How to become a tattoo Artist

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I want to Become a Tattoo Artist

Welcome to Louis Santos Tattoo, thanks for taking the time to visit this web site. I would like first to Thank Ross for all his hard work, working his magic on this website, the guy has a talent with websites, and he looks after all the behind the scenes, technical stuff, which I can only be grateful for, you guys don’t realise how much work is involved in the background, to keep a website running, and Ross is passionate to keep the website running smooth so I can blog, and keep updating what I’m up to, and you guys can enjoy this web site.

In this blog, I would like to focus on helping those who have an interest in becoming a Tattoo Artist in 2026

The Tattoo industry is in a weird place at the moment, as it felt the high of the early 2000’s with tattoo programs of LA ink and Miami Ink, tattooing was booming, not only everyone wanted to get Tattooed, but people could afford to get Tattooed as well, so being a Tattoo Artist seemed like a Great idea, and the perfect career to pursue.

Nowadays we see Tattoo Artist’s abandoning the boat, the industry is over saturated, and no tattoo Artist is as busy as they used to be, so the first thing I would like to say to someone considering being a Tattoo Artist is, please be aware that The Tattoo Industry is not what it used to be any more. I remember looking up to some artist’s around 2013, messaging them, dreaming to get tattooed by them, and their waiting list was 2 and a half years, I doubt that would be the case nowadays.

So, if you have read this blog so far, and you still want to be a Tattoo Artist, this blog is for you. I will select key points to follow, what you need to believe in, and work towards.

So first and most important thing is, how do I get an apprenticeship?

The best advice I would recommend to get a Tattoo apprenticeship, is to, invest in your artistic development, do art classes, pay for online classes with artist’s that you look up to. Developing your artistic skills, there are 2 points to focus on, 1- Study and 2- Practise. The more focus and dedicated you are at study and practise art, the quicker you will climb the ladder of becoming a good artist and to achieve a good  artistic capability. After achieving a good artistic skill, you will look at a Tattoo Artist who you look up to, follow them, save up your money and go and get tattooed by them, and that means sometimes having to go over seas for it. When you get tattooed by someone who you love their work, they will not only get to know you, and respect you, but you will collect a Tattoo that you love for the rest of your life. Getting tattooed by your favourite artist, you will build a relationship with them, so if you are planning to get a half sleeve or full sleeve by someone, go for the artist you would like to learn from. Every client I tattooed a half or full sleeve on, I remember them even after 10 years. So if you become a good artist, dedicate yourself to the art craft for years, get tattooed by a tattoo Artist who you admire their work, your chances of getting an apprenticeship will increase a lot.

Why is it so important to become a good artist before becoming a Tattoo Artist?

If I Tattooed someone who was an amazing artist, It would be my pleasure to offer them a career, i would offer them an apprenticeship, as I would love to see how they would develop their artistic capability in to Tattooing, it would be exciting to see it.

So while Tattoo Artist’s are busy tattooing, you have the time and opportunity to study art and practise art. You have the time to become a better artist, than a Tattoo Artist who is busy Tattooing everyday, and if you show your drawings skills and painting skills to a Tattoo Artist who is an artist, they will consider taking you on as an apprentice a lot more, than if you ask for an apprenticeship without any dedication and previous efforts.When you apply dedicated previous efforts to what you want to do, everything else falls in to place, and when a Tattoo Artist see that you are a good artist, it means that you are passionate about art, and when you are passionate about art, it means you will have a better flow in becoming a Tattoo Artist, I would say a natural and beautiful flow.

So dedicating yourself to art is the best way to get in to Tattooing, instead of believing in short cuts, taking a Tattoo academy, before even learning drawing skills. Tattooing will come naturally if someone learn to be an artist previously.

–  Tattoo Academy does not make you a Tattoo Artist

How could I forget to mention about Tattoo academies, they have been popping out in the last few years, and they have promised everyone who joins on a course, to learn to Tattoo in a week, do you remember the last trade that was learned in a week? To be a plumber you have to go to college for years, how come in tattooing it only takes 1 weeks? That’s because, so many people want to be Tattoo Artists, and they want it at any cost, so they believe that if they pay for a Tattoo course, they will be Tattooing straight way,, so Tattoo academies take advantage of that. I have had so many parents coming to me, and asking me to train their kid up, and I could well take advantage of that and say OK, it will cost 3 thousand pounds, and I will train him or her in 2 weeks. Me personally I would not be able to do that, as I know if I wanted to help someone to be a Tattoo Artist, it would at least take a few years, so Tattoo academies are doing nothing but taking advantage of people who want to learn to tattoo. Tattooing is a lot more than a Tattoo course in a week, you have to be around Tattoo Artist’s with experience 24/7, work in a few Tattoo studios before you open your own, travel and go to Tattoo conventions, to learn and get inspired.

