Frequently Asked Questions: FAQ
(Warning: Snarky Humor Alert! There will be sarcasm, condescension, ironic, tongue-in-cheek, and other forms of humor as well as slang, jargon, gibberish,made up words, and playful misspellings in this section. DO NOT FIGHT ME ON THIS. you will lose. I went to college, I can make up words. None of this detracts in the slightest from the seriousness of the topics addressed in this section. For the serious version, please visit the terms section of the website.)
Contents:
- 1.Precare and Aftercare
2. Infection Concerns
3. Safety
4.Simple Tattoos
4.5 High Risk Tattoos (hand/feet/face/genital tattoos)
5.Contact and Emailing
5.5 Contact and EMAILING continued
6. Design and Consultation Cost
7. Intellectual Property and Ownership,
8. Design
9. If I dont like my design
10.Other disagreements
11. Cost
12. Snobbery
13. Client Relations
14. Cheaper tattoos (suck.)
15. MORE contact and emailing
Information
1.PRECARE AND AFTERCARE
Please visit : www.fineartforbodies.com/aftercare
2. HELP! My TATTOO IS INFECTED!!
That is not a question.
Please go to a doctor, NOW.
Call me if you have doubts, but if you are in anyway not sure, go to the doctor.
The most common scary effect that people think is an infection is scabbing due to overmoisturizing. Please see aftercare instructions and follow them very closely.
NOTE:
3. SAFETY
While I am tattooing you, I use new, unopened, pre-sterilized, and hermetically sealed, single-use, disposable needles and even grips to tattoo. I protect my machines, clip cords, wash bottles, and all other non-disposable items and contact surfaces with disposable barrier film.
Between sessions, I sanitize with hospital-grade disinfectant which kills almost every microorganism known to man (including my brain cells,) and meet or exceed all hospital-standard cross-contamination and Bloodborne Pathogen control measures.
I sanitize your skin prior to starting with alcohol, (Which also kills my brain cells,) and I wipe the tattoo down almost every other needle stroke with antiseptic soap while tattooing. It is probably not infected.
But as a disclaimer, if you think you have an infection, GO TO THE DOCTOR, now.
4. DO YOU DO SIMPLE TATTOOS?
Of course I do! If you are able to bring a tattoo-ready image in for a quick tattoo, I can even squeeze you in sooner, often within a couple of days!
4.1 Do You Do FACE/NECK/HAND/FOOT/SCALP/LIP/TONGUE/BUTT/ INTIMATE/ HIGH RISK TATTOOS:
Yes, however,
Because of the type of skin located in these areas, they:
1) Will be difficult to tattoo
2)Will be difficult to tattoo well
3) Will be difficult to heal well/keep from getting infected
4) Will be difficult to keep safe from the elements
5) Will therefore likely fade, expand, and in other ways age quickly
All of which cause many of the problems with the quality, safety, and longevity of a tattoo that most artists (and clients) tend to dislike and thus avoid.
Many people within the lifestyle fully understand this and elect to get these tattoos with the understanding that they will age gracefully with us.
While I may be convinced to do these tattoos, after going through these disclaimers and affirming that a person is of sound mind and body, above the age of consent and of the maturity level that I deem necessary to make bad decisions, and to cope with the consequences of the final aspect of them.
Which is:
6) it will be HIGHLY VISIBLE
4.2 Do You Do HIGHLY VISIBLE TATTOOS
Yes I do.
However, I try to make sure a client knows what they’re getting into.
The most important thing to remember about a tattoo that is above the collarbones or neckline, below the wrist or cuff line, or below the ankle, is that it will be HIGHLY VISIBLE.
This means that people will see it, no matter what. Do not plan on covering it with hair, a certain type of shirt, garment, watch, or jewelry, etc.
IT WILL NOT BE COVERED.
I would NOT recommend getting a tattoo on your chosen body part at all if you feel you will need to cover it up ever. It just wont work- a tattoo anywhere above your collarbones or below your cuff is as visible as the nose on your face.
If this is your request I will usually try to first see if you:
a) would like to consider putting it somewhere else if you haven’t considered these factors,
b) if you are as comfortable getting a tattoo on your neck where it can be seen at ALL times as you are thinking it can be hidden under your collar.
