GIRLS ONLY: What do you think of 4g stretched ears?

[Nic]

couldnt have said it better myself nicole143. All of my tattoos except 1 were dun by a starting out artist. An i love em, they arent the best. But they turned out how i wanted them to an i wouldnt trade them for a shop tattoo anyday. I got my startup on friends who wanted simple tattoos an myself, i owe them. There tattoos turned out fine because i dont take on projects to challenging for me an i always have a more experienced artist watching over what im doin to ensure i am doing it correctly (as well as for my own peace of mind) xD

[Nicole143]

As someone entering the world of cosmetology, I some what understand. Complete strangers trust me and my knowledge of hair with their enitre heads, from cutting to coloring, from perms to extensions they support my decision to be a cosmetologist when they walk in the shop when they sit in my chair they trust me as an artist with their scalp and hair. Like tattooers, piercers and fashion designers my job is to enhance a persons physical appearance, to make them feel good about themselves, beautiful, handsome whatever the feeling they are trusting me to alter their look in way that expresses them as an individual bc they know without me they can't do it on their own and get the outcome wanted bc not everyone posses the skills to cut hair. So I understand how it feels to be critized, I not only work in a shop but sometimes out of my home. Its cheaper sometimes when money gets tight bc I don't have to drive anywhere therefore I am not using gas, I don't have to split my tips with 3 other stylists, there is no booth rental fees and I am my own boss. We are all artists in our own way and we all depend on the support and trust of complete strangers in one way or another....

[ast.riske]

I'm just going to throw this out there as my $0.02: Someone who does tattoo out of their home is not necessarily a scratcher. In much the same way, someone who works in a shop is not necessarily a quality artist. The tattoo on my calf was done by a friend of mine. While he was in the area, he worked out of a shop part of the time and out of his house part of the time.

I would dare to say pretty much anyone who does professional tattoo did work on people out of their home at one time or another, probably before they got an apprenticeship. Ultimately, the choices anyone makes with permanent modification (tattoo, piercing or otherwise) to their body must decide the quality they are willing to accept and then find someone with the appropriate skills.

Personally, I want to be proud of all of my modifications, regardless of what they are. If I walk away from something and feel like I am somehow lessened by what I had done, I will know I didn't modify myself, I disfigured myself.

With that, Nic, I haven't seen your portfolio, so I can't comment on the quality of your work for better or worse, but it sounds like you are using clean instruments. I appreciate your concern for the people you work on. : )

[ViolentJayne]

Oh, I thought you meant you were doing piercings too. But yeah, "scratcher" is a very negative term in the tattoo world. I can't say anything about the quality of your work because I've never seen it, but I can't imagine you're giving someone as good of a tattoo that they'd get from a true professional.

I'm not picking on you and I don't mean to sound like a jerk; my boyfriend has done lots of home tattoos and was a scratcher himself although he hasn't done any for a while. And I'll be honest, his tattoos are crap. I just don't see why people would want homemade tattoos when they can get a beautifully-done one by a professional but I guess you get what you pay for.

all My Tattoos are professional ( except one done by a scratcher in his very clean and very pro looking home set up ) which turned out horrible and I had to have covered up ), all of the others are over 6 years old some of them are closer to 9 years old and they all still looks awesome and new .. I atribute the lasting quality of My Tattoos to awesome quality inks .. see My lil bro is a scrathcer and a damn good artist but since he hasnt worked in a shop all his inks and equipment are in a since trial and error since he has had no one to guide him . ( I dont have any ink from My lil bro yet , I am waiting till he learns all he needs to know and I am not gonna be his scratch pad lol) everyone has to learn somewhere but I trust My professional artist because he has been doing this for years he knows what brands he should use etc....

I hate it when some random person asks how much My sleeve cost me .and then they tell me " well my cousin can do that for 20 $ " then they show me some unrecognizable blob of icky blue green ink and they tell me its a "black " and white portrait of their kid or something lol

all I can say is I dont know why people would try and save money on something thats gonna be on them forever ...
I learned my lesson after one bad home tat .. but I see people walk around fully sleeved in horrible horrible greenish smears and I dont understand why they keep going back .....

That being said if you are taking all the cleaning precautions and starting out with simple work and the people are willing to let you work on them while knowing that you are not a professional and that it is a learning experience then its on them ...you need practice to become a good artist and their seems to be an endless supply of people who are willing to be experimented on .. you got to start some where But I would encourage anyone doing home tattoos to try and befriend your local professional artist and see if they can give you tips on quality ink and quality equipment