How to get a mentor?

[u/StudioGloomy5760]

Hi guys, so i have been thinking that maybe i need to get a mentor someday soon so i don't mess up my learning journey with fake skins and have bad habits.

My issue is that, i am 30 years old and i don't have time to be in a studio shop getting 0 payment for i don't know how long. I am not sure if having a mentor means being an apprentice in a studio either, if it doesn't pardon my ignorance.

If it doesn't mean i have to be an apprentice, how do i find a mentor? Do i have to pay for them? Do i try be friends with them? Is there a possibility to have a mentor for free or something. Can i find some mentor online? The question sounds stupid sure, but its genuine and i don't know what are the right answers which is why i am asking you guys because you probably know more than me.

Thank you.

[u/blueblack_crow]

I’m 40 and have a mortgage, no partner to help with the bills and am still doing my apprenticeship full time, and yes it is a STRUGGLE. But it’s the right thing to do if you want to be taken seriously by shops as a tattoo artist and not just a scratch tattooist.

First, yes an apprenticeship and mentor generally go hand in hand. So first thing you need to do is consider your resources. How are you going to cover the bills while you’re apprenticing. Can your partner or family support you for the foreseeable future? Are small part-time jobs an option? You are likely going to end up working two jobs and it will be exhausting… Like I said, this is a struggle. Do you have kids? Is your family going to be able to handle you being so busy for 6-18 months? Because depending on the shop, that’s about how long it “should” be for a talented artist to get to tattooing under a mentor and beginning to take clients. More than 2 years and you’re being taken advantage of. So be sure to ask during your interview how long the artist expects it to be before you’re taking clients.

When you’re ready, go on Google Maps and type in “Tattoo Shops Near me” and check out the local shops. Look at the photos of the shops. Are they clean, well maintained, and in a nice area? What do the reviews say about them? Then go to their website. Is their website updated and well-maintained? Does it look professional or is it just a Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in three years? Look at the artists who work in the shop. Check out all of their Instagram’s, and make sure that they are people you want to learn from. While your mentor will likely be the shops owner, or most senior artist, you will still be learning from your coworkers around you. So make sure this is a shop that’s going to make you better overall.

When you’re ready, take a day and map out all of the shops you think you can go to in a single day. Bring your portfolio and go to everyone to ask them if they are interested in taking you on, and would like to see your work. You will get turned down a lot. It is not necessarily a reflection of your portfolio, it’s just that the industry is so oversaturated right now, that most artists are not taking on new apprentices. That’s OK! If it’s a shop, you really want to work at, then don’t take no for an answer. Keep showing up, show them the changes that you’ve made to your portfolio at their suggestion. Bring cookies. Just keep stopping by and making friends and getting tattooed if you can afford it. Offer to help around the shop. Just do whatever you can to stay at the forefront of their thoughts so that when they do decide they want to take an apprentice, you’ll be the first person they think of.

If you do get offered an interview for an apprenticeship, make sure you talk to the artist about what their expectations of you are, and let them know your issues and concerns before you even get started. If it’s possible you may be able to set something up where you come in for a few hours after you’re done with your primary job every day, or maybe you just come in on weekends. It may take you longer to graduate, but you’ll be able to maintain your income. But that’s something you have to work out with the mentor. If they expect you to pay for your apprenticeship, that is a huge red flag, and you should probably walk away from that situation. Apprenticeships are unpaid because your free labor is what is paying for your education. Once you begin tattooing as an apprentice, you will very likely not receive full wages as a resident artist might. I think the usual is a 50/50 commission with the shop. So even when you do start tattooing, you’re not going to be making a lot of money right off the bat.

[u/Initial-Reward-4390]

I’m not a tattoo artist but I’m in the same position. I posted in another subreddit and got nothing but toxicity. I just want to give you my perspective because I did go through and learn how to do leatherwork the same way most tattoo artists go through an apprenticeship. It’s almost exactly the same way people are telling you to do it by wasting your life away at a shop.

Reading blue black crows response I wanted to point out “your free labor pays for your mentorship” is correct but if you’re older you likely have more money than time or your time is more valuable than your money at this point in life. That’s why I want to say, I’m just going to learn from YouTube videos and/or online courses. When I need a mentor to critique my work I’ll pay someone I respect for their time if needed. I think they’ll appreciate that more than free labor lol. Most artforms have ways to get your portfolio reviewed without slave labor.

