So you’ve decided to break your poor mother’s heart and get a tattoo. Excellent idea! But, where do you go from here? Well, the first thing you should do is research tattoo shops that you might be interested in going to. If you’re either new to the area or new to tattoos in general, finding the right shop may be more of an undertaking. Ask your friends,check online, or even look at tattoo magazines for artists in your area. The first and foremost thing to keep in mind is that you want to feel comfortable in the shop you’ll be getting tattooed in. If you feel like it is some Members Only club and your not a member, Leave. There are plenty of good artist out there. Getting tattooed can be a life changing experience it should be Respected and Viewed as such. Make sure the place is clean! Professional tattoo studios will be clean, and will go beyond the requirements of the health codes they must follow. If they don’t have there procedures presented for you to read, ask someone on the staff how they keep their equipment and work areas clean.

Alright now that you’ve found your shop the next thing you need is an artist and a design! When selecting an artist, before you do anything check out their portfolio. Make sure you find a capable artist. If you like the shop , but the artist are not capable look for another shop.Don’t just thumb through the artist’s portfolios, actually look at it. You can get a good feel of an artist through their portfolios. Their coloring styles, their black and grey work, their custom work, etc. Make sure your comfortable with your artist’s skill as a tattooist.

Once you’ve selected an artist you’ll want to talk to them about your design idea. Usually tattoo studios offer a wide range of designs or "Flash" to choose from. Keep in mind that in most instances everything you see on the wall of the tattoo shop you’re in is probably going to be on at least 1000 other walls in 1000 different tattoo shops. So if you’re looking for something original, use the flash as more of a tool to give you ideas. Take your time looking through flash. Think about your idea. Is the picture you’ve found EXACTLY what you want? Never settle for less; regardless of pain or price. Get what you want where you want.

Want to start off on the right foot with your new artist? Don’t haggle the price! The artist knows how much work is involved and if you shop around the price will be about the same. The question is, “Will the quality of the work be the same?”