Tattooing  is not just a job, tattooing is a life style. And a life style of dedication to your craft, in order to respect someone who is willing to let you put your art work on their skin for a life time.

Thank you for reading my Manchester Tattoo blog.

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Tattoo Artist In Greater Manchester

The Best Tattoo Studio in Greater Manchester

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How to choose the best Tattoo Artist in Greater Manchester

The best Tattoo Artist in Greater Manchester is based on the Tattoo style you are looking for, doing your research seems like the obvious thing to do, however, its on top of the most important things to consider, when trying to find the best artist for you in Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester is full of rich options to get tattooed, when I began my career in 2006 there were just a hand full of Tattoo Artist’s, nowadays, the marketing has been quiet saturated to be fair, when the volume of artist’s increase, you get a lot of artist’s who want to get there quick attitude of approaching a trade, however, you still get the artist’s who are willing to study, and not cut corners, the artists who love art in the background Tattooing, practise and study art in order to give you the best Tattoo, those are the kind of artists who you want to be considering getting Tattooed by, because, artists who care for their trade will for sure care about your Tattoo. Drawing as a Tattoo Artist not only allows you to become a better artist, but it helps you to make better decisions, when approaching a Tattoo. The better decision making you are, the better Tattoo Artist you will be.

Of my 20 years experience, I would say that my decisions I have made in a lot of Tattoos I have approached, it has completely changed the way the Tattoo looked, that’s when I was aware how important my decision making was, and that’s when I became aware of wishing to make my decision making better, which it was becoming a better artist, and how could I become a better artist? If I learned better artistic skills outside of Tattooing, in order to understand proportion, how the light falls in the subject, colour value and so on.

Becoming a Tattoo Artist, if you have an artistic background it will improve your capabilities in your Tattooing. That’s is how I guide young upcoming Tattoo Artists, I feel like they sorely care about becoming really good at tattooing, and not focusing on the foundations.

So, in order to find the best Tattoo Studio in Bury, Whitefield and Greater Manchester, you have to do your research. That is key, the reason why you should do your research, it is so, when you are going in to visit the Tattoo Studio you resonate most with, that you looked in to,  you will have a better understanding of the studio and what they are about. It is challenging, when someone walks in our studio and they don’t even know who we are what we do and how we operate.

So doing your research it doesn’t only benefit you but the studio that you are visiting. It’s respectful when a client comes in and they have an idea of how we work and what we do. Your Tattoo Artist should not be trying to convince you to get tattooed by them, you should choose a Tattoo Artist because you love their work, and not because they convinced you to get tattooed by them.

Thank you

Realistic Eye Tattoo
Skull Butterfly Tattoo
Sand Timer

Realistic Butterfly Tattoo

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I have been tattooing Sheldey for a while, she always comes in asking for small feminine Tattoos, which I’m more than happy to do it, I believe no tattoos are easy to do specially small ones, you have to put extra care on them and you have little space for error, on bigger tattoos is easier to rectify certain things, and go around something you want to fix or make it better.

This time my client asked for a bigger Tattoo on the side of her stomach. She requested a butterfly and sent me the image. She requested a lot detail, so I recommended to get it done a quiet clear size, and she agreed with my suggestion. In order to achieve a successful Tattoo, when the client gives the Tattoo Artist as idea, and after lets the Tattoo Artist give their honest opinion, and realise that, your Tattoo Artist want the best for you, you will have more chances to walk away with a successful Tattoo.

In our Tattoo shop in Bury, we value our clients ideas, and we take that idea, and our intention is to make the best decision possible to our clients, in order to achieve the best Tattoo as possible in Greater Manchester. In our tattoo studio in Bury Greater Manchester, our aim is to listen to our clients, work based on honesty, we prefer to be honest with a client and loose them, than lie to our client just to get business, and achieve the best quality tattoo possible.

In this realistic Butterfly Tattoo, my client mentioned, it was the most painful Tattoo she ever had done, but she did not give up, and she went until the end. She knew what she wanted, and she was willing to sit in the chair the time necessary to achieve the best We could do for her in our Bury Tattoo shop.