AND
c) You already have an established, long-standing career, family, social life, and standing within society that will not be jeopardized by the stigma you will garner for having a tattoo virtually on your face.
(At least two of these must be true to proceed.)
And then go through all of the medical precautions and artistic concerns in addition to the social/ethical concerns that these tattoos generate, and THEN have you sign an additional waiver stating that we did go over these things.
I am not against highly visible tattoos, tattoos on hands, faces, lips, foreheads, etc, its just I want to make sure that you’re SURE before we go there.
lol 🙂
5. DO I HAVE TO EMAIL YOU
Yes, you do.
5.5 CANT I JUST COME IN AND TALK TO YOU IN PERSON
No.
Hehe Just joking. Yes. I absollutely LOVE visitors, And I do welcome you to come back often and visit.
However, a visitor is just that, a visitor. While I am working I may or may not be able to accept visitors, wherein which lies the problem: it is complicated because I am ALWAYS working when I am in the studio. As a matter of fact, I am ALWAYS working when I’m not in the studio, and I am rarely in the studio when I am not tattooing. So therefore, if you drop in randomly, I might be either tattooing, or off site working.
While I may be able to and usually divert some attention your way to greet you cordially, chat quickly, or if we’re lucky, catch up while I continue working, eat your cookies, or answer quick questions;
I can usually not break stride or “change gears” to focus on a new or different project. I want to give you my undivided attention when I give it to you! And the discussion involved with consultation and development is all-important.
Besides, wouldn’t you want me to be focusing on your project when its you on my desk, or your skin on my table?
Finally, I refuse to believe that it is easier for someone to schedule a time, get in your car, drive to me, get out of your car, show up on time, and get past my vicious guard-apprentice, Morgan; or even stop by on your way somewhere and catch me un-occupied, than it is for you to pick up the phone and call me to schedule an appointment. So for social visits, come on by. For tattoos, please try to stick to my intake process 😉
5. YOU CHARGE FOR DESIGN!?!?
I charge for the development of a tattoo, and the creative services, intellectual property, and downright backbreaking hard work that goes into it.
I charge a $100 deposit for and I charge $125 per hour for all services rendered.
This way I can maintain fair fee structure across all services I provide.
For both a Custom Design and a Fine Art Tattoo, I apply your deposit towards your consultation development appointment, and any remainder goes towards tattoo time. You can read more about the two main lines of tattoo service I offer, here.
During your time with me, I charge for your consultation and development because this time is prioritized for you to put you on my schedule in direct competition with my tattoo time, and it is directly contributing towards your tattoo.
If all intake procedures have been followed when come in for your consultation, you have already had an opportunity to ask all the questions, get all the answers, express all the creativity, and communicate all the ideas to prepare, so when you arrive we get straight to work on dedicated, directed, creative production. This is an hour of services rendered, or work performed: we ask questions, arrive at answers, generate ideas, research, and design- all of which are services one could actually seek independantly, which have value.
Finally, at this point, you are knee deep in your artist’s intellectual property, which also has value, having utilized their service to visualize, conceptualize, narrow down, select, research, you are paying them for this service, not necessarily any deliverable derived from this service. (I.E tattoos, drawings, magical tokens, etc.) They can not get these ideas back.
5.5 DESIGN: WHAT IS “DESIGN”:
For the purposes refered to here,
“A Design,” as a noun, is the sketches, research, copy, verbage, notes, photos, studies, study models, 3d models, scripts, sculpts, or communication necessary to convey an idea or plan for the production of a (usually creative) good, usually to a third party who would be producing said design. This can be literally, ANYTHING, but some examples would be: a blueprint for a building, a concept for a drawing or movie, a poem inspiring a painting.
Design as a process is comprised of whatever ideation, communication, research, creative, or manual work necessary to create or communicate a plan for the execution of the above noun.
This concept of “design” is different from the “deliverables” of this process.
5.6 What is a “Deliverable?”
A Deliverable in my process, is the artifact, physical, digital, or virtual that you give to another party that is part of the design or production process. This is important destinction because in my creative process, working terms and service agreement, there are no deliverables besides the tattoo itself.
This is for several reasons:
Production is separate and distinct from design.
