Thanks to Sherav for sharing your experience and thanks to Izarrasink for the fresh perspective (I wish I could work with you)!

But what do you mean tattoo artists can’t cure cancer?? Well, sh*t. j/k

Seriously tho, I think the biggest part of my frustration is that went I went in to both artists, I was completely upfront about me being a custom tat newbie, and asked them for help with the process and what to expect. When they gave time references like “a week” and “not long,” given my narrow frame of reference, I was thinking I should get a call within at least two weeks. By all means, if an artist would just come out and tell me “Hey, my next 3 weeks are booked solid, I won’t have time to even start a sketch till after that, but we can talk then” then certainly, my expectations might have been based more in reality.

In fairness, I was also upfront with my most recent artist about my communication neediness (given my first experience), but to no avail. If I have to chase people down, 1) it wastes my time 2) I feel like I’m not being taken seriously, 3) I feel like I’m being aggressive/pushy, and 4) I get stressed out, and that puts everyone off!! 🙁 All I ask is for is a little open/honest communication – some wicked talent – and open/honest communication. Phone, email, smoke signals, I don’t care! If an artist prefers that I stop by in person rather than call, then TELL me!! (…Jeez, it’s Monday & I don’t want to go to work, can’t you tell?) Sorry for the rant.

Hindsight being 20/20 – I should have taken some advice from this forum before venturing out. It probably would have saved me a great deal of frustration! But sometimes (most of the time) I gotta learn the hard way…:o

I appreaciate all the help! I’ll forge ahead. Getting this tat done will be very cathartic for me!

Have a good one!

Hi Matthew, thanks for the response!

That’s part of the story – I HAVE actually visited TWO places in person – it is a LONG story, but I’ll try to sum it up:

1. I started out with an idea in my head that was like an addiction. I couldn’t find any stock tattoo pics that really captured the concept, so I decided to consult an artist about how to go about a custom tattoo.
2. So, since I love tattoos, but I am certainly not an industry expert, I consulted the last person to do work for me. I was happy with him and the shop in the past. I discussed my idea with him, we found some pictures to start from, put down a deposit, and he asked me to give him a week to put a prelim sketch together. He said we would call me when it was ready. No prob.
3. Week goes by and I hear nothing. I figure he’s busy, so I give it another week.
4. The next week, I call him, and yes, he has the prelim sketch ready. Great! I go in to see it, and it wasn’t quite what I was going for, but it was a decent start, so we discussed changes, he was very enthusiastic, and asked me to give him another week to do the updates. No prob.
5. The next week I call to check in, and he is not available. I leave a message for him to call me back. No call. I call again later on, leave another message, no call back. I give him another week for him to return my call, and finally just get that vibe that says I don’t really want to do business with someone like that.
6. So, feeling wierd about the whole thing, I consult one of my acquaintances that has many complex tattoos. She agreed I should try a different artist and referred me to the artist that did her work. So I made a consult appt with this new artist.
7. Met with new artist, and she seemed much more professional. I explained to her my last experience. She was very sympathetic and made the comment that I would have a wonderful experience at her shop. We discussed my idea, and she asked for a week to do a prelim sketch. She said she would call me when it was ready. No prob.
8. Week goes by and I hear nothing. Sound familiar? So I call her, and yep, she has the prelim sketch ready. Fine, I go in to look at it. Deja vu. So it needs some changes, pretty much the same ones I had to go thru with the last guy. No prob, I guess, she needed another week to make the changes.
9. So another week goes by and I hear nothing. ARGH! So, I’m thinking that I was just being too vague, and maybe the pics I supplied were not getting the point across. So I decide, with my child-like drawing skills, I would sketch the damn thing myself. Granted, here is where I am at the most fault, because I should have done this from the beginning…but anyway, my sketch wasn’t too bad, so I made an appt to show this to the artist to help her refine what she had worked on.
10. So I go in again, and she looks at my sketch and contends that there is very little difference between my sketch and her sketch. I really didn’t know what to say, but I politely disagreed, and went over the parts of her sketch that I liked better than mine, and things that I would like changed on her sketch. I don’t think she was offended, but maybe she was? Anyhow, I asked how long it would take for her to make the changes, and she said ‘not long.’ I asked when I should check in, and she said her schedule was changing and that SHE would call ME. At this point I’m hearing “Don’t call us, we’ll call you…”
11. So anyway, I decide I’m being paranoid and give her the benefit of the doubt. Well, ya know what – 2 weeks and no phone call!
12. Also note that price was not an issue. I was up front and willing to pay high prices and tip well for someone who was really interested in helping me out.

So my question is, and I apologize if this thread was not the place to post this, is this standard practice among shops dealing with custom work? Do you have to chase/stalk the artist repeatedly after they’ve accepted the engagement in order to get results? Perhaps my expectations are just out of line. :confused:

The Cracked Quacker