How to Choose a Fine Line Tattoo Artist
- 1). Start with local portrait artists. Tattooists with a portfolio of realistic portraits, including copies of the pictures they used to create the tattooed portraits, are usually good at doing fine lines.
- 2). Ask to see her portfolio even if she doesn't customarily do portraits but says she can do fine line work. Look for pieces with very small details or that are realistic in nature.
- 3). See if the tattoo artist has pictures of healed tattoos you can view. Once a tattoo heals, it often looks different than when the tattoo was fresh. During the tattoo process, the skin is naturally going to swell, so a fine line that looked straight while tattooing may not be straight when healed. A good fine line artist will either compensate for this swelling while tattooing or ensure he completes all the fine lines before the client swells too much.
- 4). Look for straight, sharp lines even if you're looking at a fresh tattoo. If you see squiggles and gaps or notice some lines are thicker or darker than others, then the tattoo artist needs more work on her fine lines.
- 5). View the tattoo artist in action if he and the client are comfortable with an audience. You can get a better feel for his confidence level if you watch him work. As an added bonus, see if he's doing any fine line tattoos you can watch.
- 6). Check out a tattoo artist who's already built a reputation for doing excellent fine line work. If she has an established clientele, you might also be able to see some of her body art on a person and not just in a photo to get a better view of the line work.
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