Trust the Process: How We Design Your Tattoo

You’ve had your consult. Your tattoo is booked. You’re excited. And now you’re wondering…

“Can I see it yet?” 👀

We get it. Waiting to see your tattoo design is exciting (and maybe a little nerve-racking), especially when it’s something you’ve been thinking about for a long time. But if your appointment is still a few weeks away and you haven’t seen a design from us yet, don’t worry — we haven’t forgotten about you! Here’s how our design process works and why we do things the way we do.

We Usually Draw Your Tattoo a Day or Two Before

We see clients everyday, and before we get to your tattoo, there are other designs booked ahead of yours that we're focusing on. Those designs deserve our full attention — just as we will give to yours when your appointment comes around. We’d rather focus on one project at a time than have 15 half-finished drawings floating around in our heads. When your appointment gets close, we pull up everything we talked about during your consultation, get into your project and start creating. Your ideas are fresh in our minds, we’re focused on your piece, and we can carry that creative momentum right into your tattoo appointment.

Why We Don't Send Your Design Digitally

Generally, we don’t send tattoo designs digitally before your appointment. One of the biggest reasons is the "too many chefs in the kitchen" theory. You show your best friend. Then your mom sees it. Then your partner has a suggestion. Then someone sends it to their cousin who “knows a lot about tattoos.” Suddenly, six people have six opinions about the tattoo that’s going on your body. Your tattoo started with your idea, and we want to keep it that way. Of course you can talk to whoever you want about your tattoo! But when it comes to actually creating the artwork, we’ve found that keeping the design process between you and your artist leads to a much better result.

Secondly, we don't like to send designs digitally prior to your appointment so we can prevent designs from being used by another artist or shared without permission.

But What If I Want to Change Something?

You are not expected to walk into the studio, see your tattoo and immediately say, “Welp, guess we’re doing this!” There is time to make small changes or revisions you may have when you show up at your scheduled appointment. Better yet, if you arrive 10 minutes early, that gives us even more time for revisions. We’ll go over the design, sizing, placement and all the details before anything permanent happens. If something needs tweaking, we can make those adjustments. Nothing starts without your approval and you’re happy with what we’re doing. If you’re someone who really needs to see your design before the day of your tattoo, just ask us. If time allows, we may be able to arrange for you to pop into the studio the day before to take a look.

And Finally… Trust Your Artist 🖤

This is a big part of getting a custom tattoo. Hopefully, you chose your artist because you’re familiar with their work and trust them to take your idea and develop it into a tattoo. That doesn’t mean you lose your say in what goes on your body. It just means there needs to be a little trust and creative freedom involved in the process. Bring us your ideas. Tell us what you love. Tell us what you definitely don’t love. Give us the information we need during your consultation, and then trust us with the design process.

So, if your appointment is coming up and you’re wondering why there isn’t a finished drawing sitting in your inbox yet… We promise, we didn’t forget about you. We’re just working through our appointments in order and giving each design the time it needs. When it’s your turn, we’ll do the same for yours.

Ready to book your tattoo? View our artist portfolios and book your consult with us.

Check out our post on How To Prepare And What To Bring to Your Tattoo Consult.