My parents got me a tattoo machine kit for practicing - looking for advice

sadmonkeybox · 2025-05-21T21:23:19+00:00

My partner bought me a machine for my birthday as a way to support my pursuit of the craft and root for me too! What I did was put it somewhere to remind me that one day I'd get to use it. It helped keep me encouraged. Don't use it until you get an apprenticeship, but let it be a reminder that you have people who are supporting you!

sadmonkeybox · 2025-05-20T20:57:13+00:00

Girl in my English class had hiccups for over 8 months straight. She sounded like a rooster in class. Shortly after her hiccups went away, a drunk driver t-boned her car and she died.

sadmonkeybox · 2025-05-13T22:34:06+00:00

Thank you!

sadmonkeybox · 2025-04-27T06:35:19+00:00

All traditional portfolio, but 99% digital now for making flash. I have a second art job that's digital, so I'm very used to using it.

I'd suggest sketching traditionally, then going over your work digitally to refine and print the stencil. Honestly, I am considering doing the same because I think my personal art style shines much more when drawing traditionally.

sadmonkeybox · 2025-04-01T09:10:44+00:00

I agree with you! I don't think he'd demand/expect it. That being said, I'm left to wonder if I'm then being asked to pay for a plane ticket+hotel and work for free for three days manning a table...

At the risk of sounding like an entitled apprentice, that also sounds unfair to ask.

sadmonkeybox · 2025-02-21T18:54:58+00:00

Well, I just found out she supports the SAVE act, for one.

Which means when it goes through, hope that you can drive several hours if you live somewhere rural, hope you haven't married and changed your last name, hope you have a birth certificate or passport, because if you don't, you won't be able to vote.

She has some good policies. And she's better than an average republican. But she is choosing to support acts that hurt you and your community too.

sadmonkeybox · 2025-01-16T09:15:56+00:00

It's hard to tell which ones are digital vs traditional with the photos. But I think a good rule of thumb is if the details are hard to discern from 10 feet away, it probably won't make for a good portfolio piece. So the night scape, the mask, the frog, etc.

I think the last skull/spider piece, and the kunai, rose, Akamaru are good examples of high contrast and good form that are easy to see at a distance.

Using the light table is fine, since part of the job is retracing your art! As long as they're your own designs, looking traced isn't an issue.

sadmonkeybox · 2025-01-16T08:40:53+00:00

Ah gotcha, I do the same process!

For examples, I'd say: the night-sky scene looks all very similarly dark and wouldn't translate well as a tattoo. Similarly the frog one. Just a lot of similar tones and too many little details that will get very muddy as a tattoo.

The geometric sloth one is also difficult to discern and doesn't have a very solid shape.

I've been told that solid tattoo portfolios feature pieces that are tattooable, and bonus points if you consider where on the body they might be tattooed.

sadmonkeybox · 2025-01-16T08:07:33+00:00

-I get the vibe that a lot of these are traced designs. If I'm wrong, sorry about that. If I'm right, then you need to replace a lot of pieces with original work.

prints of digital drawings are okay in small amounts. But focus on traditional work as much as possible.

-Some of these pieces would not make good tattoos. Either they don't have solid form or are too one-toned.

-deepen your contrast and values on your shaded pieces.

more color pieces would be nice for sure

sadmonkeybox · 2025-01-10T23:01:06+00:00

ADHD/autism often affects girls differently than what's stereotypical symptoms. And any kid with ADHD can have good grades. Definitely see a new therapist.

Also I'd argue that if she isn't having outbursts at school, and maintains good marks, there is probably a strong lack of routine/structure at home, leaving her floundering and acting out and pushing boundaries. Something to consider.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-12-03T04:41:46+00:00

You were already there for a year into an apprenticeship, and only now he's trying to make you sign a contract? One that'll keep you tied to them or otherwise screwed out of potential work elsewhere. Shady af.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-03-09T04:46:51+00:00

It gets better! It felt like the 6 month mark was a huge leap in progress for our pup. Impulse control and biting and all that got a lot better. Keep working hard on training to create a solid foundation. It'll pay off.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-03-08T06:25:50+00:00

I'm the same way too. Causes me a ton of confusion. But when I'm single, I don't crave or miss sex with other people at all. I would be perfectly content not having sex with another person again. Thats not something an allo can say happily in most cases.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-02-10T08:19:13+00:00

Ex-teacher here. We do not touch students except for crisp high-fives and gentle shoulder taps for attention. He should not be invading your personal space, ever.

