A tattoo artist is a person who makes designs or pictures on the skin with ink that cannot be erased. Tattoo artists normally work in a tattoo studio or shop.
Tattoo is derived from the word tatau, which has a Polynesian origin which means a mark made on the skin. Tattoo artists use a ‘gun’ with several needles full of ink to make a design on the skin. Tattoo artists are very popular nowadays as tattoos have emerged as fashion now. People go to tattoo artists with a predefined thought of the tattoo they want and ask the tattoo artist to design that tattoo. This requires a tattoo artist to be very creative and imaginative to be able to understand what the customer wants exactly. Sometimes the customer also chooses a design from a display book. The display book has all the designs that the tattoo artist has already made in the past and so the customer can easily choose.

Once the customer finalizes a design, the tattoo artist creates a stencil of the design chosen. After that the area of the skin which is to be tattooed is cleaned. By following the outline of the skin the tattooist starts making the tattoo and ink is inserted in the skin using needles. Once the outline is complete the stencil is not used any more and the finishing touches are made.

It is very important for a tattoo artist to take extreme care of the disinfecting equipment used and maintain hygiene in the studio. Once customers are satisfied with the hygiene and cleanliness of the studio and they are sure of not contracting any infection they will keep coming back to the same place whenever they want a tattoo.
Tattoo artists help people feel calm and relaxed with their wonderful talent.

1) A Tattoo artist has a lot of daily duties and responsibilities because in a tattoo artists’ studio it is mandatory to maintain hygiene and adequate sterility. So the most important duty is performing sterilization of all the equipment.
The machines are meant to be disinfected using auto clave equipment.
Surfaces like counter tops are supposed to be cleaned with disinfectants. Equipments or tools that come into contact with the blood or any other body fluid are stored in bio hazard containers.

The needles used should be new and the packet needles should be opened right in front of the client. Disposable gloves are to be used each time and the artist has to wash his before and after he starts every work on any client. Each client should be tattooed with fresh ink.

2) Utmost care needs to be taken with respect to the cleanliness of the customer. Like, the body part which is to be tattooed should be sterilized.

3) After the tattoo is done the artist needs to explain to the customer if there are any precautions to be taken and the area that is tattooed should be bandaged well.

Before starting the tattoo the artist would properly take a written note from the customer to be sure that the customer wants the tattoo and the artist is not supposed to make tattoos for minors and people who look like they are under the influence of alcohol. This particular clause is a rule made by the government of USA and tattoo artists have to follow it.

These are the responsibilities with respect to the client.

4) Apart from all these duties the tattoo artist has to run his shop and take care of the financial part of the business, order any supplies like gloves, needles or tools that might be needed, look after advertising campaigns, meet customers and create newer and latest designs and styles of tattoos.
5)  It is required that the artist keeps himself abreast of all the new technologies of maintaining hygiene, and any latest rules that the particular State might have come up with, with respect to tattooing or tattoo artists .

How to become a tattoo artist? A tattoo artist is a job that requires tremendous skill and characteristics like:

1. a feel for art and design.

2. Ability to understand and imagine the type of tattoo the client wants and the ability to draw exactly the same thing.

3. Commitment and composure to be able to make each tattoo the best. Patience is required as sometimes a single tattoo can take hours.

4. Good communication skills.

5. A keen eye for minute details.

6. Understanding of which colour and ink will go best on a person’s skin tone.

7. Tattoo artists need to have knowledge about health and hygiene.

8. Ability to concentrate for long hours.
9. After the job is done the tattoo artist should be concerned about any after effects of the procedure and guide the customer with great care with respect to the precautions to be taken. Communication skills are required to be able to give the customer a feeling they would be satisfied with the tattoo and that the artist will do a perfect job.

Education

The main training that takes place to become a tattoo artist is called apprenticeship where a budding artist works in a well established studio as a trainee to get experience before he can start his own studio. To get an apprenticeship with a studio the artist needs to make a folder of all the tattoos he has made in the past to display his talent.
There no other training required as such but knowledge of graphics and visual media would be helpful and a course in art and drawing too would make a foundation.
Management skills would be needed while running a shop so a management course would be helpful.
Knowledge of the local rules and regulations with respect to tattoo artists and studios is essential.
In some States of USA a license is required to be a tattoo artist and for that an exam might have to be cleared but it is not mandatory in every State.

There are a couple of factors on which the salary is dependent,
1) the location of the studio and the type of people staying in the locality.
If the people of the locality are not young and modern and not interested in tattoos then the business will not be popular and the salary of a tattoo artist will vary accordingly.

Tattooing is prohibited in Christianity and there is a quote also about it.
Therefore, if the tattoo studio is in a location where there are firm believers and followers of the Bible, then there will be no business for the studio and the salary of a tattoo artist will be less.

2) The popularity of a particular studio also matters a lot. If a studio has carved a niche for itself and proved to its clientele that it always does a good job, the customers will always visit that tattoo studio. The advertisement campaign that a studio does also attracts customers and will help in increasing the salary of an artist.

3) Normally summer time in USA is the time when people like to get tattoos so that is the peak season time for artists.

The main factor that decides the salary of a tattoo artist is the hourly charge of the artist and it could be between $80-125.

4) The major deciding factor of a tattoo artist’s salary is the amount the artist charges hourly and can vary between $80 -125. This hourly rate also depends on which type of studio you are working in, self run or as a trainee under some other artist. The popular studios charge exorbitant rates like $300 -500 an hour so if the artist is working there he will get a good salary. In the case of a self employed artist, the worth would be more than that of an artist working under some other artist.

The average salary of a beginner artist is about  $20-30000 per  year with 1-4 years experience and a studio owner earns about 10000$. As experience of a beginner increases to 5 – 6 years the salary increases to 50000$.

As discussed earlier, salaries vary from location to location. An artist in Florida could earn $23,000 to $44,000 and in California he can earn $24,000 to $70,000.
A large number of the tattoo artists run their own studios, and that’s how they receive more income, which generally ranges from $24,000 to $50,000 per annum. A tattoo artist working in Florida may receive a yearly income of $24,000 to $45,000; whereas in California, he can expect a pay of around $24,000 to $69,000.

Bonuses -
Tattoo artists normally do not get any bonuses. They have to pay their own taxes, and take care of their health insurance.