1. Learn and practice proper sterilization techniques. You might be a talented artist, but you’re not going to become famous with a bunch of unhappy customers who have infected tattoos. It’s a good idea to get these techniques down when you’re first learning how to become a tattoo artist; then they become like second nature.
2. Solidify an apprenticeship with one of the most famous tattoo artists. This won’t be easy, but if you’re successful, it’ll offer you a fast-track to fame. It’s easy to become the best when you learn from the best.
3. Practice designing tattoos. In the early days of your career, you probably won’t get to use as much ink as you’d like, but you can use a paper and pencil. As you become a better artist, your work will be in greater demand.
4. Learn to market yourself. Word-of-mouth advertising is the best form, so focus on your current customers, but don’t neglect other methods of advertising. Create a website for yourself and update your social media accounts regularly with pictures of your best work. You never know who might be watching.
5. Conduct yourself in a professional manner at all times. This is where many tattoo artists stumble on the path to greatness. Since it’s an artistic career, many artists forget that they have to deal with people and use some basic social skills. But if people like you, they’ll be more likely to recommend your work. Yes, it helps if the work is good (of course). But an insulted customer won’t recommend the even the best artist to his or her friends.

Here are some tips for landing a good tattoo artist apprenticeship:

1. Understand that there’s much more to tattooing than just art. You’ll need to learn about sterilization techniques, business management, scheduling and much more.  When you interview with potential mentors, it’s a good idea to give him or her an indication that you know what lies ahead and you’re ready to learn everything.
2. Evaluate the tattoo artists in your area. If you live in a small town with only one or two artists, you may want to consider making a move. You can always move back to your town once you’ve honed in on your trade and are ready to show off your skills.
3. Once you’ve narrowed your list down, act like a potential client by going into the shop and asking questions. If you don’t get a good feeling as a customer, this shop probably isn’t the best place for you to learn.
4. When you’re ready to approach a potential mentor about an apprenticeship, be prepared. Bring a portfolio along with you. If you have pictures of tattoos you’ve done, they should definitely be in your portfolio. If you haven’t tatted anyone yet, just bring pictures of tattoo designs you’ve done. If you show a prospective mentor that you have talent, they’re more likely to want to spend the time with you, grooming you to become the next member of the team.
5. Be prepared with a contract. Most tattoo apprentices either work for free or for very little money, so you want to make sure your interests are protected. You certainly wouldn’t want to put in 20 hours of sterilizing needles and answering phones only to find out that your mentor doesn’t feel like helping you any longer. Put all of the details of your arrangement into a contract before you start your apprenticeship.

Jen Beirola – Jen is originally from the east coast, but she moved to Omaha to work at the shop that she would eventually own, Grinn and Barrett Tattoo. Beirola learned how to become a tattoo artist in 2000 during a 7 year term in the U.S. Air Force.

Nadine Bryant – Nadine opened the doors of Skinks Professional Tattoo Studio after moving to New Zealand from the UK. Her goal was to open a tattoo parlor that offered a friendly and welcoming environment, so someone getting a tattoo for the first time wouldn’t feel intimidated. Her shop delivers on that vision, and it even offers ground floor service for clients with disabilities.

Julie Becker – Julie now owns and operates her own private studio in Los Angeles, but she makes appearances at East Side Ink in New York City about three times a year. She enjoys tattooing in different environments. East Side Ink is more like what you would expect from a typical tattoo parlor and her private studio is much more intimate.

Heather Sinn – Heather is a former model and former contestant on “Ink Master,” a reality show based on a tattoo competition hosted by Dave Navarro. Sinn owns and works out of her own shop in San Diego.

Kat Von D – Kat is probably the most famous female tattoo artist out there simply because she starred on TLC’s hit show LA Inc. Kat owns and operates High Voltage Tattoo in Los Angeles.

Electric current flows through the coils to pull down the needles and open the points to deliver ink into the skin. The needles make tiny holes in the skin, puncturing it between 50 and 3,000 times per minute at a depth of about one millimeter. The tattoo ink in injected into these holes and penetrates the dermis layer of the skin. The power of the needles is controlled by a foot pedal that looks much like those used on sewing machines.

It is very important for tattoo artists to learn and practice safe tattoo methods, since puncturing the skin has a potential for infection and transmittal of disease. Equipment is sterilized and sanitized, and includes disposable materials. Ink cups, gloves and needles are in sterile sealed packaging.

The reusable parts of the tattoo machine – the needle bar and tube – must be sterilized before each use in a autoclave. This is a heat/steam/pressure unit that runs a 55-minute cycle and kills any bacteria or organism that might pose a potential danger. All tattoo artists are required to take classes about blood borne pathogens.

