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.