Finding the right tattoo shops near me wasn’t the easiest. To be honest, many of my first tattoo studio experiences were accompanying a friend who was getting some new ink. More often than not, the only thing guiding their choice of studio was the price. As one can imagine, the resulting tattoo was a product of the old saying, ‘You get what you pay for”. In the end, I can honestly say that my desire for getting a tattoo of my own was pretty much done.
That is until I started hanging with some folks who had some truly righteous ink. The intricacy was amazing, the color vibrant, and the movement around certain areas of the body was incredible. It turns out there was a common theme between all of these folks and their respective artwork — each had a specific studio and artist that handled all of their work.
What’s more, each of these folks, sensing my genuine interest in the quality of their ink, was great in providing a basic guide for me to follow when trying to find the right place to get my first tattoo. These steps included:
Get Your Design in Check
Don’t just walk into a studio completely clueless. Even if you’re not an artist yourself, you can have a pretty good idea about what you want your tattoo to be. Sketch it out as best you can, and annotate what you can’t. The best artists are willing to sit with you to fully bring your design to life.
Understand Your Tattoo
Knowing what you want your tattoo to look like also helps you figure out if there are specific details that may need a particular type of artist. Tattoo artists are wizards, but each tends to have certain design elements at which they excel. Finding specialists starts with knowing the central elements of your work.
Look At Actual Tattoos
Like I mentioned before, it took seeing great work on people to know what great tattooing looked like. While pics on social media or in the studio front desk binder are worth checking out, nothing beats the real thing.
Visit Local Studios
Over the last decade or so, most tattoo spots have transitioned into studios as opposed to parlors. The latter is a term that is a bit antiquated and often conjures up less-than-ideal location and sketchy images. If you’re not comfortable with the physical studio you’re visiting, then it’s not the place for you.
Finally, the one thing that really got me connected with the best tattoo shops near me was finding artists with whom I got along. In the same way you want to feel comfortable with your environment, you really want to feel at ease with the person who’ll be inking you up.
Thinking to yourself, ‘Where are the best tattoo shops near me?’ in Austin, TX? Simple — Platinum Ink. We’ve been proudly inking up central Texas for two decades and have two locations to better serve the area. Check us out today.
