I recently got a tattoo which is about 10″ x 9″ with tons of detail and color. The artist did a phenomenal job and I am in love with it. People are telling me that I paid way too much for it and I don’t know what to think. This was my 4th tattoo and by far my biggest and most expensive. The artist charges $150 an hour and it ended up costing $1,200 before the tip. Originally, I was under the impression it would cost $800-$1,000. I just want to know if it’s normal for a great artist to charge $150 per hour because about 99% of the other artists around here charge $100 per hour. I just want to add that I don’t feel like I got ripped off because it’s absolutely gorgeous and the detail alone took almost 4 hours because it have 6 different characters faces (some with half bodies) in it and it covers almost all of my left thigh. Thanks in advance!
No you were not ripped off.
Great artists usually charge more. 150$ is fairly normal for a good artist.
A lot of people are always gonna think your tattoo costs too much, because they don’t understand that price represents quality, and that the artist isn’t making 150$ an hour straight into his own pocket. The hourly rate is a lot lower when you account for drawing, setting up, and amount of time spent by the artist to even be able to make an amazing tattoo.
Depends on the quality of the tattoo. $1200 for a tattoo seems like a lot but if it is a kick ass tattoo then it is worth it. Most of my tattoos are in the $800 range.
I had one artist charge my in the $300 an hour range but he was very fast and did an award winning tattoo that takes up my lower leg in a little over 2 hours. My Josh Wood tattoo was about $600 with tip ($150 hockey jersey) he only charges $130 an hour and is fast. On the other hand Bob Tyrell I think is $150 and hour and is painfully slow but you’re going to get an epic tattoo.
Please post a picture of your new tattoo.
My biggest tattoo would easily cost 5000$. Full sleeve, but done in Norway so ofc prices are a little different. Most of mine are in the 800-2000$ range. One I got in the US was 120$ an hour, but that was with a discount for various reasons. I found that to be a very good price for what I got, which was a beautiful tattoo.
Here I’m used to paying 200-250$ an hour with any artist.
The price you expect vs what you actually pay can differ due to a tattoo becoming more complicated, bigger, a lot of things. But I honestly don’t think 150$ an hour is a lot for any good artist.
@Miss.Censored 141021 wrote:
I recently got a tattoo which is about 10″ x 9″ with tons of detail and color. The artist did a phenomenal job and I am in love with it. People are telling me that I paid way too much for it and I don’t know what to think. This was my 4th tattoo and by far my biggest and most expensive. The artist charges $150 an hour and it ended up costing $1,200 before the tip. Originally, I was under the impression it would cost $800-$1,000. I just want to know if it’s normal for a great artist to charge $150 per hour because about 99% of the other artists around here charge $100 per hour. I just want to add that I don’t feel like I got ripped off because it’s absolutely gorgeous and the detail alone took almost 4 hours because it have 6 different characters faces (some with half bodies) in it and it covers almost all of my left thigh. Thanks in advance!
last year I got a tattoo from an artist that charged $250 per hour and that was an 8 hour tattoo,
I am going to get another one from a different artist soon that charges $175 per hour,and that will probably be an all day tattoo,
so $150 is not too much and pretty much average price IMO.
It all depends on the artist. $150/hr is average shop rate here, but locally I go to an artist who charges $200/hr and she is worth it. My side-piece from her was about 24 hours.
I have several pieces about the size that you are describing that I have paid $1000, $1500 and $2000 for (they ranged from 7 to 14 hours each) from ‘top shelf’ artists. I don’t feel like I was overcharged on any of them. In fact, I told one that he was under-charging and he said one of the reasons that he keeps his rate lower is because he recognizes that almost all of his clients have to pay for flights and hotels to get to him. 😎
I will post pictures in a bit. It’s still healing and the saniderm patch is still on. This guy is absolutely amazing. He does the best watercolor tattoos I’ve seen and I’ve done a ton of research ( of course this is my opinion). This is my second one by him. Here’s a picture of the first one Instagram
And this is after it was fully healed
Instagram
It seems very well done. The watercolor and spatter effects do look quite natural. I’m far from an expert but I would say it was a quality piece. It is very hard for me to see that much time in it though.
That being said, 10 years from now would you rather have a good tattoo that you paid too much for or an extra $400, that you can’t remember what you spent on, and a shitty tattoo.
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