If you’re interested in tattooing, you probably know that there are a few different ways to learn. You can learn in a traditional apprenticeship, take a course, or learn on your own.
In this article, we’ll be breaking down what you learn in a traditional tattoo apprenticeship vs. an online tattoo course. If you’re not sure which option is right for you, this article will clear a few things up and answer the most-asked questions about tattoo courses.
In this article, we’re breaking down apprenticeships vs. tattooing courses when it comes to:
Note:
Some tattoo courses are taught in person at tattoo schools. To learn more about how tattoo school works, check out our article: What Does Tattoo School Teach? Can You Get Licensed?
Time and Cost: Tattoo Course vs. Apprenticeship
Time and cost are the biggest factors that hold aspiring artists back from becoming tattoo artists.
How Long Does a Tattoo Course Take?
How long a tattoo course takes depends on which course you’re taking and the time you’re able to commit as a student.
There are some tattoo courses that are only a few hours long. This is not enough time to learn the skills and techniques you need to work in the tattoo industry.
A good beginner tattoo course will have enough training materials to help you learn tattoo design, master basic techniques, and start tattooing confidently.
Because an online course is pre-recorded, you can go at your own pace. So, how long it takes to get through it is determined by how much time you can put into it.
Students who can spend a few hours a day learning can finish a tattoo course in a few months. For people who can’t commit as much time, the process will be longer.
How Much Are Tattoo Courses?
How much a course costs depends on:
Courses that are under 5 hours and don’t come with any extras can cost less than $50. Extensive courses cost several hundred dollars. Courses taught by celebrity artists might cost over $1000.
How Long is a Tattoo Apprenticeship?
How long a tattoo apprenticeship lasts mostly depends on your mentor.
Some tattoo apprenticeships can last 3+ years. Unfortunately, apprenticeships that last this long are usually because a mentor is trying to get as much free labor as possible from an apprentice. They will teach them very slowly (or not at all) to make the process take as long as possible.
A good tattoo apprenticeship will last 1-2 years. You are working full time for a professional tattoo artist in exchange for your tuition.How Much Does a Tattoo Apprenticeship Cost?
How much an apprenticeship costs depends on which type of apprenticeship you’re doing. If you’re doing a longer apprenticeship, you’ll spend your first year working for free to pay for your tuition before your mentor lets you pick up a tattoo machine.
If you’re doing a shorter apprenticeship, you’ll probably be expected to pay $5-10K up front. You’ll still be working for free. However, you should start learning right away since you’ve already paid for your tuition.
What You Learn in a Tattoo Course vs. Tattoo Apprenticeship
Tattoo apprenticeships and courses each have their own advantages.
We’ve talked a bit about bad courses that are incomplete and bad apprenticeships that use apprentices for free labor without teaching them. The comparison below is for good courses and good apprenticeships only.Both tattoo courses and tattoo apprenticeships should teach you:
Note:
In most states, you need a tattoo license to perform cosmetic tattooing. However, this is a separate form of body art, and you will need to learn under an artist that specializes in cosmetic tattooing.
Who Teaches You in a Tattoo Course vs. Tattoo Apprenticeship?
In a tattoo apprenticeship, you will learn under the guidance of a professional tattoo artist mentor. Tattoo course lessons are also taught by professional tattoo artists.
If you are going to take a course, make sure you have a way to talk to professional tattoo artists associated with the program so you can ask questions and get personalized feedback like any other apprentice.
Note:
Unfortunately, there are plenty of tattoo schools and tattoo shops out there that will try to scam aspiring artists out of their money by promising to teach them to tattoo. The best way to make sure you’re not getting scammed is to look at the work of previous students or apprentices and see if it’s good.
How Your Choice Affects Your Tattoo Career
How you choose to learn to tattoo can affect your career in a few ways. Knowing what these differences are will help you make the right choice for your current situation and your future goals.
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FAQ: Can a Tattoo Course Get You Licensed as a Professional Tattoo Artist?
Neither a course nor an apprenticeship can get you licensed. Either option can help you get there by teaching you the things you need to know to work professionally. But only your local health department can actually give you a license to tattoo.
Most tattoo courses will give you a certificate of completion to show that you’ve gone through the training you need to become a tattoo artist. This is not a license.
FAQ: Can I Get Hired Without an Apprenticeship?
Yes. However, you may run into a shop owner who says otherwise.
Tattoo apprenticeships have a reputation for being abusive. Because of this, there are some tattoo artists who believe you don’t “deserve” to tattoo unless you’ve gone through the same experience.
For this reason, new artists who learned online or are self-taught might get rejected from shops owned by tattooers who have an “apprenticeship-only” attitude.
In this case, we recommend looking for shops owned by artists who look at your skill level as opposed to your work history or going to shops owned by entrepreneurs. (Entrepreneurs will not care how you learned; they want to hire good artists that will make the shop money.)
Learn to Tattoo Without an Apprenticeship
In the past, learning in the shop through an apprenticeship was the only way aspiring artists could learn to tattoo. Today, however, artists are skipping the apprenticeship to learn on their own time at home with the Artist Accelerator Program.
The world’s oldest and largest online tattoo course, the Artist Accelerator Program’s easy-to-follow, 9-step framework lets anyone go from complete beginner to professional tattoo artist without the year of grunt work or hazing.
Inside the program, you’ll be taught everything you’d learn in a traditional apprenticeship by professional tattoo artists and receive feedback on your art and tattoos in the program’s private online Mastermind community.
Over 2500 students have used the Artist Accelerator Program’s 9-step framework to break into the tattoo industry, with many opening their own studios or working in shops around the world.
If you’d like to see the framework they used, click here to learn more about the Artist Accelerator Program.
