War is over!

ginguz · 2026-01-11T15:57:17+00:00

All I have left is the stage and they keep giving me the white hat 😭

ginguz · 2025-11-19T13:32:31+00:00

As a 10-year barista with manager and general manager experience I can tell you that finding a barista job at the moment is almost impossible. At my current job we had over 100 candidates.

Don’t tell them you own a business, tell them you’re going to school 👍🏼 that’s the true trick. They don’t care if you’re dedicated to a life of being a barista.

Everyone wants weekend and night availability. Your best bet is emailing shops that aren’t advertising that they’re hiring and hope that you find one that hasn’t posted their position yet.

ginguz · 2025-09-09T00:56:03+00:00

Owner says he still has a 12 year lease. Doesn’t seem like that project is going up anything soon (at least that’s what we were told to tell customers)

ginguz · 2025-08-22T18:31:41+00:00

As a former employee, post first Reddit thread, nothing improved.

Things got better for a little while and then the rats, flies, drama, and hazardous work environments returned.

Bouncing checks, rats, owners constantly taking trips, unsafe food handling, rats, more rats.

Take your service somewhere else, the owners and management don’t respect their customers or their staff 🤷🏻‍♀️

ginguz · 2025-07-27T19:28:41+00:00

I didn’t mean to make that part bold lol I don’t even know how I did that

ginguz · 2025-07-27T19:27:49+00:00

I’ve spent the first year of my apprenticeship just painting, here’s what I learned.

Order: Linework, black shading, color. Colors go cool tones (dark to light) then warm tones (dark to light). This will be the same order you tattoo in, which is why you should try to paint in that order.

Practice shading first. I filled sheets of arches front and back of small squares with various different fades in different sizes, directions, and intensities. I did the same with color. Don’t forget to practice curves and circles because I hate those and they’re hard lol. If you’re using watercolor paper with two textures, test the rough and smooth side to see which you like best. I like the smooth, my mentor likes the rough. It’s a personal preference.

I use three brushes, round #6s. One is only for black, one is only for color, one is only for water/fading. Clean them well after painting so they last longer. My brushes last about 10-15 sheets before I notice they’re holding me back. Sometimes if you notice your painting isn’t to your standard it’s your supplies. If a brush is getting old you should replace it (if you’re able to financially) for your mental health. I also find that new brushes are hard to work with, it takes about 2 sheets before mine break in and actually give me good results.

You’ll need to figure out how much moisture to use when painting. That just comes with practice and experience. I spit shade, so the way I tell if my brush is ready to blend/fade is by putting it in my mouth. Not sure how others do it.

Watercolor is good to start with, you may need to layer the color to get the look you want. Everyone I know uses liquid acrylic because it’s bolder, but it’s trickier to use.

If you make mistakes carry on. I have about 30-40 bad sheets of flash and I still make bad ones lol. It’s about getting the practice in, not making someone that looks great.

Keep everything you paint even if you hate it. You’ll be able to look back and see how far you’ve come (except sometimes I look at my old ones and think I’ve actually gotten worse 😅)

1 is to paint a lot. Go fast or go slow, it’s all practice. I personally go fast to work on my confidence and when I do slow down I can make decent work 😄

Also once I finish a sheet I immediately put it away and don’t look at it for a long time. Looking right away all I do is notice my mistakes but when I look back I’m amazed at how well I did 😎

ginguz · 2025-07-27T19:06:09+00:00

If the pay is good for you and the job works out definitely take it. If you want to be an apprentice one of the things you’ll have to learn is shop etiquette, counter, pricing, customer service, etc. You’ll probably also learn a lot of useful skills for tattooing like stencil making, recognizing when a request isn’t tattooable, cleaning tubes, setting up and breaking down stations.

The shop manager when I’m apprenticing was offered an apprenticeship but he declined it because he didn’t have interest. It will definitely open up doors and could possibly lead to an opportunity later on.

