How Do I Get a Tattoo Apprenticeship? 

Being in the creative industry, Skins and Needles (both Middlesbrough and Durham) are always looking for new, upcoming talent to join us!  

Heading into the tattooing and body modification industry can be intimidating at times, especially for someone looking to secure an apprenticeship or placement within an established studio.

Creating A Tattoo Portfolio

Creating a portfolio, especially for an interview, can be pretty intimidating – we know this ourselves. Some of our best artists started with us as apprentices, and we remember their interviews!

What You Should Include in your Tattoo Apprentice Portfolio

Everyone needs to start somewhere! Here are our top tips for your apprentice portfolio:  

• Be critical of yourself, choosing your best work is key but be confident in what you create 
• Be consistent with your work  
• Have a clean layout in your sketchbook, don’t squash your designs onto one page, spread them out and show the detail in your work!  
• Explore different mediums (pencil, oil, watercolour paints and more can be added to your portfolio!)  
• Don’t be scared to show your development, you can only get better!

TOP TIP: It’s easy to rely on digital drawings for a portfolio, but we don’t want to see the works of Procreate, we want to see what YOU can create!

What Does a Studio look for in Tattoo Apprentices? 

During the process of going through applications and interviews within Skins and Needles, we look for several things – all of which contribute to the success of your application.

What A Studio Would Look For in an Apprentice

Here are just some of the things we look for in an apprentice:  

• Be consistent online (we often look for engaging and active social media profiles dedicated to sharing your work (make an art account!))
• Interact with other artists online, show inspiration from their work and add your own twist to what you do, building an online community is a great way to get bookings
• Choose a niche (whether this is dotwork, realism or trad), we don’t expect you to do it all, we expect you to do ONE!) and develop your style
• Show your interest in the industry
• Show development within your art
• Don’t be afraid of mistakes, they’re there to help you develop and make changes to your work!

What Should I Expect in a Tattoo Apprentice Interview?

Potential apprentices will typically have an interview with our Studio Manager(s), who will ultimately make the decision of yes or not right now. Expect to explain and show your work and abilities, artistic background, your passion for the industry and answer a couple of questions during the interview – we want to make sure we know as much about you as possible to see if you’d be a great addition to both the team and our studio portfolio.  

Remember, a no isn’t a permanent no, think of it as ‘not right now’, we want to see development! If you get turned away the first time, don’t give up!  

Thinking of applying for a tattoo apprenticeship with us? CLICK HERE for more details!