Realistically, there are multiple ways to book an appointment but as one knows the artists are professionals and would still require an interaction on a professional basis at first and maybe it gets more mellow once you and the artist meet.
It is very important that one considers what needs to be sent to the artist in order for him/her to understand what your vision is and so they can be able to build something off your referencing and description.
Always give your your name surname and contact number in case there is a need for contact other than email, give good references (sketches and direct pictures would be better than a picture of a tattoo as the body parts warp will make it hard or even impossible to replicate) and a picture of the area that the tattoo would be ( picture to be taken by someone else in good lighting and avoid mirror pictures), along with a description of what you want in your tattoo, like what you would keep from the reference and what you wouldn’t keep.
booking for a consultation is normally easy if there is a need for one. Generally, once the consultation is concluded and you reach an agreement with the artist he/she would book an appointment for you right there and then.
Ways to contact an artist and book an appointment:
Email: Most artist have either a direct email address, an online booking form which is then forwarded to them through their personal websites system or a “book now” button on their social media page or website.
Social media: This method should only be a backup if one cannot reach the artist through email and through his booking, one would generally use social media as a forms of communication between the client and the artist when the first interaction happens and communication for the tattoo continues. Social media is an unreliable place to try to book an appointment as there is usually a large amount of messages and the likeliness of your message getting lost in a cluster of messages is high.
Keep in mind:
Walk-ins: If you want to get something that day you can definitely walk in and get tattoos. However, make sure that the studio of your choice takes walk-ins. Private studios only do custom work for tattoo appointments. Keep in mind, also, that if you specifically want a custom tattoo, that takes longer than a flash tattoo. Flash tattoos are sketches that the artist has, ready to be picked by any client who still doesn’t know what to get but see a sketch that he/she likes. Flash tattoos are best for day-of tattoo appointments and walk-ins.
Approval: As stated in one of my previous articles, each artist has his own style and form of tattooing. Artist can simply not accept to do the tattoo based on many reasons. The tattoo not being their style may be one of the reasons, it being beyond their abilities, they can also not accept simply because they do not like the tattoo. Keeping this in mind there is no reason to get defensive or even hostile simply because an artist does not accept to do the tattoo, there are many other artists to choose from, if one doesn’t accept, you just look for another artist that does your style and speak with him/her.
What to email a tattoo artist when booking an appointment:
- A simple description of your idea and any photo references you may have.
- A picture of the area that will be tattooed (taken by someone else, in proper lighting and avoid mirror photos)
- Any particular style, colors, details, and similar, that you’d like included.
- Dates that work well for you.
If there is no indication of how the tattooist would like the booking to be, don’t fret! Just message the artist via email or social media and ask him/her on how the best option to book would be and and what they require from you.
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