If you're an aspiring tattoo artist and you still have free time, you're not doing it right.
The lifestyle of a tattoo artist is looked upon with fascination and envy by those who are interested in being a tattooist. I know because I was once one of those guys, honing my drawing skills and hoping for a break. And it's the same story with kids who look up to video game concept artists, rappers, animators, or guitar players. What's normally seen from outside of any creative industry, though, is not what that actual industry looks like from within.
To see inside the tattoo industry, you're just going to have to find an apprenticeship and find out for yourself. But, it does have something in common with every other creative industry out there. In order to get where you really want to be, you need to work your ass off.
I have worked painting murals, I have worked in graphic design, 3D modeling, sign printing, and several other industries, and at this point it just makes sense to me. It's what our parents tell us that we might not want to hear at first. The hard way is always the right way. And working hard in the tattoo industry means a lot of things.
For one, our families feel the brunt of us never being home. The hours of a tattoo artist, the amount of drawing we have to complete, the consulting with clients that often don't go how we plan, these things add up and take a toll. For most shops, the long hours often stretch into the night, and we get home after the kids have been put to sleep and our significant other is too tired to relax with us.
Our posture and back/neck health are the next things to deteriorate. Many artists deal with chronic pain and discomfort due to the many hours we spend hunched over clients, bent sideways, or even just sitting straight up. Combating these issues with regular stretching and posture-awareness is something we may not always think about, but we should live with the fear of being hunchbacks one day. Stretch before your sessions!
Stress and poor nutrition are more factors that will tend to have an effect on us throughout each day. Unresponsive email clients, cancels, design changes, clients who cannot sit still, the time away from our families and friends; this can all add up at times to a mindset of being stretched-thin and unable to get away from the grind. As a culture, tattoo artists also tend to not have regular times for eating or getting proper nutrition. We get poor sleep and not enough of it. We smoke and drink because we always have. And was there ever time for exercise?
Combine all this, and the lifestyle of a professional tattoo artist becomes more clear. We are damn hard workers, we have the potential to earn a very good life for ourselves, but like any industry, it comes with a cost. The most we can tell ourselves is that we are living according to how we choose. We make our own schedules, in some cases our own hours, and at the end of the day, we get to be artists for a living. Not a bad gig.
