2. CHOOSE A TATTOO ARTIST
There are three main concerns when choosing a tattoo artist:
1. Is he or she any good?
2. Do you feel comfortable talking to him or her?
3. Can you afford it?
Is he or she any good?
The only way to tell whether or not an artist is good is to see examples of his or her work. Recommendations are helpful, of course, but the recommendations should carry infinitely more weight if the recommender is proffering a tattooed example of the artist's work. There are plenty of awesome artists out there who, though you wouldn't deny their skills, just don't appeal to you with the style of tats they do. So don't take anyone else's word for it – get a look at the artist's work yourself. Furthermore, and don't start thinking we're paranoid, but it's best to see actual examples of the work on a live person who can tell you who did the work. Anyone can put up a bunch of pictures and claim authorship.
You can meet people and talk to them about their tattoos at tattoo conventions, in the tattoo studios you visit and on the street or at a club, so long as you're not an idiot about it. People are usually proud of their tattoos, and if you seem genuinely interested a lot of people will be happy to tell you about their ink. Tattoo magazines are also a good source for information. The photo-essays they publish about various artists are likely to be well-researched and legitimate examples of the artists' work. There are also websites, such as TattooStudios.com, which show examples of artists' work. The key is to shop around and find someone really capable, because the quality of your tattoo depends so much on the talent of the tattoo artist.
Do you feel comfortable talking to him or her?
This is important for safety reasons, of course, but it's also important because you have to communicate what you want in a tattoo. If you don't feel comfortable talking to your tattoo artist, it's not likely that you'll get what you want. You don't have to be best buddies with the artist, but you need to be able to talk to him or her without reserve and with some certainty that your desires will be met.
Can you afford it?
As you shop around for a good tattoo artist, you are likely to find several whose work really appeals to you. Whether you can afford them is another matter, but something you must take into account. They will not necessarily live in the same city as you, and even if they do, they might charge a lot of money for their work. Before you get too far into it, you should figure out if it's really feasible for you to work with a certain artist. You might want to call an artist to get a general idea of what your tattoo would cost -- some artists will give you a rough idea over the phone, but some won't. If the artist lives far away, you're likely to have to pay for plane fare, a hotel and the cost of the tattoo. Don't bother getting all worked up about being tattooed by a certain person, and don't waste either of your time, if you can't afford to pay all the necessary costs.
The cost of getting a tattoo varies from artist to artist. Popular artists can charge more, while incompetent or inexperienced artists will be cheaper. Artists will usually charge a flat rate for their flash designs, and this will depend on the size and color of the design. You can expect to pay approximately $50 to $100 for a "flash" (a stock piece; see "Styles of tattoos" in section 3) piece of about two square inches. For custom work, artists will usually charge by the hour, but they might negotiate prices with you ahead of time based on how difficult the design is and how long they think it will take. The hourly rate for custom work ranges from $50 to $300. Don't go for bargains. A cheap tattoo will look cheap. You should try to find an artist who charges between $100 and $150 per hour. If money is no object and you simply must have a popular, expensive artist work on you, then go ahead and spend more.
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