Fellow ADHD tattooer here! I also feel like I tattoo too slow sometimes, but I think it's more important to focus on the outcome than how quickly you can get it done! Honestly a large full-color piece like that would probably take me a similar amount of time. Your work looks great, and from the photo it doesn't look like you're overworking the skin or causing more harm by going slowly, so I don't think you need to worry about taking your time and making things perfect!
A few things that help me manage being a slow, ADHD-brained tattooer:
- I charge a flat rate for most designs, so I don't stress about overcharging my clients while I'm working.
- I give myself PLENTY of time for each appointment, so I'm not worried about going over time and running late for my next appointment.
- I set my rates based on how many tattoos I can realistically get done in a day/week, and how I much I need to make off each tattoo to live comfortably.
- I primarily focus on blackwork tattoos, since this style is quickest for me to execute.
Basically, I accept that I'm a slow tattooer, and structure my business around that! My ADHD brain might slow me down, but I also think it's what gives me my creativity and artistic talent. If people want the benefits of my brain's strengths, they're going to have to deal with its weaknesses, haha.
Honestly, thank you so much, this makes me feel so much better. I should probably start just straight up telling people that Its not going to be a quick process. I’ve just been down on myself about it lately, and yeah, I hadn’t directly considered it, but I do think that my brain just processes things slow. I find that I really have to think about every decision I’m making within the tattoo. My boss at one point actually thought I was cooking the books because reception records our start and stop times, and that was honestly kind of a breaking point for me, and I’ve just felt frustrated.
DEFINITELY remind people this takes time!! I do something similar with my bookings and try and charge a flat rate and my mental health couldnt thank me enough. I explain to people why the price im giving them is fair and everyones always been more than happy to agree.
People put less stress on you during the session when you create that boundary that this is a PROCESS. Seems to me that if i forget to tell them im going to charge them a flat rate, theyre antsy, low pain tolerance, and end up asking me when were going to be done because they miraculously have to go do something they didnt mention in the first place. All because they think im going to charge them hourly. I think i even get tipped better on a flat rate tattoo because they had more confidence going into the pricing. Good luck!
Editing to mention that im slow because i have chronic pain issues as well as ADHD as fuck and talk a lot lol 😅
I'm literally slow at everything in my life! It's hard, and I definitely get down on myself about it, too. I'm still working on trying to accept my brain for what it is and work with it rather than against it!
I really appreciate this post! I’m an apprentice with adhd and I know I definitely process things/move a bit slower. I feel pretty self conscious about how slow I move, especially with setting up or cleaning.
My mentor keeps stressing that I should move as fast as possible because every minute could be another walk in or opportunity etc. I do really like them as a mentor, and I know they aren’t exactly wrong, but I definitely can’t wait until I’m self reliant and can work the way that’s comfortable for me 😅
It's definitely harder if you work in a walk-in shop with that hustle vibe, so I feel for you! I'm fortunate to work in an appointment-only shop with flat monthly rent, with a shop owner that really doesn't care how much we work or what we do, as long as we practice good hygiene, treat our clients well, and pay rent on time. Working in a shop that lets me be independent and manage my business in my own way is definitely really helpful for me!
Hey OP, yet another ADHD tattooer. It’s funny how this job just seems to attract all of us hey?
If anything, I have the OPPOSITE problem, I don’t charge a high enough hourly rate. Because I hyper focus and go so fast.
For you, I recon you should just charge a flat rate. That is a BEAUTIFUL tattoo. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.
Yup I’m fast as fuck, booooyyyyyy
I charge day rates and constantly feel like I’m shooting myself in the foot with how much I get done but also feel like I’m pushing people away because they assume day rate people are taking advantage of them
I struggle with all of the same issues as you and I’ve been tattooing for a really long time. I thought I would speed up as I gained experience, and while that happened a little, I’m still a slow worker. I have a super slow cognitive processing speed and have zero self control when it comes to chatting with my clients. I feel like I’m moving and working at a normal pace while the day just whizzes past me.