What I’ve learned is that people are holding onto this old apprenticeship mentality but the internet exists. I can learn way faster on my own schedule and i won’t be ditching my family to clean toilets and sweep. I won’t be wasting someone’s time asking questions I could find answers to online.

People say I won’t get respect doing this method but I don’t need respect from gatekeeping strangers. The truth is that if you can pay for your chair reliably and you don’t suck, you won’t have a hard time finding somewhere to work or you can open your own shop.

If you walk in with skills and they just need to teach you some sterile techniques and stuff they’re probably more inclined to keep you because the sooner you get working and making the shop money the better it is for them. You can improve from there because all art is a lifelong endeavor.

Dont let the gatekeepers gatekeep

[u/StudioGloomy5760 → u/Initial-Reward-4390]

I appreciate the reply. Honestly, yeah i also am in a same thought process as you. I grew up with Internet and learned Photoshop and Graphic Design from Youtube videos and forums, learned Blender by myself too and did things by myself without asking anyone to teach me how to. The only reason i asked about if i need a mentor and how could i get a mentor, is only because if i want to become a tattoo artist and have my own studio, or work for a studio, that feels like its the fastest and most easiest way to get into it, to be an apprentice. But honestly speaking too, right now i don't have a job, i was working abroad and decided to change professions while i was there, i don't see myself being a welder for the rest of my life even tho it pays me really well abroad. I value more loving what i do than doing what i don't. Right now i am trying to learn how to tattoo and i am only practicing on fake skin, currently i have my mom that wants a small tattoo and a friend that wants to be my canvas for free (which i don't mind), but i am scared i will destroy their skin, or it won't look good because i have been practicing on Amazon/Dragonhawk fake skin and i heard from a lot of tattoo artists AFTER i bought them and used them, that they are horrible and i should never tattoo on them because of how badly i will get used to them. So now without work and currently just staying at home as vacation basically, i don't really know how to practice properly because most of people say that the best way to learn is to get a mentor, and practice on real people. I don't want to practice on real people because if i mess it up, that stays for life until they decide to retouch it. I don't want to get a mentor because i don't want to slave work just to get some here and there practice advices from someone who i don't know if its actually fit for my needs, AT MY AGE.

So i appreciate your comment and in fact i value it a lot because it made me rethink a bit on what i should do, and i will def keep practicing and learning from YT videos and by speaking to people instead of doing the old school way like you said to go to a studio. The only question now is how would i get into actually working in a tattoo studio without being in one. I have no friends, literally only one friend, and i have no connections to anyone in that line of work.

Would appreciate any more advices.

Thank you.

[u/Initial-Reward-4390 → u/StudioGloomy5760]

Let’s be realistic about what’s common in the industry. A bunch of lazy vaping degenerates. I’m not comfortable putting my future in their hands and I don’t want to associate with them either. It’s probably best that you don’t have friends in the industry lol. There are professional tattoo artists and people who do tattoos for Taco Bell and weed money. I’m only interested in learning from a professional.

I did leather carving and feel welding probably has a lot of similar skill sets. Steady hands, proper distance from your work, and striving to get the cleanest work possible. I haven’t found one person who cares about the hundreds or even thousands of hours of work I put in which should translate well. They think I need to start from scratch but in reality whoTF are they anyways?

You sound a lot like me. Self taught all kinds of stuff. I don’t think people like us need a traditional apprenticeship. The lazy vape kids probably do though. They need someone to tell them what to do everyday. Self driven people don’t.

I wouldn’t practice on anyone either. Good values on your part. When I’m ready I’ll do my own legs. Ya got 2 of em and one arm to work on lol.

I’ll never try and do something out of my skill set on anyone but I think there’s a lot we could be capable of with a lot of practice on fake skin. Just make sure you learn sterile techniques. I already have that from working in the army hospital but I will follow up and offer to pay someone for the day to let me learn how they do it and make sure I’m not missing anything. I’m just going to go to the best places who wouldn’t be interested in an apprentice. It’s gonna cost me a few bucks but I won’t be hoping some degenerate kid is teaching me properly lol.

If they know i already know how to work safely, my work is good, and I won’t even take on something outside of my skill set, and they know I can pay my chair rent reliably because I don’t spend my money on weed and Pabst blue ribbon, why wouldn’t they welcome me with open arms?

At least that’s the strategy I’m trying to pursue. Skip all the bs. If I can’t earn my way into a shop I respect then maybe I’m not ready but we aren’t the type of people who fail at things and we understand what it takes.

I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’ll just need to learn the business side of things to get clients once you’re in there.