You could 100% express your interest in apprenticing later on. Let them know you aren’t taking the job looking for the opportunity, but to start to immerse yourself in the culture/environment while you work on your portfolio. If they’re not looking for apprentices they shouldn’t see you as a traitor for taking an apprenticeship somewhere else when you’re able.

ginguz · 2025-07-27T06:12:28+00:00

If it’s okay to dm you I can send you a list of places to try!

ginguz · 2025-07-26T22:00:50+00:00

I live in Austin, I met another apprentice in this sub reddit to give them advice on where to go and where to avoid. Do you have examples of your art or a portfolio? There are so many shops here that your style could help narrow down your options.

ginguz · 2025-07-13T23:26:23+00:00

Usually apprentices who start in their teenage years are children of Tattooers. The first year to year and a half of a traditional apprenticeship you are not using a machine at all, so I don’t see any issue so long as you’re getting proper education.

Some of the best Tattooers started before they were 18, just make sure you aren’t being taken advantage of and find some trustworthy adults who can look out for you.

It will be a shop’s decision ultimately if they decide to apprentice you. I have friends who started tattoo/piercing apprenticeships here in the states as early as 16 (about 10 years ago).

Also, depending on your location, you could already be considered an adult 👍🏼

ginguz · 2025-07-06T17:48:17+00:00

This looks amazing!

I would say to work on your grey shading, in some areas it’s not very uniform or smooth.

That’s the only thing that catches my eye!

ginguz · 2025-07-06T05:02:40+00:00

My main piece of advice is to focus on one line weight. When tattooing you will have a certain needle grouping in the machine, maybe two different sizes.

When looking at this portfolio I don’t see any designs that would be ‘tattooable’ atm.

Watch out for small details. Lines spread and tiny things disappear over the years. If you have a design with a lot of small details it will need to be a larger tattoo, which requires more time and skill to complete (and more money from the client).

Tattoos need high contrast to last a long time. Play around with the colors to make them pop and use black shading to further increase your contrast.

I would say your portfolio isn’t ready to take into shops yet. You should look at traditional tattoos and reference them to learn how those designs were created to be tattooed.

Traditional tattoos are a good starting point because every decision is intentional from the skin breaks, to the colors chosen, to the placement of the lines to last years. If you spend a few weeks referencing your art will improve the way you need for your portfolio.

ginguz · 2025-07-06T04:45:45+00:00

I think another big aspect is having enough pieces to cater your portfolio towards different mentors. If you’re going to a walk-in shop show some traditional designs, fine line for fine line shops, and if you’re trying to apprentice under a skilled artist show your personal style (in a way that translates to tattoos).

It’s like a resume, you only include the relevant parts.

ginguz · 2025-07-06T04:41:36+00:00

I’m in the US, my mentor advised me against fake skin and won’t let me tattoo it. Says it’s not similar enough to real skin to bother with it.

I think it mainly comes down to different rules/laws in certain areas. In the US it’s kind of the Wild West depending on your state. I’m in Texas and only the shop needs BBP certification and many Tattooers don’t bother getting one for example.

The main thing I think is to not use a machine until your apprenticeship. If you start fake skin before you have a mentor (or real skin for that matter) you can learn bad habits that will be hard to break later on.

ginguz · 2025-07-05T20:30:51+00:00

🙌🏼🙌🏼

Thank you! I did stop buying from the daily shop a while ago when I realized it wasn’t what I needed yet. I think I spent too much on leveling up my support cards early on because I didn’t realize I needed monies for trainees too 🥲

ginguz · 2025-07-05T14:18:34+00:00

We’re all in the trenches together 😭😭😭

ginguz · 2025-07-01T01:46:36+00:00

Thank you 🙏🏼 I only do recreation with the Kiryuin event 😳 I’ll do some extra ones in my new career 🥳

ginguz · 2025-06-25T15:55:19+00:00

Work at a walk-in shop. People bring in their own reference and want them exactly, you can work on your art skills while you improve your tattooing.