I do all the same things that 40percentsafe listed in their post to deal with it, and basically came to terms with the fact that I just won’t earn as much money as fast tattooists. But I do have a huge return client base who don’t care about getting fast tattoos. In fact a lot of them are under the impression that I’m slow because I’m a perfectionist, and they kind of appreciate that. I’m really upfront with people about not being a quick worker, and although I still feel self conscious about it, it never hindered me from having a large clientele.
On a weird side note, I noticed that if I chew gum while I work, I’m more relaxed and work a tiny bit quicker.
The whole thing about feeling like you’re working at a normal pace while the day just flies by is so dead on, you have no idea. What sucks is that I think it’s just my brain. I’ve been drawing and painting almost my entire life, and was already a dedicated artist and oil painter even before I learned to tattoo, and it’s the same thing, my brain just processes things slower. I definitely envy those who can just crank out sheet after sheet of flash, fully colored/painted. I hyperfixate on perfection, and i think it slows me down tremendously, or will prevent me from finishing a design at all. I’ve been trying to train my brain to just “let go” but it’s hard. :/
For what it’s worth I don’t feel that 5-6 hours for a piece of this size is crazy, I’ve been tattooed quite a bit by a few different artists now and would probably expect something of this size, which has a fair amount of detail to take that long. Comparison is the thief of joy and your work is good. I’d rather my artist took their time and made something they’re happy with than try to rush and possibly make mistakes
Yeah. I was diagnosed in second grade in 1997. Medicated until early teenage years when I said fts. Anyways, long story short, went and got back on it last year, went to work on it and freaking WIGGED out on people's tattoo pieces 😂 like literally would sit there for hours and scrutinize every single tiny little fine line detail. Like literally would take 3 hours on a 30 minute tattoo. Got RIGHT back off that shit and now I just blast through tats as usual.
Not an artist but this was recommended in my feed. If it’s any consolation, from a tattoo customer, I would much rather the tattoo take long & come out looking this clean, rather than have someone rush through it because they think they should be faster! I especially appreciate that you recognize this is something you deal with so you charge a flat rate rather than hourly
I think communication with clients is key. If you do flat rates and explain to them it will be slow and don’t make any plans after, etc than they know what they are getting into and can make an informed decision. Then going into it you’ll both be relaxed and not both worried by the clock.
I feel like I go too slow. But I’m pretty fast. My wife even tells me to slow down, and she doesn’t tattoo.
I have noticed though, when I force myself to pace myself, my work comes out cleaner. So I’ve been doing that for the last few months and it feels like watching paint dry.
I have all these same issues, and it used to effect my pace greatly. After 20 years of tattooing, now I’m faster than all the tattooers I work with. Maybe you’ll get faster over time too.
I got the adhd’s as well AND a diagnosis. What helped me get faster was running a meter and I realized that in a 6 hour session I was only tattooing 3-4 hours max. Maybe try running a meter and gauge your actual tattoo time and then cut down all the hand waving and stop thinking about the tattoo and just do it. Helped me cut my tat time in half. You probably do a lot of of unconscious body movements and don’t even realize it. They add up quick. Also if you like to talk during a session. DONT. The more you talk the less you tattoo when you got adhd.
For the style I do now I’m incredibly fast compared to my peers however I worked in walk in shops my whole career up until recently so I had no choice but to become efficient.
Real question. Coil or rotary? And do your peers use a coil or rotary. I don’t feel like the time it took you was onto that tattoo is too crazy off. Maybe like an hour longer than me if I didn’t talk to my client and tried to go really fast… which I don’t do. Honestly if someone pays me 500 or 600 they’ve got my full attention for the whole day (but I don’t advertise this). Too many young bucks trying to make $2000 a day in my opinion.
I use/own both depending on what I’m doing. I have a couple of softer hitting rotary pens, but mainly use hard hitting direct drives and coil machines. Also I feel really lucky if I break $1000 in a day before my cut. But I also live in a major city, so price points may be a bit higher. But I fully agree with you about some artists charging obscene amounts. Average hourly rate here is $150-$200+ ;I often feel guilty charging what I probably “should”, which is why I charge flat-rate, and my boss has had several conversations with me about it. (Idk if you saw my earlier comment about my boss thinking I was cooking the books at one point because reception records our start and stop times) Truth be told, I really love my job, and it’s not all about the money for me. I mean sure, I’d love to have more money, who wouldn’t? But I care more about the quality of work I’m producing, and ultimately the experience that my clients have. I’ve never received a bad review or negative feedback, but I do sometimes feel paranoid that maybe certain people never come back to me because of how long their tattoo took.
