interview with tattoo artist shooby

  Hello Shooby! Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview. Please start by telling us something about yourself, how it all started? I'm tattooing since 2009. I always liked to draw when I was young. I started painting when I was 25 years old. It helped me to overcome some hard times in my life. I had a job and in the meantime I was selling my paintings. A friend of mine opened a tattoo studio and I tried working there. Then I started working on my own. The art of tattooing became quickly a real passion. I was alone in the studio for nine years, we are six tattoo artists now working together.

Q: Was it hard to learn? What do you think about apprenticeship?
A: Yes, tattooing is very complicated at the beginning. You have to be very motivated. It needs to have a good drawing level, it helps when you prepare your projects. For my part a pretty tattoo represents 80 % well drawing and 20% technical skills. The lines are more complicated, long time is necessary before you can be able to obtain clean lines. I'm observing that it's easier to progress with big pieces, indeed you've got more time to get you to the project. I still employ many apprentices. It's necessary for them to learn the basics, but everybody is different and you have to adapt yourself to each personality. It's important to tattoo different styles in the beginning in order to learn different techniques which will be later useful.

Q: What do you prefer color or black & white tattooing?
A: I'm tattooing a lot in black and grey and I like it. But I prefer color tattooing, because color gives more originality and that realistic vibe.

Q: What details are most time consuming while doing a portrait?
A: The lips and mostly the hair, they require a lot of patience. The hair require a lot of energy, they are external parts of the faces but they are very important because they produce a beautiful motion and improve the face expression. For men portraits, is the texture of the beard and the wrinkles.

Q: Where do you find inspiration? Do you draw a for each client?
A: The inspiration comes from the experience. It comes also from the artists I've met during my career. I usually prepare a digital drawing or a graphic composition at least one week before the appointment.

Q: Nowadays, we live in a so-called digital world, there is constant pressure for progress and a lot competition...
A: There is a positive side, the fact that I have the opportuninty to observe great tattoos every day it stimulates me. It's important to not look too much what others do, simply because we can loose our artistic identity. It is better for me to keep a certain distance and sometimes.

Q: Have you ever thought doing something completely different?
A: I did tattoos in different styles before I specialized in realism. I will stick to this style because I prefer it nowadays. I don't think I want to change yet. It could happen. I like a lot japanese tattoos and I'm tattooing sometimes in this style and neo-traditional.

Q: Advice for the new artists?
A: If someone wants to learn tattooing, I advise to practise drawing as much as possible. It's necessary to try different styles before specializing in one style, you will obtain a lot of experience. It's also necessary to find a good team, because the team is very important. It's necessary to surround yourself with good artists in order to learn.