Dennis Nowakowski - Learn the art of Tattooing - Become a Tattoo artist

You've done it. Your first motif is on a person's skin. A little final cleaning, where you remove all the excess ink. Just wait a few minutes, dab the motif in between in case some blood or other liquids come out.

Wound and healing ointments are the preferred variants for the aftercare. Some recommend Vaseline or milking grease. More about this in the chapter “The right care”. After almost two weeks you can see whether your work has been successful or not. Whether it needs to be reworked or not. If so, make an appointment in good time to touch up your work.

So, that was a lot of material to get your basic equipment together, wasn't it? So I'm litattoo the materials again with the approximate prices. Computer or laptop, as well as chairs, table, pencils and paper are a basic requirement, which I do not list here.

- Printer & Scanner - About 60,- Euro. (65,- Dollar)

- Matrix paper (100 pieces) - Approx. 30,- to 60,- Euro. (33,- to 65,- Dollar)

- One-way pair of gloves (100 pieces) - Approx. 5,- Euro. (5,50- Dollar)

- Skin disinfection spray (250ml) - Approx. 6,- Euro. (6,50- Dollar)

- One-way set of pads (50 pieces) - Approx. 12,- Euro. (13,- Dollar)

- Mouth spatula (100 pieces) - Approx. 3,- Euro. (3,20- Dollar)

- Ink pot (bags of 1000 pieces) - Approx. 20,- Euro. (21,50- Dollar)

- Vaseline or milking grease (tin) - Approx. 1,- to 5,- Euro. (1,- to 5,50 Dollar)

- Plastic cups (colored or white) - Approx. 3,- Euro. (3,20- Dollar)

- Tattoo soap (or foam) - Approx. 10,- to 20,- Euro. (10,50- to 21,50- Dollar)

- Paper towel. About 3,- Euro per package. (3,20- Dollar)

- Crepe tape (inker tape) - Approx. 3, - Euro per roll. (3,20 Dollar)

- Clip Cord Sleeves - Approx. 15,- Euro. (16,- Dollar)

- Ink (good black, 60ml) - Approx. 35,- Euro. (37,50- Dollar)

- Tattoo Machine. 300,- to 600,- Euro. (320,- to 650,- Dollar)

- Needles, grips, modules (per set) - Approx. 25,- Euro. (27,- Dollar)

- Power supply unit (transformer) - Approx. 75,- to 150,- Euro. (80,- to 160,- Dollar)

- Clip Cord- or Chinch cable - Approx. 8,- to 15,- Euro. (8,- to 16,- Dollar)

- Foot switch - Approx. 25,- Euro. (27,- Dollar)

This brings us to a sum between approx. 600,- and 900,- Euro. Only for the acceptable basic equipment of a tattoo artist. Keep in mind that you have to rebuy new consumables regularly. That sounds like a lot of money, no doubt. But of course you will earn money with it. 900,- Euro you can, with regular work and growing potential, get back in two or three days. See chapter “Talent helps - but it's not everything!” Don't overestimate yourself and your prices just because you can now ink small names and tribals. If that's all you want to do, it's your decision. But with time this gets boring.

Let an independent person, preferably a professional, judge your work. Friends and family members usually do not remain objective if they themselves have no idea or comparisons. Don't be angry if an expert thinks your work is bad at first, but wants to give you good advice. Listen to the expert. After all, he has been doing this for years or even decades. Or do you listen to what an untrained doctor's assistant tells you when you need to have your car repaired?

“Spoiled for choice. Don't be misled. The differences aren't that significant for your work.”

It's a parting of the ways, especially in the tattoo scene itself. In all the forums of the world there is a real war between tattoo artists and customers, which confuses rather than helps the newcomer. The old school aficionados swear by the traditional coil machine, because it weighs at least something and you notice that you are holding something in your hand. Because if it's of good quality, it inks better contours, shades better, pumps in color better, and, and, and, and. Unfortunately, it also makes a lot of noise, which was a criterion for me for elimination. When I ink, I like to have peace and quiet at work, listen to the music that is always playing and have a little chat with my customers every now and then. With a coil machine this is impossible. The monotonous clacking would drive me to the brink of madness after a few minutes. Nevertheless, hard-boiled old school fanatics keep at it, with arguments incomprehensible for me. It's just more traditional, old school, better, or whatever, they say. These are the same people who ignore or ridicule Rotary machines or pens because it allegedly has nothing to do with traditional tattooing. Boys and girls who take this view by hook or crook - Traditional tattooing was done without any use of machines. You have a right to your own opinion. If you need the loud clacking to do a decent job, use your beloved coil machines. But stop condemning the progress of newer machines, some of which are truly magnificent. I can only give the same advice to the more modern artists. ...that is, those who only use Rotary or Pens... Be happy with your machines, use them wisely to fill empty skin areas or make cover ups. But don’t try to force these things on other people. One this way, the other that way.

So far this hasn't been very helpful, has it? It's not supposed to be, because everybody has a different preference. I will also take care not to throw brand names around here, to classify this or that machine as the Non plus Ultra. This judgement is not at all mine, because I have inked with more than twenty different machines from all camps. All of them were good and fulfilled the requirements I have for a tattoo machine. So much I can say, I use a very good pen or a Rotary. Both with 4 needles, for good and fast contours. Also for color and shades. Both types of machines I paid less than one thousand Euro for. Why does he work with two machines, you may ask yourself. Because that way I achieve the desired results. It took me almost a year to find out. My demands on myself grew steadily, which often annoyed me. Wanting to tattoo something but not being able to do it gnaws at my soul. The complex combination of machines, modules, needles and colors is a difficult hurdle to overcome in the beginning. I very much regret that I can’t offer you a patent remedy here either.

In recent years, many people came up to me and asked for the appropriate machine if they wanted to learn to tattoo. Of course, always the same pattern. The best machine, at the cheapest price. Then nothing can go wrong, right? It reminded me of the time when I was looking for a suitable camcorder, because I always wanted to make films. With actors, great effects, suitable music and everything else that goes with it. First criterion, the camera. The best, as cheap as possible. I wanted to invest a thousand Euro.

“What do you want to do with the camera?”

was the first question I received from numerous salesmen.

“Film, of course.”

was always my answer.

“What do you want to film?”,

was the second question.

“Well, everything.”

was my short answer.

Perhaps I didn’t express myself logically enough, or they simply didn’t want to understand me. Some time passed and the desire to make films ebbed away. One fine summer day I was sitting in the garden with my neighbour. He presented me his new camera, more precisely, his digital SLR camera from Nikon. Proudly he showed me all the functions and the accessories, like the bag, tripod and a thousand other things. Then he started with great filming, in High Definition. I was baffled. We knew each other for a long time and yet I didn't know that he was so enthusiastic about photography and filming. So I consulted him and asked his opinion about a solid camera.