Tattoo Shop Near Me

Louis Santos Tattoo Studio

Louis Santos Tattoo Studio

Louis Santos Tattoo Studio provides artistic services, a calm and relaxing studio, covering most tattoo styles you are looking for, including, Realism, Mythology, Fantasy, 3D Tattoos.

Bird Tattoo

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I was approached by Matthew in the studio, he had arrived from near Blackpool to spend the  weekend in the Arcade Club in Bury, I remember it was quiet late in the day, so we made an appointment the following day, he forwarded an image of a feather.

The following day, in his appointment, Matthew started talking about the reason why he came to Bury, to visit the arcade Club, and I resonated with his interests straight way, as I’m a gamer myself, not as much as I used to as when i was a kid, but sometimes, after you tried so much, worked so hard, and need a brake from reality, what a great opportunity, to grab a controller and loose yourself in another world, or dimension if you can call it, and that is possible with gaming.

When we started talking about the Tattoo, Mathew let me know that, the feather was from his bird Zazu, who unfortunately passed away recently. Matthew showed me images of Zazu, so I could match the colours of his feathers in the Tattoo in Greater Manchester. I always put a lot of effort when I do my Tattoos, but when it is something sentimental to someone, it is different, because, it means a lot to that person, a pet can be a part of someone’s family, and become a family member, and I can completely understand that, as animals have the ability to love unconditionally and that’s true love in my point of view.

Zazu was Matthews first parrot. He says, I got him because he was so small and i lived with my parents, so I could only have a small bird, but he turned out to be the biggest bird I know, in terms of character and pluckiness.

Matthew had Zazu for nearly 12 years, and he got him from Liverpool when he was a baby. He was a South American Pacific Parrotlet. He had babies of his own, and he was a great Dad.

 He was loving like a little pocket sized hug, he would always sit with us, on a night and share tea and watch tv with us when we went to bed, says Matthew. He was just a truly awesome little bird.

When I was Tattooing Zazu’s feather on Matthew, he got a bit emotional, that’s when I realised how important that Tattoo was from him. That’s when you realise how important your job is, to deliver something on someone’s body for life, that’s going to remember them daily of someone who had an important roll in their journey.

 I have had memories doing sentimental Tattoos on customers. I have had a lot of memories from clients Tattooing their loved ones who passed away. But Pets are just as important to people as humans are, they seem to resonate with them in a deeper level, and have this unconditional love journey, which it is how all love should be, unconditional.

I would like to dedicate this post to Zazu.

Realism Tattoos Greater Manchester

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Surrealism Tattoos, is a style still in development and it is still to be discovered by a lot of tattoo fans, I do like surrealism, simply for the fact that is a mix of realism and things that are not real, almost like fantasy, surreal, however there is a taste of realism in the image. So it is basically a mix of something imaginable and unimaginable.

Surrealism is an artistic and a movement, that began in the early 1920’s. It is focus as an expression of the unconscious mind by combining dreamlike, irrational and unexpected elements that are not commonly real.

Surrealism is a mix of Realism with what’s not real. Surrealism is a mix of Realism with a dream.

Surrealists believe that dreams are a deeper truth than our conscious understanding, the movement was officially started by Andre Breton, who published the Surrealist Manifesto in 1924, inspired by psychological theories.

Some key points of surrealism art includes:

Dreamlike images, and unexpected combination of objects.

Symbolism that encourages different interpretations

A mix of Subconscious intuition and imagination rather than logic.

So those are a few examples of what surrealism art is, so you can get your mind exited with ideas, as there is no limits on how you can create, that is one of the aspects I do love about surrealism art, is unbelievably free and there is no limits to your imagination. You can distort your mind in a safe way, and not to worry about the outcome.

Maybe surrealism is what is in other dimensions, is the distortion of what we believe to be true, and it brings forth what we dare to believe. It is a safe place to express ourselves without being judged, its somewhere where there’s no right or wrong, good or bad, its just pure expression of art. Rules in my point of view, deviate the artist from the freedom of art, and limit the artist to its full potential, when you follow rules as an artist you become kind of a robot, and true artists are far from being robots, they receive ideas from the divine, and translate their feelings, intuitions and perception in to a piece of art. In order to receive creative ideas from the divine, you must be in peace within, peace within is the new kind of wealth people are looking for, instead of money kind of wealth.

In this piece of art I worked on, I incorporated elements of my own mind, letting my imagination be free, without any limits or judgements. That’s the best way to approach an art idea, and the development happens freely. I made this Charcoal and graphite drawing, in our Tattoo shop in Greater Manchester, I worked on it every free time I had after tattooing full time, usually I draw at night before I go to bed, its usually the last thing I do before I go to bed. In the morning usually, I go for a walk, exercise and read, as my brain is fresh in the morning, it is good to obtain information.

