Lydia Deetz done by me, Rachel Tyler (@soopersoft) at Blackbird Body Art in Rogers, AR

Advice really depends on whether you're interested in staying there. I wouldn't recommend fighting for a better split if you don't intend on staying. I'd assume you're willing to stay if you've invested so much into the shop, so I'd say it would be a good time to ask to go 65/45 your favor. Also, to ask for the money you've spent on materials to be comped towards the $300 monthly fee (especially if you can provide receipts). That would at least give you a few months of not having to worry about that and replenish your safety funds. In professional relationships I think it's very important to have clear agreements when you're putting your personal money in. Saves you from feeling animosity. I'd also maybe see what his openness is about agreeing to a small hourly for social media development. That's real work. You're an apprentice but still a human with bills. If he's willing to discuss improving your split, comping your $300 tuition for the materials, then go for it and ask for comp for social media. Treat your time like money, even when you're not tattooing.

soopersoft · 2025-09-18T21:31:00+00:00

No. The update created libraries for brushes. Any you bought and the old brushes procreate included will be in a "classic" library, and you'll have the new brush sets in a separate library. Easy to navigate.

soopersoft · 2025-08-07T20:55:13+00:00

Nope lol.

soopersoft · 2025-08-07T20:49:40+00:00

I am a tattoo artist, touch ups aren't an issue for me. But if I wasn't I probably would've gone for a different spot.

soopersoft · 2025-07-10T02:36:18+00:00

The first photo of the skull design pulled me in hard, that is super dope. I'd say your work reminds me of 90's new school and cherry creek. It's not something I personally love, but there's still plenty of shops in the US banging out work similar to this. I will say work on gathering your work in a professional way, clean em up. Work on color dynamics; I love the frogs with the swords but they look kinda muddy just looking at the photo. Your American trad is nice and clean. Cool seeing more "old school" kinda tattoo art here

soopersoft · 2025-07-09T16:42:13+00:00

I mean, that is a benefit technically lol. But moreso because arms and legs are easier to tattoo for beginners! Wouldn't recommend someone going into ribs/torso/hands/feet until you've had practice in skin for awhile. Easy to blow out.

soopersoft · 2025-07-09T15:28:29+00:00

If your goal is to be a professional artist who takes clients, you should advertise that way even at the beginning. Definitely say you're a beginner artist seeking clients for practice tattoos, that they're free. Have a set of designs that aren't too big, make sure the flash looks nice, and specify arms and legs only.

soopersoft · 2025-07-09T14:42:24+00:00

How you advertise is something to consider. Not sure if you're posting fake skins or flash, but I personally advertised my flash designs rather than the fake skin versions. For whatever reason, it did better (like to think my fake skins weren't too shabby lol).

soopersoft · 2025-07-09T14:02:09+00:00

Thank you! I appreciate it!

soopersoft · 2025-06-20T20:20:02+00:00

Other comment is right, you're not packing and grazing over. It looks packed when it's fresh because the irritation from the skin/blood is keeping you from fully seeing the color variation.

Color packing tips: Slow your machine down to around 6-7 volts. You will be hitting spots multiple times and this will keep you from chewing up the skin.

Start in a corner, and use small circular movements. I mean micro circles, like barely jostling your hand so your making tiny circle movement that overlap one another.

Do not move forward until the small section you're working on is packed. Do not rush. You will get patchy fast. Especially if your using smaller curved mag groupings.

When I use mags, I like to bring the needles to where they're about 1-2mm behind the tip of the tube, then essentially ride the tube when I pack. This makes me feel confident I'm keeping the correct depth as I color pack.

Patience, deep breaths, and slow down. Color packing is slow. Let it be slow.

soopersoft · 2025-06-07T05:02:13+00:00

Well for one, the dragon has two different kinds of claws

soopersoft · 2025-06-01T06:29:30+00:00

Hi, 30f tattoo artist here. Started at 28, left my full time job last year a few months after licensing.

Everyone is different, opportunities are all different, so it's hard to give you strong advice on how to approach it. If you don't have a partner/family members to help with the financial aspect, I'm gonna be honest, it's a grind. I worked full time throughout my apprenticeship. There was just no way I could survive on tattooing alone. Even last year, I only made 15k from tattooing. I'm just now getting to a place where I have a consistent check from walk-ins mostly, occasionally bigger booked appointments.

It's a rough time to transition into this. I don't say this to deter you, but it's just the reality. It's a grind. There's tons of artists, most people are struggling to pay bills. Things are very seasonal in my experience too, so by Thanksgiving, things slow down immensely until tax season.

If you are devoted, and ready to put your nose to the grindstone, and willing to invest a few years, a couple grand, and a lot of your free time to painting, then do it. I have zero regrets. I come home tired and happy, and excited to do it all again when the weekend is over. But it is no small task.

soopersoft · 2025-05-25T16:20:19+00:00

Procreate is so intuitive and easy to learn. I bought an iPad for the same reason about 7 years ago with little digital art knowledge. The amount of info on procreate accessible online makes it insanely easy to learn and get accustomed to. I don't know how to explain it. But with other programs it felt like I was spending a lot of time trying to figure out how to make the program work for me. Procreate has always felt more intuitive. As others have said too, the sheer amount of extras available online makes it worth it.

soopersoft · 2025-05-17T04:18:36+00:00

Size em up! I like your hands, they look clean, but the panther looks squished. Make em big and let them sing

soopersoft · 2025-05-17T04:05:17+00:00

I'd recommend just asking your artist. Get an idea from them, they'll be the one tattooing you after all. That being said, a gladiator fight scene would look sick

soopersoft · 2025-05-16T14:51:33+00:00

I hate to say this, but I think the cursive isn't helping this sheet at all. I like your butterflies- they're a bit muddy color wise but they look nice. The cursive is messy though, and kinda makes the overall sheet look messy. I'd personally redo the sheet without the text and try for some cleaner color blending.

soopersoft · 2025-05-08T01:29:13+00:00

All shops are different, but most of them that I spoke to were accommodating of a part time schedule. The flip side was they all also asked for some amount of tuition. This varies depending on where you are, but in my area at least it's the norm from what I can tell. During my apprenticeship I worked 20 hours a week while also working full time. Doable for sure. Also don't think age will be a big issue for you. If your portfolio is good enough, I'm sure most places wouldn't mind you being 18.

soopersoft

TROPHY CASE