Angela Jolie’s many tattoos include tribal designs — the Japanese symbol for death and a prayer of Buddhist Sanskrit symbols. To symbolize his Cherokee heritage, Johnny Depp also has a Cherokee Indian tattoo on his upper right arm. Members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers have featured their tribal tattoos on album cover art. Bassist Flea has several tribal patterns on his arms and chest. Lead singer Anthony Kiedis many tattoos include elaborate tribal designs, as well as an American Indian tattoo since his grandmother was part Mohican.

Tribal tattoos are throw backs to early tribes around the globe. They represented different things to different tribes – they could be for aesthetics only, or they were often religious symbols, talismans or charms for good luck and to ward off evil. Others indicated status or position, were like medals for achievement in war, and symbolized bravery, strength and virility for men. Tribal tattoos on men and women alike were often worn to appeal to the opposite sex.

Today’s tribal tattoos are chosen as symbols of strength and beauty, or as a reminder of heritage. They are often places on muscular areas such as the shoulders and biceps, backs, chests and calves.

Tattooing technology has come a long way from the original tribal cultures, who cut designs into the skin and then rubbed the open wound with ink, pigment or ash. Some hand tapped ink into the skin with sharp sticks or bones carved into needles. Some tribal cultures today still continue this type of tattooing. Traditional Japanese tattoos, called Horimono, are still “hand-poked.” The method, called tebori, inserts ink beneath the skin with non-electrical, hand-made needles made of sharpened bamboo or steel.

If you are serious about becoming a tattoo artist, you will need to take the all-important step of serving an apprenticeship. Apprenticeships are fairly hard to come by, so the better your portfolio and number of classes you have taken will determine how quickly you are hired. So will your attitude. Like most entry level and on-the-job learning positions, tattoo apprenticeship work isn’t always very glamorous. You will have to show potential employers that you will be able to roll with it before they will want to take you on as an apprentice.

You will sign a contract with your employer that states your hours, pay and how long or what requirements you have to meet before you can begin working on customers. You may have to pay for the privilege of working as an apprentice. Or you may have to work for free. The average tattoo artist apprenticeship can take anywhere from a few months to two or more years.

You most likely will be expected to do a lot of “housekeeping” work – cleaning the shop, bathrooms, etc. You will learn sterilization methods and may be in charge of preparing equipment. You may also be asked to do office work such as running errands, answering the phone, filing, preparing receipts and other paperwork.

Many apprentices start their hands on training by learning how to set up stations for tattoos and cleaning up after a client is finished. Many artists buy pre-made needles, but if your shop doesn’t you will learn how to make them. One of the most interesting parts of your apprenticeship will be to watch other tattoo artists work. This is where you will learn how to refine your tattoo skills as well as how to work with clients.

During slow times, you should be working on your portfolio, honing your drawing skills and practicing tattooing on synthetic skin or yourself. It may be quite a long time before you are allowed to work on a customer. And your first customers may have to be your friends. Even when you start to do tattoo work, you will do your first tattoos for free. Customers may or may not tip you.

Tattoo shops are often open mid-morning to midnight or later seven days a week. Expect to be working most of these hours – just like you will be doing when you are on your own. You will also be required to take classes on your own time in CPR, First Aid, and blood borne pathogens.

Tattoo technology made a huge leap when Thomas Edison’s electric engraving machine was adapted to deliver pigment below the skin through a hollow needle. Another advancement was made when electromagnets were used in tattoo machines. Alternating electromagnetic coils move the tattoo needle up and down, driving pigment into the skin.

These dual coil tattoo machines are the industry standard and are used in most tattoo artist training, although some tattoo artists prefer rotary machines because they are lighter weight. This means the tattoo artist can work for longer periods of time with less finger and hand cramping. The rotary machines are quieter as well. And, a rotary machine can be used to line and shade.

Another advancement in tattoo technology has been the wireless tattoo machine. Touted as “green” technology, this machine runs on DC power so it can be used anywhere, even if no electrical outlet is present. They have a wireless foot switch so that wires don’t get in the way of the tattoo artist’s chair. They are rechargeable and can run up to 12 hours on a 90 minute charge. The batteries are also recyclable.

Most recently, programmable tattoos have become the newest advance in tattoo technology. A system marketed by ThinkGeek called MoodINQ is a want and subscription service that can change a tattoo with the swipe of a wand. The system works with microencapsulated spheres that are injected under the skin to make a “canvas.” The encapsulated area heals within two to three days and is then ready to be tattooed. A wand is used to change the tattoo canvas. The wand is plugged into a computer to download tattoo designs, which can be manipulated and customized. The wand is then rubbed over the canvas area of the skin to configure the E-ink capsules into your tattoo design. The design stays intact until it is wanded with another design. It can also remove the image as well.