Thank you for reading my blog.

Realism Tattoo Artist

Tattoo Studio in Greater Manchester

Realism Tattoo Artist

Best Tattoos in Bury

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Best Tattoos in Bury

In this blog I would like to focus in the best tattoos I have been doing since I have been back in Bury, Greater Manchester. Working back in a public studio is surreal, its like going back to the beginning of my career, and working dealing with walk in requests. I feel like I’m more prepared to be in a public studio, after I have been tattooing for 19, nearly 20 years. You have to make quick decisions, working in a public studio, and being able to deal with last minute requests. I do enjoy the social side of it, you do end up meeting a lot of interesting people, and getting some really good tattoo requests.

The best feeling you can have is when the client comes in and understands what you do as an artist. And their request, it gives me the opportunity to put what I have been learning in drawing to the Tattoo. When I see a good opportunity in a Tattoo request, I plan the Tattoo as much as I can, planning is key to achieve the best tattoo possible I’m about to do. The more you plan a tattoo the better the outcome.

One example of that is a drawing a did on Ruth’s shoulder, I drew it over and over again, until I was fully satisfied with it, and the end result was, I booked a consultation for her to view the art work, and she was happy with it straight way. As I drew the tattoo over and over again, when it came to Tattoo it, it felt like I was in a natural flow, as the repetition of the drawing, contributed to the flow of the Tattoo.

Doing a Tattoo is like any other things you do in life, there is a flow, and the more you get immersed in that flow, the better the outcome of the tattoo. So a client who doubts their tattoo artist is most likely to get them out of the flow. Make sure to ask your questions before the Tattoo starts, and when you start getting tattooed, allow your artist to get in a flow, as the only person who is going to benefit from that flow is you, the client. Trust the process and allow your Tattoo Artist to express them selves in your skin, and in order to do that, study their work before you approach them, only get tattooed by someone if you are a fan of their work.

So in order to achieve the best tattoos in Bury Greater Manchester, there’s a lot of dedication and planning involved. I have recently bought a sketchbook to only focus, study and draw textures, I really want to upgrade my texture understanding, as when I do textures, I have to look at a reference, I want to create textures straight from my mind, so it comes out more natural. I learned that textures comes from a inward creativity that can not be copied, I learned that by studying Victor Portugal’s work, his texture work is amazing, and I wanted to learn more about it, so I started drawing in a sketch book trying to understand his textures, and that’s when I realised that, his textures were impossible to learn as it came from within him. So in order to deliver the best textures when I approach a Tattoo, is to study, practise, and allow that my intuition will create my style of textures.

Dedication is the only thing that will separate you from other artists, dedication is the only thing that will separate you from others in any walk of life, whatever you do, or whatever you are willing to achieve.

So, Thanks for reading my blog, if you lasted until the end, and enjoy the best Tattoos I have done in Greater Manchester so far, Thank you.

Black and Grey Wolf Tattoo

Best Tattoos in Greater Manchester

Chicano Tattoo
Black and Grey Chicano in Greater Manchester
Realism Tattoo
Dragon Tattoo
Black and Grey Tattoo in Bury

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3 Videos

Mythology Tattoos in Manchester

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Egyptian Mythology Tattoos in Manchester

I can only start saying that I love Egyptian Mythology. The Egyptians were a culture that captivated the imagination of multiple cultures and people. Mythological beliefs are strong in Egyptian culture, divinity and human spirit together makes any curious person wonder and be intrigued with this amazing culture.

Egyptian Mythology stories are powerful, Egyptian mythology is more than a superstition, it is a way to understand the mysteries of the universe. I have had then experience of speaking to people about the Universe and how our reality works, and they said, I’m not joining your cult. One thing I’m certain is, you can not reason with the ignorant.

How does someone who is born in this reality, it ignores the fact that, there are so many questions to be made, and they choose to be blind, react to life and not really live it. We will probably never find out the truth, where we come from, or why we are here, but one thing is for certain, past cultures have left us clues and ideas, about how the Universe works, and how our reality came to be.