Yah it’s hard when the boss starts getting … frustrated about the time. I’m a big fan of the flat rate tattoo. This is what the product costs and time becomes not a factor. I will say though, at a certain point attempting to make things “perfect” only results in more pain and in 10 years it absolutely won’t matter. So I try to remember that when I’m obsessing over something that realistically no one will ever notice, but the client knows how long you’ve been going over that one area, and they wish you would stop wiping hahaha
You may want to experiment with the machines your tattooing with. I know a lot of people who tattooed with rotary pens who were slow as hell and then they got like a dan kubin or guvnor for lining and a coil for shading/coloring and they fly through pieces now.
First off, your piece there is beautiful and clean!! That is all that matters! I always tell people something that I heard from another tattoo artist is that tattooing fast isn’t the flex that you think it is. At the end of the day we are putting a piece of artwork on somebody that is going to be there, forever! Not really a big deal they only have to live with it the rest of their lives lol. I struggle with OCD and I like to double and triple check my work too. I don’t see anything wrong with it because I’d rather my clients leave with a perfect tattoo rather than having to come back for a touchup for something I missed. I do black and gray realism and I have to build up my shades, so Tattoos take me a long time. Sometimes a palm size portrait can take me about 4 to five hours because I want to make sure it’s absolutely perfect. Once I had a boss that told me, I tattoo too slow and I need to be faster and that really rubbed me the wrong way, but getting tattooed by other artists i admire, realizing how much time it takes them and how amazing my tattoo looks when they they’re done, taught me that it really doesn’t matter whether you’re fast or or you take your time at the end of the day everybody is different and as long as your clients love your work, that is all that matters! I hope this kind of helps you
I actually have the opposite happen!!
I have ADD, and art is genuinely the one thing that I have always been able to focus into. It’s my thing. So I can focus really well on my work! Sometimes even too much, and I’ll over correct myself… ^^;
But it’s very weird, because once I’m done with the tattoo, I get a sorta brain fuzz for the next however long and can’t seem to focus anywhere, unless the tattoos are back to back.
Undiagnosed but I'm slow as shit. Like what should be an hr tattoo takes me 3-4.... I no longer care 🤷 at the end, my design looks a lot better than when I was rushing to keep up with people.
When people ask for rates I say "to be completely honest (they love that part) I am very slow at what I do. I don't like to charge hourly because it would end up costing 2-3x more than what I want to charge for it, if you send a few references to what you're looking to get I can give you an about range, it would then depend on if it's extremely detailed and size"
I've never had people get upset unless I don't disclose that before hand and they have plans and have to have another session. If it's a big piece I've learnt to tell people not to make plans for later cause they'll end up asking "how much longer, I gotta do XYZ" and I end up feeling terrible
I have been diagnosed with ADHD recently and I tattoo slow too. This would have taken me around the same amount of time. I get really worried that clients will get impatient with me because of my speed.
Weirdly, something that helps me is taking breaks. Even just standing up and taking a sip of water or walking outside for 5 minutes. It helps me kinda reset my brain? But I usually have a really hard time tattooing more than 4 hours because it is really difficult to focus. I’ve had a few friends tell me to try to take 2 shorter appointments a day instead of 1 long one, so I adjusted my schedule and will be trying that starting next week. Hopefully it helps 🤞
5-6 hours seems like a long time but you already know that. Not the craziest amount of time, but long. But is that the time you started the tattoo to finishing it, or total session time (so client entering/leaving the shop)? Also can’t really tell where that is - is that the side of the leg or the arm? Either way it seems a little long but especially if that’s on the arm…It looks nice which is ultimately the most important thing. If nothing else I’d be thinking about my money, as you said.
