Education · 1 of 5

The path

No degree, no school that counts for much. A portfolio gets you an apprenticeship and the apprenticeship gets you everything else.

1. 1

   Draw, constantly

   Years, starting now

   Fill sketchbooks. Shops want to see line quality, shading and the ability to design something that will still read in ten years.

2. 2

   Build a portfolio

   6 to 18 months

   Thirty to a hundred finished drawings, not doodles. Tattoo-ready designs in the styles you want to work in.

3. 3

   Get an apprenticeship

   Months of trying

   The hard step. You walk into shops, show the book, get turned down, improve it and go back. Personality matters as much as skill.

4. 4

   Apprentice

   1 to 3 years

   Cleaning, setup, sterilization, drawing, then practice skin, then friends who agreed to it, then paying clients.

5. 5

   License and first chair

   Weeks

   Bloodborne pathogen training, your state's artist license, then booth rent or a split at a shop.