Ancient Egyptian, were probably the most artistic and spiritual society I have ever seen, that’s why I do have a connection with the Egyptians, and if someone asks me, would you rather have lived in the Egyptian times than now, I would definitely say yes. And I do believe past societies have left us ideas and beliefs that could help us in our journey of discovering the mysteries of the universe. In order to discover the mysteries of the universe, you must study a lot of different subjects. Once I saw a podcast of a teacher who was a Christian, a biologist, and a physician, and it was a really good debate, because he studied a lot of different components that dissected the possibility of an essence or what makes our reality what it is.

So in this drawing, I wanted to enjoy drawing a large Egyptian Goddess portrait, I wanted to really focus on the main areas of the face, the eyes, the nose and the mouth, so doing so, i would be able to really have fun editing the face by drawing it by hand. And having space to play with textures and allow myself to be creative and have fun. Creativity is important when approaching a drawing, and allowing yourself to be creative it really helps when creating texture.

Drawing, it allows me to study images I’m interested in, so when I come to tattoo something similar, I will be able to deliver a better Tattoo for my clients.

This drawing was made with charcoal and graphite, I love doing 3d Mythology drawings, it is so much fun and I get the opportunity to learn something new with it, in order to deliver the best tattoo I can in Greater Manchester.

Thanks for reading my blog and I hope you guys enjoy my new Egyptian Drawing.

Mythology tattoo Artist

Video Of the Progress

Underneath you will see the progress of me working on this drawing. I tattoo full time, so i have to do this on my spare time, and I’m not complaining about it, i do it with all my pleasure and love for art, i believe its more fulfilling to spend the night drawing than watching TV or doing activities that have a short term pleasure, however, it does not have a long term fulfilment. Art is a life time purpose, and a soul long term fulfilment

Art is my purpose and my Soul long Term Fulfilment

Mythology Tattoo Manchester

How We Work

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Tattoo Shop Near Me

Bury Tattoo Shop

In our Tattoo studio in Bury, we give a personal experience to our client, in this blog I would like to focus on how we work, and how we approach Tattooing and our clients.

Back in the day when I started Tattooing, Bury was such a quiet town, I can not believe, how busier its now, a lot has changed since I left, when I left Bury in 2009, there were only 2 Tattoo Studios in Bury. Nowadays, we can see a lot more studios, however, if there are a lot of Tattoo Studios, it does not mean they are doing everything right.

Why get Tattooed in our local Tattoo Studio in Greater Manchester?

– We have 3 artist’s in our studio, and we have been Tattooing for a similar amount of time, so we have a similar philosophy, and attitude towards Tattooing. That’s quiet rare in a Tattoo Studio nowadays. I have worked in previous Tattoo Studios, and all Tattoo Artist’s have such a different approach or perception about Tattooing, as they have started their journey from different times.

– Most Tattoo studios nowadays, have a large room, and they fill the room with as many artist’s as possible, to make as much money as possible, that kills the personal experience between you and your artist, and when Tattoo studios are in it just for the money, the business offered doesn’t come from a genuine place. When getting tattooed in a room full of different artists, your Tattoo Artist can not be fully focused on your tattoo, as someone will always be talking in the room. In our Tattoo studio, we all work in different rooms, so each artist have the freedom and opportunity to be fully immersed in your Tattoo. Having a personal room with your tattoo artist, it can give you a lot more of a personal experience, and I believe it is important for both tattooist and client to have that personal experience, and peace of mind when you want to relax and focus.

–  We all do different styles in the studio, so the client is guided to the artist who is the best at that style they requested, so the client is the one who always wins. We all have different passion for different styles, so we focus on what we passionate about, when you focus and study the style you are passionate about, that’s when you give the best tattoo to your client. And believe me, some Tattoo Artist’s advertise themselves to specialise at a certain style, and they do not study the style they claim to specialise. However I understand not everyone will be able to see that, but I have been in this business for almost 20 years and I can. That’s why when I get tattooed I go to Poland to see Victor Portugal, because, he is a true artist who has his own style and to develop his own unique style, you must draw a lot, and be very dedicated to your craft.

– Another reason to visit our Tattoo Studio in Bury, is that we make the best coffee you could have in a Tattoo Studio. We take our coffee serious in the studio, I mean, we made an investment in a Ninja coffee machine, and we can make coffee straight from the bean. Coffee straight from the bean, it tastes so nice, it is like having a coffee from Costa. So make sure if you are passing by our studio, pop in for your free coffee.

– Last reason why you should visit our Tattoo Studio in Greater Manchester, is that we want the best for our clients, and we do not fool our clients in order to make money, we prefer to turn away a client, if we will have to fool them in order to make a living. You can fool people sometimes, but you cant fool all the people all the time.

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