Many leighmen, and indeed, many artists and designers do not realize this important fact. It is very important in the type of work I do, because many of my projects tale many many hours to produce, and many of them often many hours to design as well. The design might be a simple sketch, an accurate description, or complete linework, or a collection of color studies, sketches, photographs of a body sketch for future reference. might take many, MANY more hours.
Most importantly:
Often, my tattoos dont exist anywhere but on the skin. It does not get much more creative or freehand than that. (If I remember, one day I will include some pictures here that illustrate how simple my sketches can be versus the tattoos they become. Oooh… I have some really good examples, as a matter of fact, I’ll set a reminder.)
6. WHO “OWNS”MY TATTOO???
YOU DO.
I have surprisingly heard this question from models, people who are nervous about custom design, etc.
That also being said, the TATTOO ON YOUR BODY does belong to you. However the intellectual property and reproduction rights of the image belongs to me, as well as any photographs that I have taken. While I WILL respect your privacy, (I will usually not even show faces or identifying marks in my photos for this reason) I will retain the rights use it in my portfolio, for my records, on my website.
I have also been asked, and no I will not, destroy your sketches or photographs unless you are some huge celebrity with a publicist and we discuss this in advance.
This is to say that if you want to model, pose naked with it, if it makes you famous, I will never ever complain.
However, if you were to say, start a giant oil-mining corporation and use your tattoo’s original artwork for it’s logo…
Well, I am also not going to complain. Similar to how, if I did your logo when you were a small mom-and-pop and you turned it into a million dollar franchise, I wouldn’t complain 🙂 I’d just be really really proud of you.
(Unless of course you lied to me, and you were reeeally a secret billionaire with a bazillionjillion employess and you just didnt want to pay fair and equitable graphic designers their proper dues, so you came and found a little increeedibly talented mom-and-pop tattoo artist to do your logo instead of a proper firm like Moses Anchell, and your now trying to stick it to the small guy representing the commercialist interests of corporate america hell-bent on GREED AND PROFIT! Cuz if that’s the case, I might complain. lol 🙂
7. CAN I TAKE MY DESIGN TO A DIFFERENT ARTIST?
Nooot really. If this is your goal, (let’s say you are out of town, or out of country, or you’re married to your tattooist, or if you want a certain artist to tattoo you, but for sooome reason, you want me to draw it,) let me know in the beginning, and we can work something out.
If you spring that on me in the end, it will be complicated.
That is, I will probably charge you a fair amount of money, or I will probably not give you the design.*
For a fine art piece, this will start at, but not limited to the balance of the hourly rate for the time spent designing it less any deposits.
I will not sell a design that I have created for a tattoo for the $100 deposit I take to start working on it, and it is pretty likely I will not release it at all, I’ll just keep it for future use or display.
If you are getting a custom-designed piece, where you are sitting there paying hourly for design work, you can discuss the possibility of releasing the rights to you, probably for a fee depending on the final application. I just don’t imagine that happening very often.
In either case, there is no deliverable after your consultation. (Deliverable meaning something you can take away. This includes digital pictures, unless you TAG ME IN ANY SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS. lol) As outlined in my terms, during your consult I get what I need to design the tattoo, and then I only design what I need to make the art on your skin. The ONLY deliverable is the tattoo. So if you need a drawing to take away, there may be further charges for generating that deliverable. Furthermore, I retain the rights to that drawing unless and until they are transferred to you, which can and might also carry a fee, depending on the application. So. If that’s your goal, let me know up front 🙂
8. WHAT IF I DONT LIKE ME DESIGN?
This is HIGHLY unlikely.
We go through a very intensive consultation process to make sure that when I strt to draw, I am drawing what you want me to draw. However,
9. What about Disagreements?
We try to outline all the TERMS up front in my process section, as well as in your intake emails, including rates, charges, expectations, requirements, including what to do in the case of artistic disagreements, but sometimes they still arise; Some people just do not communicate well.
Please review my terms before selecting a process to go forward with; one is based on yourdesign, with my subtle coaching, while one is basically 100% my art, on your body. Choose carefully!
Just as the artist has the right to refuse service to anyone (for any reason, at any time) you have the right to discontinue your patronage at any time. But this constitutes a breach of contract, and as such there are absolutely zero refunds.
If you are just not happy with your linework/tattoo/service/bedsidemanner/artists appearance/email response time you are free to take it to someone else to get it finished.
