“ My artist told me they don’t send designs over prior to the appointment - why is this? ”
It may seem harsh or unfair if your artist won’t send you the design ahead of your appointment - after all, it is going on you forever, right? However, there are reasons an artist may have a policy like this in place. So, let’s discuss them!
Why would this be in place?
Most artists will be reluctant, or will have a policy in place that states they won’t share designs before you’re in the studio on the day of your appointment. This became common practice to help protect artists and their artwork. How does it do that? A policy like this stops potential clients from taking a design drawn by one artist and getting it done elsewhere for a cheaper price - but still using the first artist’s time and art without any kind of compensation.
This isn’t the only reason your artist may not send the design beforehand. Your artist will have a lot of tattoos to design for their clients and if they send all of these over in advance, they will also have lots of changes to make to those designs based on client feedback. This would take up a lot of their time and it’s often much easier to discuss the details at the start of your appointment during time specifically designated to you and your tattoo.
How to navigate this policy
Remember that your artist is a person and that there’s a lot more to tattooing than just doing the tattoo - things that don’t make it into the reel they post on Instagram!
If your artist has a policy like this in place, don’t challenge it or convince them to make an exception for you. The policy is there for a reason and if they make an exception for you they have to make the exception for others. Your artist should dedicate time at the beginning of your appointment to show you the design and discuss it with you to make any changes you wish to make. Just hold out until the day of your appointment, unless you already have changes you want to make from your original request, in which case you can refer to our post about changing your design.
Asking for an exact design
If in your request you’re sending an existing design from another artist, it’s worth noting that most artists when designing will use the pictures you’ve sent as a reference to draw something similar but unique to you.
This is for a few reasons:
- Respect for the previous artist. Most artists will be uncomfortable with the idea of copying another artist’s work completely. They wouldn’t want it happening to their work, so why would they do it to someone else’s?
- Respect for themselves and their craft. A tattoo artist is just that…an artist. They will have their own style and flair that they want to impart on the design to give you something special. To straight up copy someone else’s design would be selling themselves short.
- It may also not be in their style originally. Most artists will have a style they prefer and if you’re booking in, you should take into consideration that they may want to redraw the design in their own style.
What about consultations
If you have reservations about going until the day to see the design or have a conversation about it, you can always enquire with your artist about booking in a consultation.
A consultation is a short appointment prior to booking in with an artist where you have a chance to chat with them and bounce your ideas off of one another. It is sometimes a great way to figure out if the two of you are the correct fit as you’ll get an understanding of how you collaborate together. Consultations are usually free of charge, however this can vary between artists and is at your particular artist’s discretion.
TIP: If you book with an artist make sure you like a large majority of their work and the way they draw or design things - this will make it much easier to trust their vision and what they’ll design for you and allow you to comfortably wait until the day to see it.
