artists are something along the lines of independent contractors, and instead of your boss setting your prices and paying you, you set your prices, and split your profits with the shop. Some shops will make you pay for all of your own materials, others will only make you pay for some. First off, is your skills. In order to become a highly paid tattoo artist, you have to be a great tattoo artist. Not necessarily a natural at anything artistic, or even necessarily a natural at tattooing (though both help). You need to work at making sure!
you're using quality materials (ink), and giving people good tattoos that they love, consistently. You also have to be able to sell yourself. You are deciding if you are worth $50 an hour...$100...$300...You decide, and then people decide if you're worth that. If you aren't, you won't get work. Start small, and as you get more booked, up your prices to reflect that. Keep your location in mind. In most midwestern cities, the average price per hour an artist charges is between 100 and 150. In larger cities, like Los Angeles or New York, most artists won't even break out their machines for less than $250. The cost of living affects the price, as well as the location- if you're in a big city, or a really nice part of town, in a good looking shop, you are much more likely to be able to charge more. If you work in a falling down house in the ghetto...Expect to be able to charge less, and so make less. Even if you're in a high-demand area, if there are too many shops, you still h!
ave to be great, or spend a lot of money advertising, to be able to make the money you want. Make a name for yourself. Do every tattoo that comes your way, smile, be friendly, be professional, be clean. Explain things to people. Let them see what you are doing. Make them comfortable. Take that extra step to grab them a soda if they're feeling lightheaded. A dollar out of your pocket is enough to make them want to come back later. Even though you love doing giant custom pieces, make the two girls who came in for matching kanji feel special, like their tattoo is really cool-because to them, it is. A great artist with a shitty attitude is going to lose a lot more customers than he keeps, and a lot of those customers will be perfectly happy with a mediocre artist who makes them feel like they're wanted. In short, you could make enough money tattooing to buy all the bling you'll ever need. I know an artist here who has 2 (nice, if a bit over-decorated for my tastes) vehicles, one brand new, the other a classic. He owns his own home. He has !
a platinum grill (one of those awful mouth pieces that goes over your teeth, like really fancy braces). You could make that kind of money. AND spend it with better taste. Or...you could end up like one of the other artists i know, working a second job because he barely makes enough tattooing to be able to buy more ink. How much you make as a tattoo artist is up to you. Good luck.
