Yelp reviews for highly reputable places without hardcore vibes. Loved the west village place where I got my 1st/2nd/4th. Sometimes I’d google stalk places in my local walking path. Only 1/7 of my tattoos is color & I always have a design, so I’m not personally as focused on individual artist style.

I highly recommend going to talk to the artist or shop beforehand, get a feel of their vibe… I didn’t do that (their Insta looked good & I booked for 3 small tats)… they ended up switching the artist on me the day of & it freaked me out. Luckily turned out ok (tats were very simple) but scared me.

Searching Instagram for examples/inspiration from tat artists and then seeing if any artists they follow/interact with live within a distance that I am willing to drive.

I found my artist the day after a Friday the 13th event because I liked her work and missed out on getting tattooed by her. She's done most of my tattoos, but I sometimes find other artists on Instagram

I started with a recommendation from someone whose tattoos I liked. I then found an artist who had worked at a shop they recommended and subsequently set up his own place. I studied his portfolio then met with him to discuss what I wanted and he came up with a design I really liked.

Previous experiences from friends.

I went to a tattoo convention and found an artist that did designs that I was interested in. yes, you can take your design to the artist. If you’re familiar with any in your area, their work should be on their website to review. Or their socials.

Look up their work and check it out. If it interests you speak to the artist about what you have in mind and wait to see a sketch of the possible work with changes you request (if you do) before you commit.

my sword was the first piece i worked with an artist to make, i literally just went on IG and looked up like, houston tattoo artists until i found one who had examples of the kind of piece on want, i dmd about rates and design and then they gave me a final design that i loved

Who did this? It's awesome

their instagram handle is @/argentocheese, they operate in the heights in Houston !

I had an idea of what I wanted and then scoured instagram for local tattoo artists to see who would be best with the kind of design I wanted. When I went in I talked about what I wanted, they drew up a design, and then I gave feedback on what I didn’t like, they redrew it, and that was that

That’s exactly how the custom tattoo process usually works sharing your idea, finding an artist whose style matches, and then refining the design together until it feels right. Do you want me to help you shape your idea into a clear concept before you take it to the tattoo artist?

For local i looked at diff studio sites and looked through portfolios to find styles i like. More recently i used IG and searched tattoo pics near me. I also get pushed a lot of suggested artists via algorithm and have traveled to work with ones whose styles i love.

My tattoo artist and I went to church together.

I don't have tattoos, but it seems like all my friends with tats go principally on word of mouth.

SIL recommended, and then I checked him out on Instagram. Fine-line artist outside of Houston. I get compliments constantly on the level of detail.

All three of my tattoos were done by different artists. All had tattooed friends whose tattoos were beautiful and well done. For two of the three, said friends came with me when I had mine done.

My wife hunted Instagram and reddit for a year to find the artist with a style that matched her idea. Me and d&d friends had a meet-up and picked the closest studio that sounded cool (SideQuest tattoo, <3 Kaylan)

I asked my son where he would go and then I looked what artists there had open books and checked their portfolios

Easy to look online now and see their work…

Word of mouth. Then looked at the insta, talked to her and booked. So happy with the result!

Really depends on the style of tattoo you want. Find an artist who specializes in that style.

They all seem to be on Instagram, which is not great for someone like me who doesn't understand that place and only goes there to find tattoo artists.

Commit a serious crime, go to prison.

Aaron Bell @slavetotheneedle

Asking friends who had tattoos about their experiences with different artists and who they'd recommend, and then researching reviews online about who they recommended.

I used to know someone who worked at one of the regulating offices. And then my third and most recent - sigh - I *thought* I liked his artwork on Insta, but it didn't turn out as I'd hoped. Make REALLY sure you know what you want, including style (not just design), and then make sure THEY know.

Insta the find someone who’s style I liked and who’a art I would not regret on my skin.

I got a recommendation from a heavily tatted friend and then went to check out the artist’s portfolio.

In my case, online reviews helped, as did seeing examples of an artist’s style. But I think the ultimate test is an in-person meeting to see if the vibe is right & you feel confident that they understand what you’re trying to achieve.

Recommendations from family and friends who already had tattoos

Look at their social media profiles pics or go to the shop and ask to see their portfolio books.

Look for shops within your specific destination using Reddit/Maps/Google and then check out individual artists' portfolios. Most artists use Instagram to showcase their work, and a green flag is if they have a highlight for 'healed' showing how their work holds up over time.

Know the terminology for what you want (blackwork? Fineline? Trad? Botanical?) and your ideal budget/time commitment. Once you find someone for your custom, find reference photos that are clear and on the same part of the body as your desired location. Another piece of advice is that you are your

own best advocate. It is on your body forever! Don't be afraid to be extremely picky about exact location, design elements, etc - within reason, since the artist will have their own suggestions for what will last longest and look best. Have fun!

Recommendations from friends and plain ole online reviews.

