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As a tattoo artist, you are used to working on orders. Almost every day you create a new piece of art from a client’s raw ideas or prepare your flares. Most of the time it’s a lot of fun. But there are times when the flow of inspiration and ideas runs dry, even though you have to keep going.
That’s when you’ll want to know how you can expand your artistic horizons as a tattoo artist. In our article, we’ll show you a few ways to find inspiration and improve your artistic skills as a tattoo artist using different methods.
1. Get inspired by other artists
Sometimes it helps to learn from others. It doesn’t mean that you have to copy someone else (as an artist you certainly shouldn’t), but if you look over the shoulder of other artists, you can learn a lot for example, what do they do differently than you, what do they do better or worse.
By observing others, you can learn a lot about yourself and adopt a technique or two that you can apply to your art.
You can also observe the artist and compare how they build their image in contrast to yours and is there something you haven’t thought of yet that could take your art to the next level.
Many great artists have been inspired by others and drawn new ideas for their work. Don’t miss out.
2. Get inspired by surrounding
Look around you, there is so much more to see than you think. Almost everything around you can inspire you.
Look carefully at the things around you, in every aspect. Colours change slightly with different lighting conditions and viewing angles. The perception of objects depends on how you tilt your head, how close or how far away they are.
It is even more inspiring to go out into nature and observe different plants, trees and animals. Your home, other people or places can also give you new perspectives when you capture them.
3. Try new techniques
Try a new technique that you have always wanted to learn. Even if it’s not for you, you’ll learn something that will benefit your art at some point. And if the technique suits your style, so much the better! Then you can add it to your style and perfect it to try out on your clients.
But it doesn’t have to be just a new technique. You can also modify your setup a little bit. Mix tattoo colours to create your own colour palette that you can incorporate into your style.
You can also try a new style, such as realistic tattoos. Trying out new styles will broaden your artistic horizons and you’re bound to come up with a couple of new ideas as you try them out.
4. Take art lessons or drawing workshop
Taking up art may seem a little strange and unfun but it’s just the opposite. Most tattoo artists are self-taught and have been drawing or painting for most of their lives. Why should you dare to ask someone to teach you how to draw or paint?
You should find classes or someone professional to teach you how to draw because you want to improve.
If you attend drawing courses or tattooing workshops, you will get a structured approach to getting better at tattooing and you will be creating artwork under the guidance of a professional.
That professional will look at your abilities as an artist from a different perspective and will point out weaknesses you may not have been aware of. As also help you to improve them. This can make you a better artist and therefore a better tattooer.
5. Sign up for a tattoo training
In recent years, tattooing has become a discipline within the arts but in many countries, there are no approved training as such. Until now, to learn or improve tattoo art, you had to train with recognised professionals in the hope that they would accept you as their apprentice, limiting access to this training geographically or for other reasons such as gender.
Online tattoo training courses break down these barriers and provide quality training at affordable prices, as everyone should be able to afford a course if they so wish. There are platforms that created innovative online tattoo training courses like 10Masters for those who want to constantly improve and/or get started in the world of tattooing.
Also, check out out Top 5 Online Tattoo Courses, updated for 2023.
This way you can also be a part of the community of this artistic discipline where students share the passion of tattooing, exchange opinions, questions and answers and is looking in the same direction: to become good tattoo artists.
All this can help you improve your skills as a tattoo artist. By broadening your horizons and trying new things, changing your outlook or giving new life to your old habits, you can develop as an artist.
Of course, this should not be a one-off process, but an ongoing one. Only through development and progression, you can enjoy your passion in the long term.
Disclaimer: This post with written in collaboration with 10Master, a platform that provides professional training in tattooing.
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