Tattoo Artists (Emerging) -

Practice your art as much as you can. It is important that you have excellent freestyle drawing skills.
Tattoo artists wear gloves when creating tattoos. The gloves protect both the artist and the client from diseases.
Tattoo shops often are busiest on weekends and evenings. You should expect to work at least part of the time during these periods.
Wages vary by the tattoo artist's experience and reputation. Many tattoo artists are paid by the piece. They earn more for custom art where they may be paid by the hour. Many tattoo artists earn tips for their work.
Some tattoo artists are hired as independent contractors. They receive a percentage of what is earned by the shop. In this case, they sometimes pay for their own supplies and equipment.
Read and study tattoo magazines. They will give you a better understanding of industry trends and styles.
Attend tattoo trade shows. You can meet artists, pick up on new trends, and attend classes on tattoo techniques and safety.
In ancient societies, tattoos were inked with instruments made of bone and shell. Today, tattoo artists use a hand-held electric tattooing machine. Tattoo machines work by using a needle filled with permanent ink. The machine pushes the needle in and out of the skin. The rate varies from 50 to 3,000 times each minute. The tattoo needle injects the ink into the dermis layer of the skin (about one millimeter deep). The cells of the dermis are very stable, which allows the tattoo ink to last for your whole life!
There are several ideas about the origin of the word "tattoo." One theory is that it is a mutation of the Polynesian word "ta," which means "to strike something," and the Tahitian word "tatou," which means "to mark something."