Now that you have decided that Ancient Marks Tattoo is the shop for you, it's time to schedule your Consultation.
Many people have questions about the process of it all. Again, it's best to call, text, or submit an Inquiry Form if you are unsure about what to do. Tattoos have come a long way in the past 5-10 years. Methods have changed, pigments have changed, even the equipment has changed. Don't just assume that you know how it all works. At Ancient Marks and by extension, Aloha Salt Lake and Aloha Park City Tattoos, we do things differently. We have steped into the modern age and allow online scheduling to keep things easy for you. But, if you are unsure what to schedule, it's best to ask. The time set aside for your appointment is all the time we have for you that day. There will be someone directly before you and directly after you with very little extra time.
There are several options, and there may be more than one option is right for you and your particular situation.
If you have a design ready to go, something that we can easily make a stencil and just tattoo you, then you will want to chose the size that corresponds to the size you want to get the tattoo. Basic stencil making and setup time is included in the time set aside for your appointment but you can always chose additional drawing/design time or artwork prep time as an addition to your appointment.
If you have a design that needs modifications, or additions, you can either schedule a Consultation or an Appointment with design/drawing time included. If extensive changes are needed, you can always add extra design/drawing time to prepare your artwork as an addition to the appointment.
If you have an Idea of what you want tattooed, but it needs to be created for you, you will want to schedule a consultation to discuss the specifics of what you are looking to get and the best way to go about going about getting the process started
The best way we have found to create artwork for your tattoo is for you to come in for a consultation with design time. At this consultation, we can sit down and discuss your wants and needs, look at images you have found, look for other images that portray what you're looking for and get them all together in one place. Then we can loosely put them together for a rough sketch. From there, we can schedule additional drawing/design time as needed. It's always best for you to attend these drawing sessions so that you can be a part of the process and decisions can be made with you physically there. Once we have everything prepared, you will come in for your appointment. At your appointment, we will review the images and finalize the design, draw the pieces on, stencil other pieces on and then start the tattoo.
You can always call if you have questions, we will do our best to help you select the right appointment. But, if you are in doubt, a consultation is the best way to go. Keep in mind, this is a tattoo, it's there for a lifetime. Looking back 5-10 years from now, this tattoo will still be in place. You aren't going to remember that it took a bit of extra time to ensure that the design is right. But you will remember that you didn't take enough time to make sure it's the way you want it if you neglect that before getting your tattoo.
Artwork Creation
Many people have an unrealistic sense of what can be designed by your tattoo artist in a short a amount of time. The reality is drawings and designs often take 2x-5x as long as the tattoo itself. A lot goes into a finished design in order to prepare it for a tattoo. Even the smallest changes to some designs take over an hour to complete. And the more complex the design and/or the changes, the longer it will take to complete those changes.
While we are gifted, talented artists, we are trying to create something for someone unique, YOU. And that is different than drawing something for ourselves out of our imaginations. You have your own unique wants and needs and tastes that cant easily be expressed in a single meeting. Therefore, we do need you to do the research to show us what images you like, which specific images convey what you want the tattoo to be, specifically what you want designed, etc...
We will do our best to create what you are wanting, but that is often easier said than done. Many people envision one of the Tattoo Television (TV) Programs where the clients walk-in and something that has very deep meaning is drawn for them while they wait. While this can be done in some cases. you need to realize that This is Television. Most of those drawings have been given 100% attention for weeks or sometimes months prior to them walking in. That's not real world. We have up to 30 drawings each at any given time, each begging for attention, each pulling us in a completely different mental state to design. In other words, it takes time. As with any other business, our artists need to be compensated for their time, not just the final product but the hours put into researching each design, the dozens of rough sketches it takes to get placement perfect (so that it flows over a 3 dimensional body properly) and every other tiny detail that helps make-up a final design.
Designing your artwork
Gone are the days where Tattooers and Tattoo artist sit around waiting for someone to walk-in the door so they can get paid. You need to watch-out from the type of people that will put anything on you that you want simply because you have some money.
We are a professional tattoo shop, and thats what we get paid to do Tattoos. Drawings are done as a courtesy to clients that are going to get it tattooed. Without a commitment to get tattooed, we just don't have the time to spend hours helping someone come-up with every detail of a drawing. There are hundreds of people that come in each month and ask us to draw something for them when they are still on the fence about getting tattooed. We usually inform them that There are artists out there that can do commissioned artwork for you and that's what they get paid to do, create a design for you so you can decide if you would like to get it tattooed or not. Our job is to put a piece of art on your body that you can be proud of for the rest of your life. We are more than happy to make modifications to a design, or even create a design for you from scratch. But we do need the tools from you in order to turn it into a reality of a tattoo, which is quite different than just creating multiple drawings for you to choose from.
No medium can mimic what a tattoo will look like on your body. Any attempt for a tattoo artist to try and mimic the look of a tattoo on a different medium is essentially a waste of time for everyone, and creates confusion in the long-run. First, it takes hours to create the art in a different medium. Second, it will never look like that when tattooed on your body. Skin is different. Since we do tattoos, that's what we provide tattoos. We do not supply you with finished artwork, other than a tattoo.
That being said, we can not take on every design brought to us. When we do accept a design request, we take it serious. We do require your input at every phase of the design process so that everything goes smoothly. We do require time to complete each phase of the design/drawing process. we do charge you to draw your design. Some designs are drawn directly on the skin, others are prepared on paper then transferred onto the skin and others use a combination of methods, including tattooing without any markings as guide lines.
You will get best results, and be taken seriously only if you are set on getting this tattoo, and actually schedule a tattoo. If you are just trying to get a drawing to decide if you want to get tattooed, there are times that we can accommodate you with that, especially if they are smaller designs that don't take over an hour or so to complete. But you need to realize that if we can accept your design without a tattoo commitment, your drawing will usually get bumped for actual tattoos that are scheduled, and often they get bumped indefinitely.
We do our best to meet your deadlines, but there are times when others tattoo and artwork for upcoming tattoos deadlines super-seed your deadlines unless you have an actual tattoo scheduled AND have left a deposit or payed a drawing fee. It's not fair to ask these creatively talented individuals to work for free for hours and hours on a design just to see if you like it. You would never ask a highly recommended chef to create something from scratch for you, spend hours creating something that you can only describe to them based on your feelings or something you can only see in your mind, ask them to change it several times, changing directions and adding items each time, only to see if you like it, and if you like it, then you may purchase it at some point in the future.
Please reach-out if. you have questions.