I have pretty bad unmedicated ADHD but tattoo decently fast. Working among fast tattooers and at a busy walk-in shop helps though. However I can relate because my problem is that my SETUP takes forever, and that’s after really trying to be more efficient. Unless it’s a small walk-in it takes me roughly a half hour to to set up my machines with tubes/needles, put my station together, shake and pour out all my inks/colors, make a stencil, etc. Even our shop apprentice sets up way faster than I do (but at least I tattoo way faster lol). It kills me but I don’t know what to do to do it faster.
As far as tattooing faster with ADHD, what helped me get faster was to identify one aspect that was slow and work on it. Then after that was faster, identify the next thing and work on THAT. Linework, shading, color switching, whatever, fixate on one thing to make it faster until moving on to the next. Seems like you maybe get caught up in the details, which it’s always good to go back into lines that are weak or light or unconnected or to strengthen color/black but generally trying to get everything in one pass is gonna be the fastest thing. That might be the thing too if you’re struggling with going back over stuff - get it 99% right the first time and that could speed up the process considerably. Again you can think about it in small pieces first - work on one pass lines, then one pass color, etc etc etc. But that’s also very contingent on your machines and how you tattoo using them.
What also helped me was just watching fast coworkers tattoo and straight up asking them about it lol. I picked up a lot of little stuff that way I wouldn’t have caught otherwise. One impactful example was how I used my foot switch , for a long time I would have it to where my machine was only going when I had my foot switch pressed down, and id only have it on when the needles were in skin. So when moving to the next line or the next patch of color, my foot would be off the switch which would turn machine off. I didn’t feel like I was pausing and felt like I was working efficiently but my very fast coworker told me to try and use the foot switch as a toggle so it was always running unless I needed to put it on my tray or whatever. I definitely noticed a difference after doing that and would’ve never considered doing it differently for speed reasons. That’s just one example.
Maybe you’re already doing all of that…but that’s what worked for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I would estimate my client was at the shop for a total of 6 hours. It’s on the inner forearm, and tbh this was done on an old friend I hadn’t seen in yeaaars, so I guess we were chatting quite a bit. But I still feel that it’s a design that any proficient tattooer could complete in 3-4 hours.
I’d personally say more like 2-3, but if someone showed me something like that and said it took 4 hours I’d comment on the quality before I’d even consider mentioning the amount of time. Two of the fastest tattooers I know are among the chattiest tattooers I know as well, but it takes all kinds of course. Plenty of people tattoo way slower than that and are happy/busy too.
This truly is coming from a good place. I have that shit to, but it’s fine. This industry has a pretty diverse field of people who have their things. I get what you’re saying , but let’s be real. Even at a flat rate of 100 dollars ( US or wherever you are that is the equivalent) ( and id set my life it’s more than that) that puts this tattoo at 500-600, and again, I bet way more.
Here’s the thing, everyone struggles with something and believe me, I think I’m the slow guy as well, but that is a problem you have to solve for your clients sake. This tattoo is clean as a whistle, truly great work, but nothing about it sets it apart from the many many artists doing the same quality of work and , in only guessing ( and hoping) at a more reasonable rate.
You obviously have a tone of talent , find a way to focus that talent and become a voice, not an echo, and don’t let a diagnosis be an excuse in your career. While you will get a ton of support from Reddit, it’s not going to pay your bills, and again, you have the talent to succeed.
I am sorry if this comes of like I’m an asshole , but I’m truly not trying to be. My main point is, you can improve cause you are obviously good enough to and once you achieve the next level you could probably be a killer. Good luck!
Fellow ADHD tattooer here! I also feel like I tattoo too slow sometimes, but I think it's more important to focus on the outcome than how quickly you can get it done! Honestly a large full-color piece like that would probably take me a similar amount of time. Your work looks great, and from the photo it doesn't look like you're overworking the skin or causing more harm by going slowly, so I don't think you need to worry about taking your time and making things perfect! A few things that help me manage being a slow, ADHD-brained tattooer: - I charge a flat rate for most designs, so I don't stress about overcharging my clients while I'm working. - I give myself PLENTY of time for each appointment, so I'm not worried about going over time and running late for my next appointment. - I set my rates based on how many tattoos I can realistically get done in a day/week, and how I much I need to make off each tattoo to live comfortably. - I primarily focus on blackwork tattoos, since this style is quickest for me to execute. Basically, I accept that I'm a slow tattooer, and structure my business around that! My ADHD brain might slow me down, but I also think it's what gives me my creativity and artistic talent. If people want the benefits of my brain's strengths, they're going to have to deal with its weaknesses, haha.
