interview with Oskar Nybraten

  Hello Oskar Nybråten! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. It really means a lot having you here. Please start by telling us something about yourself and your beginnings. Ever since I was a child I’ve always found new ways of exploring with my creativity, trying a range of different crafts. I am quite ambitious. When I first decided to do something I was determined to become “the best”. But to be honest, part of the reason I started tattooing was because I wanted to be cool and get girls, haha.

Q: How long took you to get where you are today? Was it hard?
A: From the time I got my first tattoo machine to the time I started making enough to get my own place I think it took about a year, but making the money is just the beginning. The stuff that I was doing were simple and not of quality. The first 3 years I spent perfecting the craft and learning the different ways to use the needles, as well as to understand the machines I was using at the time. As I got better I started focusing on the art, challenging myself to use more of my own mind and less of copying other people’s ideas.

Q: Do you have any artistic background? What type of art you used to like?
A: I grew up on a small countryside estate with horses, quite far from the town, school and friends. However, being restless and creative I found several ways to keep my time occupied. Of course I liked drawing and painting, but my greatest interest was fine crafts like wood carving, forging knifes and tools and leather work for saddles and gunholsters for the local gun club.

Q: Do you have any favorite artists?
A: There are so many! I think Alex Sørsa is great, Steeve Butcher is nothing less than a genius with his eye for color and a steady hand, and Thomas Carli Jarlier has some of the smoothest/cleanest shadings and some amazing portraits. Not to forget Oscar Aakermo who always make his hyper-realistic innovative designs. But my biggest influence is probably my girlfriend Miriam Andrea who always gives me the right feedback and helps me grow faster every day.

Q: How would you call your style?
A: I define my style as hyper realistic and sometimes micro realistic when working with 3liners and one-liners.

Q: How do you prepare for a session?
A: I always draw the design with the client. This can consume a lot of time,sometimes up to 5 hours. However, it’s an important process for me because I think it builds trust between me and the client and it gives room for random ideas that can improve the design. Sometimes I also make half the design and the other half is freehand, but never freehand alone, maybe in the future.

Q: Have you ever thought to try color tattooing?
A: I used to do some color early on, but my passion is black and grey, maybe someday I try color again, but first I have to master this style at the highest level possible.

Q: Big tattoos like sleeves and backpieces can take 4-5 sessions to complete or maybe even more, depending of the complexly of the design, but when it's all done, I bet it is worth it, right?
A: Sleeves are one of my favorite things to do since they’re very complex and challenging. You have to get the proportions right and make just the right amount of detail without it being too much. My passion is doing detailed tattoos, ironically this is somehow my weakness:overdoing the details. I think the hardest part of doing a sleeve is finding new ways to make compositions and still maintain a nice flow and the right balance between the black ink and the skin.


Q: What do you like the most about your job? What is the best lesson you learned from your journey?
A: First of all, I don’t do well with taking orders from others. So the fact that I can run my own game makes it feel less like work. Being an artist is hard, but also rewarding when seeing personal progress in what you do every day. Unfortunately it can’t always be progress, your enthusiasm will drop from time to time and honestly feeling like shit can last for weeks. The most important lessons I have learned are: hard work pays off, if you don’t challenge yourself you’re not going anywhere, and if you think you know something you’re only halfway there.

Q: Any advice for the new artists?
A: Before you pick up a machine and start tattooing you need to have at least some basic drawing skills. If you don’t show any skill it's hard to get an apprenticeship, and on that topic: when looking for an apprenticeship, look for someone whose style you like. Also, when you have a mentor and he or she is teaching you to perfect the basics: don’t skip those lessons. The lessons like in drawing realistic good lines, smooth shades and texture will become the foundations of your growth.

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