Tattoos

Yes, between Brighton and Hastings. Thank you for taking the trouble to reply. Your post about your partner made me smile. Bit of a stretch for me just yet.

South coast is prime for great artists, you’ll find someone good I’m sure. Take time to find someone whose style really works for you. Most artists are fairly versatile but you’ll get the best results going with someone who specialises in what you’re into as well ;)

My partners tat healed up really well and super fast. It came out great. Definitely a step further than I’d go as well but can’t argue with the commitment.

Everyone at Dead Slow in Brighton is lovely

I got one from Anshin Anshin (William Barbour Brown the third) at Blue dragon in Brighton.
He was cool, his style is pretty unique though.
Shop was friendly, spoke to a few other artists whilst I was there (chatting shit, not work related) all were sound.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Copor3NLzQp/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
(link to his IG, tattoo is on my leg)

Going to a local tattoo convention in Feb. A few artists listed on the website. Hoping to get a flash piece done but is it usually impossible on the day without booking a time slot first?

Thanks for the replies. I will do some research and visit a couple of these people for an initial brief consultation, which seems to be free at most places. Regardless of what I do, is it the right thing to do to hand over a few quid, while I go home and think about it?

keep an eye on their IG, they'll say what the plan is. Some people treat conventions more like a showcase scenario, like I had my front piece finished off at the brighton convention one year. that took up the artist's whole day on the saturday, and I think he had someone else booked for a similar size thing on the sunday.

That makes more sense. Not immediately taken by any of the artists atm so hoping to get a better idea IRL on the day.

putting down a deposit will be required for an artist to block out a date and start drawing something, its the point at which they are turning away other bookings/using up their time. If you have a consultation and just want to think about it, I wouldnt say you'd be expected to hand money over there and then. That said, I'm sure artists appreciate someone booking a consultation only if theyre pretty sure they would want to go ahead if the conversation goes well. Many artists these days will use an online form that allows you to provide reference images and stuff, to help the process along, rather than people rocking up with 'I think I want a tattoo" and that's as far ahead as theyve thought

any reputable artist will consult for free.
deposits are generally required to book a slot (£50 is pretty normal in my experience)
Without a deposit, they are unlikely to share a design with you.

Pick your artist based on what they do and what you want, making sure they align.
Don't ask a hyper realism artist to do neo-traditional etc.

Sometimes you need to book a consult, have some reference pieces to hand when you meet them if you have any (these do not have to be tattoos, in my experience they prefer non-tattoo references as it means it will be more original)

Good luck!

Come back for dozens of conflicting comments on aftercare once you have it done!

that's helpful. It seems people are very respectful in this world and I don't want to commit any faux pas. I will book a slot, send some thoughts before and mention I expect to pay at least something for the initial meeting so they know I am not wasting their time.

One faux-pas to avoid once you’ve found your artist, paid your deposit etc is to expect them to send you a finished design prior to your appointment. They don’t want to put all the work into drawing your design only for the customer to just take it to someone cheaper down the road.
In my experience they’ll be thinking about your design the week before but often don’t actually draw anything until the night before or even on the day. Every artist is a little different on that front but something to consider.

There’s a couple of ig accounts that do tongue in cheek vids/memes etc to help people avoid the pitfalls and faux-pas…

Don’t show up hungover and eat something before your appointment. ;)

Some will be open to do flash, most won't. I got one done at the London convention a few (too many) years ago but just walking around and seeing who's free.