Follow a bunch on instagram and start getting a feel for their style

I followed tattoo artists on Instagram, then continued to follow them for about 7 years so I know everything about them. I’m sure when I finally get a tattoo all this research will have been totally worthwhile

I guess as a follow-up: If you have someone whose work you like in Seattle, please tell me about them

She’s not based in Seattle, but she’s there sometimes! @ideoplast.bsky.social

I’m in Seattle now! But am only working through the midafternoon. Will be back here in late November / early December. @jaywillis.net - if you check out my IG (in bio) and like what you see, drop me a line and we can chat about my upcoming visit. (Thanks, @kmaustinyoung.bsky.social ❤️)

Would you come south to Vancouver? There’s a guy named Sacred Yeti who does extraordinary floral stuff.

A buddy of mine swears by Slave to the Needle, I believe in Wallingford? They worked with him on designing his tattoos in advance (his daughter’s names), and he really liked the result. Says he would definitely go there again.

Honest Jon at highmark tattoo in lynnwood. he’s done both of my sleeves, my chest piece, and a large piece between my shoulder blades. he’s a great dude and his work is fucking amazing www.instagram.com/honest_jon_t...

here’s the most recent piece he did for me back in december, a cover up on my back. i had him design the art so he could control how to best cover the original work www.instagram.com/p/DD_JDSlJdZ...

I am looking for two floral designs that will go on each arm. I also have a friend who is a (non-tattoo) artist who might design them for me, but I don’t know the rules about whether it’s cool to have tattoo artists do other people’s work

It’s totally fine. I’ve begun talking w/ a local tattoo artist & I told them what I wanted and found 3 images of tattoos that I liked that were in the ballpark (without the lettering I’d add), and they’re totally cool with talking about what I liked about option A vs B, whether to copy directly, etc

I don't have any Seattle specific recommendations but with how often I move I just look at their portfolios and what style the artists specialize in. Some artists are happy to recreate others work and some aren't, if your friend is willing you could pass on their work as inspiration to the artist.

Fine to bring your own design as far as I've experienced. I can't speak to other places, and definitely not Seattle, but should you decide to get a tattoo while you're traveling, I've gotten tattoos in New York, Boston, and New Haven, but the best one was at Shooting Stars in Fayetteville, NC

Forgot this, but my worst one was in New Haven, at a place I picked based on reviews or whatever. I would definitely choose based on a place that someone you know has been, which was how I got my best one despite being in a wild mixed bag of places around a military base lol

Floral sleeves are a great choice! 🌸 As a custom tattoo designer, I can create artwork that fits your arm shape and lasts well over time. Would you like me to design them from scratch, or adapt your friend’s sketches into tattoo-ready art?

Mhmm let's have some chat I do this

I always had my own art, I drew & designed myself, and it was never a problem

if your friend is an artist who would design a piece for you and gave you permission to get that tattoo'd, i'd say that's okay. generally tattoo artists don't like when you come in with a tattoo another artist did and are like "put this on me exactly"

I got a wonderful floral/botanical half-sleeve from www.lubdubtattoo.com I believe they only tattoo their own work, but fwiw it was intensely collaborative when they designed my work, so it was very much taking my descriptions and turning it into a tattoo.

I got one of mine done by Laurenn Stipes (blvedove) in Seattle! It’s a private studio on lower Queen Anne. She doesn’t check insta anymore but here’s her page if you want to see her style/get her contact info: www.instagram.com/blvedove?igs...

(Not sure if she tattoos other people’s designs but no harm in asking!)

Some won’t do other people’s designs for various reasons (sometimes bc it won’t wrap well on a human body— designs don’t transfer the same as on paper). Instagram. What kind of style — color/ no color. Don’t pick anyone with no wait list. 😂

Some artists will be fine with that. Some won't. Feel free to just ask. My only non-text one is straight off a reference photograph I brought with me.

Looks like the bots have found your post......

It’s completely fine to bring an artist a design, and a good artist will then offer you input on how well that translates into a tattoo, trace up a blue line drawing for it, and transfer that to your skin to guide their work. It’s more common to bring your idea than to show up empty handed. 🙂

They will probably negotiate with you about a design you bring in. The drawing will need to be transferred to a template, iirc.

Its fine. Go talk to a few

Agreed. Talk to a few and look through their book of prior art to see how their style meshes with your goal for the piece. 🙂

It's fine, but will probably reduce the number of tattoo artists willing to go for it. My husband had to shop around for a while to get someone to do a design he'd gotten from another artist.

My Tatoo artist welcomed the art from a piece of jewelry and adapted it to a Tatoo friendly design. I can’t image someone who wouldn’t - Tatoo’s are personal and everyone should have their own idea. I found her through the ever popular “ask a friend”

I collect American Traditional. Found a shop close to my house and they were the kindest dudes ever so just kept going there.

Word of mouth and vibes. Doesn’t always work.

Living near a large university helps. Went online and looked at the artists’ work to decide

I go to the place walking distance from my house lol

Recommendation from a friend. Sometimes I didn’t do that and I regret it.

you what now?

Sometimes I didn’t get a recommendation. I would just go to a shop near my apartment, which in retrospect ended up with less satisfying results.

Always bad 😂

I actually did that and it worked out great. I looked at his work though beforehand at great length. These days with social media it's very easy to see most of their work.

It can be okay! I did that too and it’s fine but not my fave (I need to get it touched up anyhow)

Friends/personal recs. Now, I’d use Instagram