National Average: Costs of Tattoos

Tattoo Pricing: National Averages

The national average for tattoos is $150 per hour. One of the first things many clients ask us is how much their idea is going to cost them. There are many factors that determine time. Such as size, placement, color vs. black and grey, amount of detail. It’s almost like asking how much a house is. Factors like location, size, or if it’s been newly remodeled. At this point in time a reputable artist will charge by the hour.

Averages:

Solo Tattoo Artist (3-5 yrs)      $120-$150 per hour

Established Artist (5-10 yrs)    $150-$180 per hour

Teaching Artist (10+ yrs)         $150-$220 per hour

Popular Artist                           $180+

The rate that an artist charges depends on a number of variables as well. Such as years of experience, time to do a certain style and volume of detail that goes into the tattoo, many artists base their rate on their ability and quality.

It’s important to research your artist. Find out how long they’ve been tattooing and see a large variety of their work to see if their style will fit with your idea. This is a much better way than trying to price shop from one studio to the next.

Often you will get what you pay for. Good tattoos take time and money, and cheap tattoos just aren’t good. Usually if an artist is charging under $150 and can get you in right away it shows inexperience and neediness for clients. Be aware of this as the results could be damaging.

-LBT

Tattoo Cover Ups

Tattoo Cover Ups:

Expectations Vs. Reality

All too often we hear, “If I hate it, I'll just cover it up later” If only it were that simple. There are a lot of different things that go into a tattoo cover up that many may not realize. First of all, most cover up tattoos aren’t even really a cover up at all. Meaning that the new tattoo might not cover the tattoo completely. It more or less camouflages the tattoo in a way that the original isn’t as noticeable.

Next more times than not you would have to go much larger than the original tattoo to be able to position the new artwork in a way to best camouflage or cover the tattoo. If the tattoo is heavily lined with black or has a lot of black throughout it, pretty much plan on your cover up being pretty dark.

With all of this in mind your tattoo cover-up options are limited but not impossible. There are some options available for fading or removing a tattoo such as laser removal however this option tends to be risky. It can often hurt more than getting the tattoo in the first place. Lasers also push tattoo ink deeper into the body leaving you with unknown possible health side effects.

Some newer treatments allow you to extract the tattoo out of the body but this too can be a costly process but a good way to lighten a tattoo to the point where it may be more easily covered. Some more experienced artists can even tattoo over the existing tattoo with flesh tones to lighten the tattoo. While this can lighten it, it won’t be removed completely. It can improve the options available to you.

So, if you’re stuck with a tattoo your less than thrilled about, you should contact an artist you trust and set up a consultation. 

Here at Lucky Bamboo Tattoo we offer free 30-minute consultations. This is a chance for you to sit down with an artist, discuss what your options are and where to go from here. You can always contact the studio directly and we are always happy and ready to answer any questions you may have.

-Lucky Bamboo Tattoo

How tattoo artists take your ideas and turn them into tattoo reality!

From your imagination to the tattoo on your skin:

How tattoo artists take your ideas and turn them into tattoo reality!

Step One:

Whether you know exactly what you want or a general idea the best thing to do is research. Look at multiple artists portfolios and see which of their styles stands out to you the most. Odds are that if you like what they have already created you will have more trust in them to help you design your own personal ink creation.

As your reviewing portfolios make sure to check for consistency throughout the portfolio. If you notice that some tattoos aren’t as good as some others there is a chance that they are inexperienced or even borrowing other artists work to help them gain clients.

Step Two:

Contact the studio either in person or over the phone. Your interaction there will tell you a lot about the studio and how things are done. Lucky Bamboo Tattoo offers tours during business hours. A major thing to look for is how the artist’s set up. Is everything that they could touch during an appointment covered? Look around for over all cleanliness. If the studio isn’t clean what makes you think the artists will be?

The amount of time and items required to set up fully costs us around $60 this is to ensure your health and safety. This is done for every client every time. Everything is single use and discarded after each client.

Step Three:

Book a consultation! You can have a little one on one time with the artist you have selected and share with them your ideas and any details that you want to have incorporated into your tattoo. This will help the artist understand more of what your wanting and be able to design it for you.

One of the more common questions we get from clients is if they can see a drawing of their tattoo prior to their appointment. While this request may seem reasonable to most. Its just not something that many artists feel comfortable with for a few reasons. First is that the artist is setting aside time to design your tattoo that is unique not only to you but to them. Sending out an image of that drawing comes with the risk of it being shared and then copied. Secondly if you have done your research and selected an artist you trust, with their own unique style. You will surely love what they have created for you.

Step Four:

Place a deposit and book your appointment. Placing a deposit not only secures your appointment time but it secures the artists time to allow them to prepare and draw up your design.

Step Five: Show up to your appointment! After all the work that is put into getting to your appointment between you and your artist, you should always arrive on time.