Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

Hi, new to the forum!
I lurk plenty, but not often, busy working two jobs! urghhhh!
Call centre and apprenticeship.
It's not the best known shop - not the best around - the owners are old school types, no website, no pay (hence another job), i'm broke, s&!t machines, BUT, as they i should learn to lay nice lines on piggy before moving on up.
I have a few questions:
*What did you guys do when you were learning? what drills/practise techniques did you do for lining? any specific ones? focusing on a specific aspect? like line weight, depth, etc?
also *How did you guys tackle these problems? any tips?
I know of having a slightly damp ball of tissue in your hand to help, even breathing, bigger grips, etc, the basics. But anything else?
Main thing i want to focus on with piggy, is even line weight and depth. obviously.
Any drills or anectdotes of apprenticeship days would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance!

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

line drawings all day everyday until your arm falls off. if your arm is still attatched you aren't doing it right. it seems redundant but do a full page a day. one today and look at the one you do 3 month from now. if its not night and day id be suprised.

if you are apprenticing and the people you work for suck...either find a different apprenticeship so you don't learn things the wrong way and QUICK, or be a little more appreciative you are in this business and learn all you can from them.

as far as pay...no one gets paid! some people PAY to get apprenticed.

good luck!

2 cents.

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

This is what an apprenticeship is for. Ask your mentor. If they're worthy of learning from, then you'll get there, if not you will always be struggling and maybe you should find another apprenticeship. s&!t machines??? Any machine can run very well as long as the user knows what they're doing and what they want the machine to do. Again, this is what your mentor should be teaching you. As far as pay, you're acquiring skills and knowledge that can provide a good living for you for the rest of your life. Like Conor said, most pay for their apprenticeship, think of it as a sort of college.

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

thanks for the input guys, looking around for a better apprenticeship. conor, i've recently started doing what you suggested, line drawings every day, at least a full page. i do images, but i also do a full page of straight lines and simple shapes too, arm is killing me. 42, i agree with your comment about any machine working well as long as you know what you're doing. sometimes, i feel my mentor is a bit stuck in the old ways and hasn't progressed, it seems like i feel i knew more than him before even starting. Anywho, anymore tips: i've heard getting a thin paintbrush and practising line weights with paint is very good practise too, may have to take that up.
Anybody got any stories of their apprenticeship days?
How we're you introduced to actual tattooing?
We're you told to practise day in and out on piggy doing lines or just thrown into the thick of it in a street shop?
Once again, thanks for the advise! dudes!

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

there are good apprenticeships and bad ones, i had a bad one. and i will tell you now, you should find a new shop.learning from mediocre artists will lead to mediocre work. brandon once said to look for a shop that makes you look like s&!t. the only way to improve is to be around better artists than you.
and like conor said, practice line work day in and day out, look for artists that inspire you, and make you want to get better.

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

did i mention trace, trace, trace, draw, draw, draw. never be satisfied. if you are ever satisfied with your work, quit. even the best tattoo artists are unsatisfied with their work. thats how the industry is getting so far with art.

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

I don't like this. There are a millions ways of doing things and endless tips and tricks. There's nothing wrong with trying to get ideas from other people. Very few mentors actually make good mentors. Just because you can do something doesn't mean you're good at teaching it.

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

Here's a tip... drop the gay emo look.

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

then it's as simple as practice and finding another mentor. If the guy he's learning from can't teach him, then there's much larger problems here than getting consistent outlines.

Re: Apprentice Help - Outlining Practise
 

another idea would be to go into the better shops in your area, make friends with some of the artists, and ask them in an environment where you can see what they're doing. Get tattooed by good artists and ask questions. The internet is far to vague to learn this properly. And as tom said, trace, trace, trace, draw, draw, draw.