First Tattoo 101 - Inkholics Tattoo

Common First Tattoo Questions

Where Can I Find Tattoo Designs?

The best thing you can do when getting a first tattoo is to bring in Sample Tattoo Designs that your artist can look at. If you love the design as is your tattoo artist should be able to match it as closely as possible or you can have the tattoo artist use the designs as a reference and add it to make the tattoo unique. Going into a tattoo shop blindly with no idea of what you want and letting the artist freehand the design is risky and should NOT be done unless you know and trust your tattoo artist 110 percent!

Our website Print Tattoos Online features many awesome tattoo designs in every category imaginable. All you need to do is find the tattoos you love, order and print them out online right from home. You will be able to download and print a color reference file and stencil file for your artist to use so you can go into the shop with a game plan. Getting a tattoo has never been so easy!

How to Pick and Find a Tattoo Artist?

This is a very important part of the process and should not be taken lightly. I recommend first asking friends and family if they know of any good clean tattoo shops and then do a search of your own on Google. Do a local search on Google based on the area you live for example if you lived in NC you could type in “Raleigh NC Tattoo” or “Tattoo Artist, Raleigh North Carolina”.

These searches should bring up local business listings that you can add to a list. Be sure to check any reviews the sites may have and visit their main website to look at their portfolios.

Good sites should have individual galleries for each artist so you can see samples of everyone’s work and pick your favorite tattoo artist. I would recommend going to at least 10 – 30 different tattoo sites and make a list of your top 5 artists (Don’t be afraid to travel for a good tattoo shop!).

A good thing to keep in mind when looking through portfolios is to see if they have done designs similar to the one you want. For example, I got a koi fish as my first tattoo so I made sure my artist had extensive experience doing oriental koi fish tattoos. This will help ensure your tattoo comes out as well as possible!

Also, go visit the shop to set your appointment and take a look around. A clean shop is essential when looking for a tattoo place. Make sure everything looks clean and sterile and ask them about the process to get an idea of what steps they take to be as clean and professional as possible.