Get Tattooed For Money

How much money do tattoo artist make?

Hello everyone, I am currently learning how to tattoo and I’m curious to know around how much money they make. I know they dont make the same amount every week but I just wanted a some what accurate figure as to how much is the regular pay.

i answered this same question a short time ago. here was my answer…..althought it’s still very similar to everyone else’s answer….(and all the references to what ‘other guys said’ is from the last answers as well, not the ones to your question, although some were similar)

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all tattoo artists get paid cash. there are no corporate tattoo headquarters sending out checks. you probably already knew this, but i was just refering to the guy who said “coming from a tattoo artist who gets paid under the table”. we aren’t washing dishes, that’s just how it works, we get paid cash.

like everyone else is saying, there is no standard. there are so many factors that go into it, like how busy the shop/artist is and how many tattoos (if any) they did that day. sometimes the weather affects the customer average, stuff like that. some artists charge by the hour, and some by the size and detail of each piece. but keep in mind that not all that money goes to the artist. and no, not every artist gets paid 60/40 like some other guy said. it all depends on how long the person has been working as an artist. i’ve seen people getting paid as low as 20% (which was really wrong anyway) and some people getting paid as high as 70, 80%. i would guess the only way you get 100% of the money you make is if you own the shop, however in that case you’re responsible for paying all the bills of the shop so in a sense you don’t get all your money.

so in short, there is no such thing as a tattoo artist “salary”. good luck.
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and i’m just adding this part now….i know a guy who works at a shop in the city in a not so great part and he barely makes 500 dollars a month, no lie. i know this cuz i used to work at that shop and dealt with the same thing. the shop i work at now i make anywhere from 800 to 4,600 a month depending on how busy it’s been . but there are 4 other artists at this shop so if there were less i could potentially be doing more cuz i would get more pieces and i haven’t been tattooing for that long so that factors into it as well. also, i’m not passing any judgement, but please make sure you are getting into this industry for the right reasons and not for the money. you might be, i’m just saying that incase. good luck!