Religious symbols have always been a popular tattoo genre. In fact, there are Christian tattoo artists that specialize in these designs. But religious tattoos are not strictly limited to Christianity. When learning how to become a tattoo artist, you will see a wide variety of tattoo designs representing different faiths including Hindu, Buddist, Celtic, and Tribal tattoos. Religious words such as “Faith” are popular tattoos, as are quotes from Scripture. Crucifix tattoos, images of Jesus and Buddha are also popular. A tattoo parlor recently opened inside a Michigan church.

During the summer of 2010, tattoos became a concern for Americans travelling in Thailand. Tattoos are a part of Thai culture. Called Yantra tattoos, these religious symbols are revered by the Thai people. But the Thialand Culture Ministry banned tourists from getting religious tattoos. The ministry was concerned that travelers who got religious tattoos would then be seen drinking, fighting and participating in other behavior that is considered bad by Thai standards. This, according to the ministry, would damage the Thai faith. Tattoo parlors in Tawanna, Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket were inspected by the Thai government and asked not to apply religious symbols to foreigners.

Both Jewish law and Islamic law forbid tattoos, seeing them as denegrading the body. Colombian soccer player Pablo Pino was arrested in Saudi Arabia for his religious tattoos which included the face of Jesus. There was an uproar in Saudi Arabia in 2010 when a Romanian player kissed the tattoo of a cross on his arm after scoring a goal.

Some Americans see tattoos as blasphemous, but a growing number advocate tattoos as a form of evangelism. Celebrities have brought religious tattoos into popular culture. Angelina Jolie first sported Buddist Sak Yant tattoos. Pop star Justin Bieber has an image of Jesus tattooed on his leg, a dove and Jesus’ name in Hebrew. Justin Timberlake has a cross tattoo on his arm, and Jesus is tattooed on Katy Perry’s wrist.

You can watch DVDs, take classes and observe an expert tattoo artist at work. But when if you want to become a tattoo artist, you are eventually going to have to put ink to skin. You can practice on yourself, but that has its limits. An essential part of tattoo artist training is tattoo practice skin.

Practice skin is a synthetic skin-like material or animal skin that allows you to practice tattoo techniques. It is made to feel like real skin and react to needles and ink just like real skin. It comes in squares or sheets ranging from 6 x 8 inches to 8 x 12 sheets, with a thickness of about 2 millimeters.  The sheets can be plain or may have simple designs stamped on them lightly so you can trace over them. You can also trace designs on practice skin yourself with a stencil just as you would on real skin.

Before synthetic skin was invented, practicing artists used oranges and other fruit to get used to how to use tattoo needles on skin. Animal skin such as pig skin was also used. Synthetic skin is made of rubber or a laminated rubber compound. Some brands can be used on both sides.

For a long time, the common options for those learning to tattoo were to either practice on their own skin, or to tattoo fruit, such as oranges, to get a feel for the depth of the needle. Synthetic skin can be wrapped around a typical tattoo area so the artist can get used to working on body contours.

Not only does practice skin help a tattoo artist improve their skills, good samples made on practice skin can be used in artist portfolios. An artist can try out new inks and designs, and can use the skin to show a client what a finished tattoo will look like.

The National Bureau of Labor Statistics categorizes tattoo artists with “Miscellaneous Art Workers,” so it is hard to determine the job outlook for anyone who wants to become a tattoo artist.

Your best bet is to keep a close eye on job boards. There are some great job boards and internet sites to help you find tattoo artist jobs.  Here is a partial list to get you started

Simply Hired not only posts jobs and resumes, it also has information about salary trends and a blog about job hunting.

PostJobFree.com takes employer postings and sends them to other popular job search web sites.

Tattoo Artists.org has a bulletin board/forum where job seekers and employers post information and job openings. You need to register in order to post. The site has a lot of other great info for tattoo artists as well.

Jobrapido is another site that links to other job websites, posting jobs it finds from all over.

Indeed.com is an international job site with a section for tattoo jobs in more than 20 countries. It also has information on salaries and trends and has a discussion forum.

Oodle.com was founded by former Excite and eBay executives. It uses social media to post job ads using Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

Phoenix Jobing has job posts for the Phoenix area only.

Craigslist is a great source for job listings. Each area of the country has its own Craigslist page. Start on the home page, pick your city and then look for jobs there.

Unholyjobs.com is a unique job hunting website. It is a free job board specifically for jobs in bars, strip clubs, casinos, tattoo shops, and escort agencies.

TattooRecord.com is a national website with everything about the tattoo business. Along with a job board, it has a directory of tattoo studios and tattoo artists where professionals can post their portfolios.

eResumesForVIPs jobs board has posting for specialized jobs such as tattoo artists.

The Tattoo Shop is based in the UK and is a supplier of tattoo equipment and supplies to artists in the UK and Europe. It also has a jobs board