What Is a Tattoo Consultation? Everything You Need to Know

A consultation is arguably the most critical step between having a concept and getting inked. Many first-time customers skip this process altogether, or turn up unprepared. It’s the conversation that turns your concept into a concrete plan, where the artist assesses the feasibility of your design and you, as the client, assess your artist. It’s the meeting where you discuss and refine ideas for your piece and establish the working parameters for the tattoo. It’s where you and your artist determine if you’re compatible enough to work together. If handled correctly, the consultation is the foundation for your first and next tattoo for many years to come, so treat the process with care to ensure you don’t walk away from your session with any regrets.

Whether it’s your first tattoo or your twentieth, going into a consultation knowing what to expect can ease the jitters and help you explain your ideas clearly. We’ve covered everything you might want to know in this guide on tattoos consultations: from what you need to bring, and questions to ask, to understanding deposits and red flags, and whether you should meet in person or virtually.

What Happens During a Tattoo Consultation

The consultation is often pretty straightforward. You tell them what you’re thinking, they listen to your idea and follow up with questions, then they share their knowledge and experience and give you some advice. They’ll evaluate your reference material and talk about what can be done and what should be changed for a good tattoo result. Then they check out the area you’re thinking of tattooing on your body. They look at the area, think about the skin conditions, how the area will move with muscle movements, how the skin changes over time, and whether the size of the image is appropriate for the area you want tattooed.

Consultations typically range from 15 to 45 minutes, contingent on how elaborate the piece is you are requesting. If your tattoo is relatively uncomplicated, the tattooist may draw up some initial concepts in person, or show you some pieces that they have already completed that fit your vision, but for more complicated or custom requests, they’ll take notes and design it between the consultation and your appointment. At the conclusion of the consultation you should have a solid understanding of the design, approximate pricing, time and booking procedures, such as if a deposit is required to confirm your appointment.

What to Bring to Your Tattoo Consultation

The best asset you can possibly bring is a collection of reference pictures. Aim for 5 to 15 images to give your artist a good overview of the different facets of what you want, like style (linework weight, shading style, and colour choice), subject (the thing you want tattooed), and placement (images of other peoples tattoos in the similar area to where you want to get tattooed) and save the photos to your phone or print the images. Artists see in pictures, and they will understand the brief you have in your folder more than if you were just describing it to them.

In addition to pictures, bring notes about your design details and budget and be comfortable and dressed appropriately (thigh piece? wear shorts; shoulder piece? wear a tank top; etc.) in order to give them clear visibility of the area in question. Bring your calendar, so you can talk scheduling! Finally, bring an open mind, as these meetings are best approached as collaborative. There may be things an artist may wish to change to make the design look more cohesive or durable, or may suggest a different body part, that they can work better on. While there are often certain things artists won’t work on at all, many will be amenable to some changes. It's okay to not agree to every piece of advice, but it helps to be open to hearing and discussing ideas!

Essential Questions to Ask Your Tattoo Artist

Think of a consultation as a two-way interview; you should be assessing the artist’s fit for your project just as thoroughly as they’re evaluating you. Begin by asking portfolio-specific questions: inquiring how familiar they are with the kind of style you want them to draw, how many healed photos they can show you, and what else they have worked on recently in the same vein. Ask about how their design process works, such as whether they sketch the design before the session, if you get a chance to view it and request changes before the day, and how many changes are included.

It’s just as vital to ask practical questions too. You should ask about the payment schedule (flat rate, hourly) and deposit, what the deposit covers if any, and whether you get any of it back if you cancel or reschedule your appointment. You should also ask about how long the appointment will likely take, and about aftercare. If the tattoo takes more than one session to finish, ask about how many sessions you’re likely to have, how much healing is required in between, and how they’re going to charge you for the tattoo (per session or the whole work). Finally, do not be shy to ask about the artist’s clean procedures. A professional artist will not be shy about answering your questions about their sanitation protocols, and will even show you the autoclave and their single-use needle setup.

Deposits, Pricing, and Timeline Expectations

A deposit, somewhere in the range of €50 to €200 or maybe 10 to 20% of your projected total, is usually mandatory before you get a date on your appointment book. The deposit gives the tattooist assurance that your idea is not just a fantasy and that you're serious about getting it done; it's also remuneration for the hours he spends with your design and, finally, it's to cover the possibility that you just might not show up. Deposits are nonrefundable under most circumstances (the exception is that the artist cancels or you give the required 48 or 72 hour notice) and some tattoo artists count the deposit as part of your final cost for the session while others don't. This is just another question for the studio and artist.

Timing differs wildly depending on how sought after your artist is and the scope of the project. A flash work may be booked within one to two weeks of a meeting, but for an individual, full sleeve by a well known artist, you may have to wait for three to six months just for the first sitting. A large piece that will take multiple sittings should be booked three to six weeks apart so the skin has time to heal. Also factor this in when budgeting. If your full sleeve is going to cost between €3,000 and €8,000, you’ll be splitting that cost between four to eight sittings over several months, which is easier to budget for than an all-at-once expense.

Red Flags and How to Communicate Your Vision

A quality consultation feels like a partnership. Beware if an artist belittles or completely disregards your concerns without explaining why. It’s another sign to leave if you’re being rushed into making a decision, they won’t give you examples of their portfolio or show you some healing work, or if they seem to be charging a very low price that may indicate they are undercutting themselves or cutting corners. If you’re walking into their studio and you find it to be unsanitary or in poor condition, definitely stay away. An artist who doesn’t have a lot of questions about how much pain you can take, your skin type, what your life is like, and why you want this tattoo is not worth dealing with. They don’t have enough info to provide quality tattooing.

When sharing images that are similar to what you want, explain clearly what aspects of the images you like and what you don't like. Instead of saying something like: "I just want it to be cool," be more specific: "I want bold linework with very little shading in a neo-traditional style, about 15cm in size on the outer part of my forearm." Describe the mood and feeling, too: Is it dark and moody? Light and ethereal? Bold and graphic? If you are flexible about certain parts, tell your artist. If there are some things that must be the same, make sure to mention that from the start. The more detail you can convey, the closer your tattoo will be to your vision right off the bat!