The thing about disagreements is that they are usually mutual- so we will hold no hard feelings, and would appreciate none in return.
BUT I REALLY WANT To…
I have a very VERY VEEEEEEEEERY strong philosophy that your tattoo is YOURS and I bid, beg, and plead that you don’t let anyone tell you what to do with it. However, listen to your artist.
While I have heard ghastly stories of artist who say “my way or the high way” with peoples tattoos, and I catch those clients along that highway ALL The time, I humbly offer my highly educated opinion on matters of design. I will warn you that if I strongly offer my opinion on something, it’s probably a good idea. I will also disclaim that I am HIGHLY likely to paint or draw the idea that I was talking about on canvas with the correct color for future use.
If you choose not to follow my suggestions, I will either go with yours if it is doable, or nix the project. In either case, there are NO REFUNDS, for any reason ever, especially if your unhappy with your own choice.
But I will applaud and thank you for sticking to your guns. And I will probably tell you the story about how I lost my position at one of the most prestigious tattoo shops in Phoenix over sticking to my guns, and how it started “Fine Art For Bodies”;)
Maybe you’ll have a similar story!
10. ARE YOU EXPENSIVE!?
Not at all.
I tend to put more thought, planning, detail, and time into a given tattoo than average, so the time taken might be slightly more… If you are a discerning viewer of art and tattoos, you will appreciate it. If not… well someone looking at you might! It’s probably worth it 😉
I am actually cheaper than most. I charge $125/hour which is SLIGHTLY higher than average, BUT…I am also very fast. For example My 4 hour (est.) $500 tattoo is going to probably be better executed than the average 4-5 hour $500 tattoo, because I go fast. BUT I like to put more detail, so if given a choice, I will make a given tattoo 3-4 hours, rather than two. Make sense?
11. ARE YOU A SNOB?
Not at all.
I know the value of my work and am well-versed in economic philosophy. 🙂
I also know a LOT about art, art history, tattoo history, design, design philosophy, etc, so I have a pretty well informed opinion about things. That being said, the tattoo, the choice to get a tattoo, and any of the numerous elements of the tattoos design are, ultimately, up to you.
12. DO YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CLIENTS
Immensely. More than you can ever possibly know.
It’s kind of like someone who falls in love over and over and over and over again. Eventually, you learn to let go. While I still fall in love (over, and over, and over, again,) I have learned to let go when need be, to not wind up in a toxic relationship.
13. MY FRIEND/UNCLE/BROTHER/NEPHEW/NEIGHBOR/RANDOM GUY FROM My APARTMENTCOMPLEX WILL DO IT FOR CHEAPER
hehehe This is seriously my favorite topic. I try not to go on about it… but since you got me started… lol 😉
*ahem*
There are over 400 tattoo studios in Phoenix. There are no shortage of “custom” tattoo shops for whom “custom” is defined by doing a variation of the same tattoo they did yesterday, which is a variation of the same tattoo they pulled of the flash rack some years ago.I recognize may not work the way that many tattoo shops work, however, the skill and experiecne you get can vary from 15-20 year tenured artists (RARELY) to 6-month apprenticeship drop-outs to people with literally no experience at all except that required to order stolen or inferior equipment from craigslist or 2nd-rate suppliers and a gift of the gab.
While I do tend to try to refine “styles” or “signature” ways of doing certain subject s(i.e. coi, lotuses, etc,) I have a hard time even saying that I have a “style” because not many of my tattoos are remotely similar.
That being said,
My tattoos are not for everyone.
I work the way that I work because after 11 years of tattooing, it is the way that I have discovered to best allow me bring my service to meet the needs of my clientelle.
“I dont use my email.”
1) That’s not a question.
2) Great! It will be that much easier to keep track of our tattoo-conversation if there is no other emails in your inbox! And this will provide you with new impetus to try out this BRILLIANT form of modern communication. lol 😉
Unfortunately, with all the social media buzz everywhere, I have discovered that email is the only tried-and-true, reliable, secure way to keep these conversations tracked, organized, and archived. Just imagine, In addition to tattooing, and painting, I have 3 websites to maintain, 4 social media platforms, and no less than 6 inboxes, not including calls and texts on two different phones. Not all of them save messages. And good old google-mail is the only place where I get all the updates. Soooo…
So when you think “tattoo” think email. 🙂