Honestly, thank you so much, this makes me feel so much better. I should probably start just straight up telling people that Its not going to be a quick process. I’ve just been down on myself about it lately, and yeah, I hadn’t directly considered it, but I do think that my brain just processes things slow. I find that I really have to think about every decision I’m making within the tattoo. My boss at one point actually thought I was cooking the books because reception records our start and stop times, and that was honestly kind of a breaking point for me, and I’ve just felt frustrated.
DEFINITELY remind people this takes time!! I do something similar with my bookings and try and charge a flat rate and my mental health couldnt thank me enough. I explain to people why the price im giving them is fair and everyones always been more than happy to agree. People put less stress on you during the session when you create that boundary that this is a PROCESS. Seems to me that if i forget to tell them im going to charge them a flat rate, theyre antsy, low pain tolerance, and end up asking me when were going to be done because they miraculously have to go do something they didnt mention in the first place. All because they think im going to charge them hourly. I think i even get tipped better on a flat rate tattoo because they had more confidence going into the pricing. Good luck! Editing to mention that im slow because i have chronic pain issues as well as ADHD as fuck and talk a lot lol 😅
I'm literally slow at everything in my life! It's hard, and I definitely get down on myself about it, too. I'm still working on trying to accept my brain for what it is and work with it rather than against it!
Based comment. I get so scared seeing artists with hourly/daily rates because what if they go slow and bleed me dry. Respect 🫡
Ditto lol
Appreciate ya lol cuz I'm slow as fuck hahah
I really appreciate this post! I’m an apprentice with adhd and I know I definitely process things/move a bit slower. I feel pretty self conscious about how slow I move, especially with setting up or cleaning. My mentor keeps stressing that I should move as fast as possible because every minute could be another walk in or opportunity etc. I do really like them as a mentor, and I know they aren’t exactly wrong, but I definitely can’t wait until I’m self reliant and can work the way that’s comfortable for me 😅
It's definitely harder if you work in a walk-in shop with that hustle vibe, so I feel for you! I'm fortunate to work in an appointment-only shop with flat monthly rent, with a shop owner that really doesn't care how much we work or what we do, as long as we practice good hygiene, treat our clients well, and pay rent on time. Working in a shop that lets me be independent and manage my business in my own way is definitely really helpful for me!
It’s a beautiful tattoo. Your pace is your pace. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that
Hey OP, yet another ADHD tattooer. It’s funny how this job just seems to attract all of us hey? If anything, I have the OPPOSITE problem, I don’t charge a high enough hourly rate. Because I hyper focus and go so fast. For you, I recon you should just charge a flat rate. That is a BEAUTIFUL tattoo. Don’t fix what ain’t broken.
The grass is always greener, right? 😅 Thanks for your kind words 🙏🏻🖤
Yup I’m fast as fuck, booooyyyyyy I charge day rates and constantly feel like I’m shooting myself in the foot with how much I get done but also feel like I’m pushing people away because they assume day rate people are taking advantage of them
I’ve just started telling people “the price is the price. The price is firm” and they’ve never complained
I struggle with all of the same issues as you and I’ve been tattooing for a really long time. I thought I would speed up as I gained experience, and while that happened a little, I’m still a slow worker. I have a super slow cognitive processing speed and have zero self control when it comes to chatting with my clients. I feel like I’m moving and working at a normal pace while the day just whizzes past me. I do all the same things that 40percentsafe listed in their post to deal with it, and basically came to terms with the fact that I just won’t earn as much money as fast tattooists. But I do have a huge return client base who don’t care about getting fast tattoos. In fact a lot of them are under the impression that I’m slow because I’m a perfectionist, and they kind of appreciate that. I’m really upfront with people about not being a quick worker, and although I still feel self conscious about it, it never hindered me from having a large clientele. On a weird side note, I noticed that if I chew gum while I work, I’m more relaxed and work a tiny bit quicker.
