Is it worth buying a tattoo kit. (preparation for tattooing career)?

Question

I'm considering learning about becoming a tattoo artist from books and the Internet etc. in my free time before I'm old enough to become an apprentice or get a tattoo of my own.
I'm 16 at the moment and after the summer I'm relocating to a different school to get highers (4 including art).

I was considering getting a tattoo kit to practice on fake skin once I'm more familiar with information about tattooing and once I develop my art skills more. Is it worth buying a kit? Is it expensive? Is it the same quality as how real tattoo guns are?

PS. I have no intention of tattooing on human skin until I'm trained

What else can I do to prepare myself for a career in tattooing?
I'm already drawing everyday and I'm considering taking art classes outside of school also.
I'm chosing to study:

-Art and design (higher)
-Business management (intermediate 2)
-Human Biology (higher)
-Spanish (higher)
-English (higher)

Is there anything else I need to think about to prepare myself for tattooing

Answer 1

Art classes, blood borne pathogen classes, CPR training, First Aid training, Anatomy. Those classes would all be helpful. Of course drawing every day is helpful too. Maybe try and get your art into a small gallery for some feedback/critique. As for the tattoo machine (not called a gun), its best to wait on that. You'll pick up some bad habits that will be hard to break once you're actually in your apprenticeship.

Answer 2

Those kits are horrible, and if you start tattooing on practice skin, you'll develop bad habits that no artist will want to break. It's best to just keep drawing, and when you are old enough, seek out an apprenticeship. No artist wants to reteach you once you've developed the bad habits that come from teaching yourself. Also, one thing to bring to your attention: Humans are very curious beings! If you start using a kit you buy off of the internet, and start tattooing practice skin, you'll start thinking, hey these are turning out great, I wonder how they would look on a human. Trust me, it's just human nature. That curiosity could get you into loads of trouble. Don't buy a kit, just wait until you're old enough to apprentice with someone who knows what they're doing. It's a waste of time and money. If you're serious about it, you'll do it the right way.

Answer 3

It's good you don't plan on doing it on people until your apprenticeship. Most artists won't take you on if your a scratcher. Some of them won't take you on if you've even touched a tat gun, let alone done any on anyone. Build yourself a portfolio. Ebay is great for kits. They're cheap, and fairly decent quality, except for the ink that comes with them. It's lousy. They're real tattoo guns, quality depends on who you get it from. A lot of kits for sale come with practice skins. If you get a kit, get one with a liner and a shader, so you can get the feel for the different types. Best thing to do is talk to artists in your area and see what they say.

Answer 4

You need to earn an apprentice ship at a tattoo shop near you before you buy the kit. The tattoo materials you get through the shops are MUCH better quality than what you could find online or in a magazine.

Answer 5

Practice is never a bad idea. I believe you can get pretty cheap kits online, so if you have the money, you might as well test it out. Make sure you take classes on how to tattoo in a sanitary way, and avoid diseases like another user mentioned. You'll have to do that when you apprentice, anyway, but might as well get it done now.

Answer 6

Yes learn about diseases and all blood-borne pathogens you can get from giving or receiving at tattoo. Wearing gloves isn't always enough. Know what you're getting yourself into from all angles, not just the artistic.



Good luck.

Answer 7

If you are considering becoming a tattoo artist thats great.

But you really dont need to start tattooing people until your confident that you wont **** up there skin for life..lol you should start on oranges.. believe it or not..lol and once your perfect at that then start to mark people.

Answer 8

I'd say just go into a tattoo parlour and ask them for advice