| If you thinking about becoming a tattoo artist you will most likely want to know what sort of money you can make and will it pay the bills. The answer is not simple as this can depend on a lot of factors including: where you live, you may live in an area with a small population of people and you might not get enough business for a full time pay. | |
| An average tattoo artist will charge between $80 – $120 per hour and the tattoo artist salary is normally around 50% and the rest goes to the studio owner. The studio owner’s percentage can vary a lot, some will give you 30% – 40% but, supply all your equipment such as needles, gloves, inks. Every studio is different and you will have to work out some arrangement with them. Working hours are usually pretty relaxed as most studios are family run businesses, you can normally pick and choose your hours and take time off when you need to but, you will not get paid. This makes it great as a part-time job along side your full-time for some extra income.
Getting into the tattoo industry can be expensive, you need to train in art and design, you will usually have to pay for your tattoo apprenticeship and buying all the equipment you need to start will amount to a large sum of money. That being said you can make a very comfortable living as a reputable fully qualified tattoo artist and if you are determined make your career successful I’m sure you will be able to raise the money. The more you do the job the better you get at it and you will be paid accordingly, an apprentice tattoo artist will only make a small percentage of the hourly rate of an experienced artist. As a apprentice you will get less work as not everyone is happy about getting tattooed by someone in training so, most people will do it along side their normal jobs say on weekends. A tattoo artist has a great job! You get to meet new and very interesting people everyday, the hours are relaxed and there’s usually a very friendly atmosphere. The tattoo artist salary is very good when you have completed all the training and you can afford to live a very comfortable life. There are also some huge responsibilities like making sure the customer is completely happy with the design before you start and doing your best work at all times. Every-time you do a tattoo for someone its like adding to your portfolio, if you do good work you will usually start tattooing your customers family and friends. |
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Hmmmm…. tattooing is indeed a full-time job. Apprenticing is too, and you often need another job to pay the bills while you learn. I often will work at least 10+ hours a week drawing for clients/ prepping tubes and needles, PLUS the 40 hours in the studio actually tattooing. It takes full-time commitment to be any good. If you can’t do that, then this isn’t the industry for you. Thanks!
I’d love to be a Tattoo Artist, im still in high school but I want out of the place I live as fast as I can and need to find a job to pay for my supplies and what not. But I also need to get a place of my own . Before I do any thing ill have at least two more jobs plus the Tattoo job , I don’t know I have a lot on my plate , so I need to think this throw.