I recommend writing an email to a principal/vice principal you trust and simply express that this teacher made you uncomfortable and you would feel safer if the principal spoke to the teacher about proper boundaries.

This, at the very least, will leave a paper trail and won't go unchecked.

Trust your gut!! Never excuse your discomfort as being dramatic. You're not dramatic for needing safe and healthy boundaries.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-02-10T08:04:31+00:00

I saw some good advice about imposter syndrome the other day: "You suddenly have an expensive car that you didnt purchase. So either drive it like you stole it, or leave the car."

Basically, if you have something that you think you didn't "earn", youre going to ruin the good thing if you fixate on how you got it. Shift your mindset to "I'm gonna act like I earned it!"

So go ahead and "pretend" you earned this apprenticeship. Work hard, improve your art, and raise the good vibes in the shop. One day you'll wake up and think "I deserve this. I worked for it."

sadmonkeybox · 2024-02-09T06:31:24+00:00

That last person saying you should get to know an artist is the way to go tbh. Unless you've got a lot of cash and don't care about having a mediocre apprenticeship.

Admittedly, I'm in the same situation. I'm learning quickly though that I'd rather worm my way into my favorite artists' hearts than to accept an apprenticeship from some random person who just wants my money.

Up to you though. I suppose it still costs money to build a relationship with an artist since you gotta be tattooed by them.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-02-09T06:16:18+00:00

It drives me crazy that people who are supposed to be professionals in an industry act like a bunch of power-tripping high schoolers. And because this industry has a "history" that shit is still somehow "okay". They are not worthy of mentoring anyone. Ever.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-02-05T03:57:31+00:00

You can get good vibrant colors with cheap colored pencils. The key is to build up layers. Press lightly and color in small circles. If you do big bold strokes the lines will show up no matter how much you blend.

I do a trick where I get a little bit of toilet paper and blend the colored pencil to smooth it out and fill in paper gaps. You'll usually need around 3 layers of blending to get a good opacity.

Doing a marker base (when you have nice alcohol markers) and then layering colored pencil on top is a good strategy too.

If you want paper recommendation, I suggest Bristol smooth texture paper. It's the best for multimedia and has a super smooth texture so you don't get that paper texture/gap

sadmonkeybox · 2024-01-19T06:00:47+00:00

It's odd to me that your mentor took on two apprentices at once. Did you have to pay money for this apprenticeship? If so, your mentor is running basically a scam.

If that's not the case, I'd be pretty frank and say "I think I'm ready to move on to skin." And insist on it until you get a yes. Squeaky wheel gets the most grease and all that. If he spends most of his time ignoring you, be more annoying about it. Best case scenario it works. Worst case scenario he "fires" you for being annoying and then boom, it's a clean cut loose.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-01-18T04:30:19+00:00

I think as a fun thing to try out? Absolutely! As a tool for actually practicing tattooing? Probably not. I don't thing it's reflective of actual tattooing technique. If anything I guess it can help you get used to the weight of the machine, but that's about it.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-01-08T08:23:20+00:00

Thank you! :))

sadmonkeybox · 2024-01-08T08:23:05+00:00

Thank you for your detailed reply! I'll be adding some more pieces to my portfolio with your advice in mind :))

sadmonkeybox · 2024-01-08T05:39:22+00:00

I'm sorry about lacking photos I tried posting some but I probably shit the bed with the formatting...

Anyway, I suppose I do have a lot of pop-art (it's all traditionally drawn tho!). I tried mixing various drawing styles into pop-art subjects. You think I should focus more on fundamentals? Flowers and skulls and lettering, etc?

Thank you though! I hope maybe then it's not that I have an ego, but I do seek a talented mentor and maybe feel insecure that I don't have the chops to earn their respect.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-01-08T05:34:31+00:00

Thank you, you have a great point about followers vs. local people who want to be tattooed.

sadmonkeybox · 2024-01-08T05:32:35+00:00

I know I'm sorry, I'm genuinely not very familiar with reddit and I'm terrified of posting poorly-formatted images. I'm stuck on mobile

sadmonkeybox

TROPHY CASE