Almost every bad tattoo I have seen was a booking problem rather than a design problem. The work of getting a good piece happens before you sit down.
Ask for healed photos, always
Fresh work photographs beautifully regardless of quality. Ink is still sitting in the skin, lines look crisp, everything is saturated. Two years later is when you find out whether the linework held.
Any artist worth booking has healed photos and will send them without being made to feel awkward about it. Hesitation there is the answer.
Match the style, not the portfolio quality
A brilliant traditional artist will do a mediocre fine-line piece, and the reverse. Look for work that already resembles what you want rather than work that is simply impressive.
If an artist has never posted anything close to your idea, you are paying them to learn on you.
The cheapest quote is the most expensive
Cover-ups and laser cost far more than the difference between a good artist and a cheap one. This is the single most reliable piece of advice in the whole subject and the most consistently ignored.
Booking well is most of it. The sitting is easy by comparison.
More of the work, and everything else, is on my page.
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