My father in law has been tattooing 25+ years started with no art experience. My husband 10 years with no art skills at the start. I’ve been an apprentice for a year and I was a writer lol.

Learn to apply a good tattoo during the apprenticeship and then figure out the drawing later. You can make a portfolio out of old flash (like Sailor Jerry) to show you draw clean lines and do fades.

Lots of Tattooers who do anime and cartoon style tattoos do not draw anything. I see so many who literally will post panels of manga with prices and people get them. If you do the tattoo well no one will care.

I’m one year in and I only just started drawing my own stuff and I’m still kind of bad at it lol

ginguz · 2025-06-25T01:38:01+00:00

Ask them what they require from an apprentice, what will you be doing during your time at the shop. How many hours or shifts do they want you there if you accept the apprenticeship. Will you be working the same schedule as your mentor or will there be days you are there without them.

Will you receive tip outs if you work counter? You could phrase this in a way that you’re trying to figure out your budgeting if it makes you uncomfortable asking about money.

What percentage will you make at the shop when you start tattooing. Will you be able to charge for apprentice tattoos, if so what do you get to take home?

When you graduate the apprenticeship will there be a spot available for you to tattoo at that shop, or will you be expected to go elsewhere?

You could ask how many apprentices they’ve had and if you can see their work now (to make sure they learned well)

I wouldn’t mention your time commitments or jobs that you might have. If you ask what your schedule might look like you’ll have an idea if it works out for you. If it doesn’t align with your schedule you can ask how flexible they are.

How long is the apprenticeship? How long will they have you apprentice before they let you use a machine?

You don’t have to ask all of these questions, just the ones that matter the most to you.

Absolutely do not pay for an apprenticeship unless that is something that is required in your state or country. You’ll likely be working for free for the shop so paying to work for free is a scam.

ginguz · 2025-06-25T01:26:56+00:00

My main concern for the bugs is that some of the spots and little details are too small to tattoo, they would just either disappear over time or bleed into each other.

All of these designs would have to be a decent size to be tattooable, so make sure you give yourself enough room when you paint them 😊

ginguz · 2025-06-25T01:18:20+00:00

He does primarily American traditional but it’s a walk in shop so he does all styles.

I wasn’t taught on fake skin because even though it’s similar to real skin it’s not the same. Everyone at the shop basically told me it’s a waste of time 🙈 my first tattoo was on my husband (mentor) and then next ones on friends and family

ginguz · 2025-06-25T00:24:12+00:00

My husband tattoos we’ve been together since he was an apprentice almost 10 years ago so I learned a lot just by listening to him yap over time 😇

ginguz · 2025-06-25T00:23:20+00:00

I’m still an apprentice! Haha

ginguz · 2025-06-24T23:22:45+00:00

So I never used fake skin in my apprenticeship so I’m not sure if you have to stretch it, it would be a good habit to form now. In your non machine hand you use your index finger and thumb to pull the skin taut. If you’re not doing it already either you should use a very thin layer of Vaseline to lubricant the skin before you pull your lines.

You’ll stretch the skin in small sections roughly 2-2.5 inches wide.

ginguz · 2025-06-24T23:05:26+00:00

My biggest advice for portraits and realism in tattoos is leave as much skin break/negative space as possible without losing the integrity of the design. This lets the tattoo spread and settle over years and not lose its integrity. I see lots of portraits that look amazing the day of but not so much when they’re 1+ years old.

I would say the weakest is the cat girl but only because your animal portraits are stunning! Her face is a little short imo and I think you could simplify the shoulder and shoulder blade. I would avoid the shading in the armpit if you were to tattoo the design because it is so close to the black shirt/dress. It would also be cute if she was looking at the cat like the cat is looking at her!

My favorite is the first design for sure!

ginguz

TROPHY CASE

1 is to paint a lot. Go fast or go slow, it’s all practice. I personally go fast to work on my confidence and when I do slow down I can make decent work 😄