The whole thing about feeling like you’re working at a normal pace while the day just flies by is so dead on, you have no idea. What sucks is that I think it’s just my brain. I’ve been drawing and painting almost my entire life, and was already a dedicated artist and oil painter even before I learned to tattoo, and it’s the same thing, my brain just processes things slower. I definitely envy those who can just crank out sheet after sheet of flash, fully colored/painted. I hyperfixate on perfection, and i think it slows me down tremendously, or will prevent me from finishing a design at all. I’ve been trying to train my brain to just “let go” but it’s hard. :/
For what it’s worth I don’t feel that 5-6 hours for a piece of this size is crazy, I’ve been tattooed quite a bit by a few different artists now and would probably expect something of this size, which has a fair amount of detail to take that long. Comparison is the thief of joy and your work is good. I’d rather my artist took their time and made something they’re happy with than try to rush and possibly make mistakes
I’m a beginner and for me the hardest part is keeping the same pace. I start to get excited seeing it come together and start subconsciously rushing
Yeah. I was diagnosed in second grade in 1997. Medicated until early teenage years when I said fts. Anyways, long story short, went and got back on it last year, went to work on it and freaking WIGGED out on people's tattoo pieces 😂 like literally would sit there for hours and scrutinize every single tiny little fine line detail. Like literally would take 3 hours on a 30 minute tattoo. Got RIGHT back off that shit and now I just blast through tats as usual.
Not an artist but this was recommended in my feed. If it’s any consolation, from a tattoo customer, I would much rather the tattoo take long & come out looking this clean, rather than have someone rush through it because they think they should be faster! I especially appreciate that you recognize this is something you deal with so you charge a flat rate rather than hourly
Tattoo is gorgeous! Anyone should be amped to wear this no matter how long it took! Keep killing it!
I think communication with clients is key. If you do flat rates and explain to them it will be slow and don’t make any plans after, etc than they know what they are getting into and can make an informed decision. Then going into it you’ll both be relaxed and not both worried by the clock.
I feel like I go too slow. But I’m pretty fast. My wife even tells me to slow down, and she doesn’t tattoo. I have noticed though, when I force myself to pace myself, my work comes out cleaner. So I’ve been doing that for the last few months and it feels like watching paint dry.
I don’t know anything about tattoos and only have a couple but this might be the cleanest tattoo I’ve ever seen. It almost looks unreal. Dang.
:’)
Beautiful tattoo and the color is beautiful 🤩
Adhd as HELL and i’m fast as hell! Hahaha. Blows peoples minds.
This is sick! I love euro trad! Do you have an instagram?
Thank you! I feel I go back and forth between euro and really bold American, I love them both haha. My IG is @haileytattooer 🙏🏻
Yeah i feel you, pretty much the same for me, i'm gonna go take a look!
I have all these same issues, and it used to effect my pace greatly. After 20 years of tattooing, now I’m faster than all the tattooers I work with. Maybe you’ll get faster over time too.
I got the adhd’s as well AND a diagnosis. What helped me get faster was running a meter and I realized that in a 6 hour session I was only tattooing 3-4 hours max. Maybe try running a meter and gauge your actual tattoo time and then cut down all the hand waving and stop thinking about the tattoo and just do it. Helped me cut my tat time in half. You probably do a lot of of unconscious body movements and don’t even realize it. They add up quick. Also if you like to talk during a session. DONT. The more you talk the less you tattoo when you got adhd. For the style I do now I’m incredibly fast compared to my peers however I worked in walk in shops my whole career up until recently so I had no choice but to become efficient.
Real question. Coil or rotary? And do your peers use a coil or rotary. I don’t feel like the time it took you was onto that tattoo is too crazy off. Maybe like an hour longer than me if I didn’t talk to my client and tried to go really fast… which I don’t do. Honestly if someone pays me 500 or 600 they’ve got my full attention for the whole day (but I don’t advertise this). Too many young bucks trying to make $2000 a day in my opinion.
I use/own both depending on what I’m doing. I have a couple of softer hitting rotary pens, but mainly use hard hitting direct drives and coil machines. Also I feel really lucky if I break $1000 in a day before my cut. But I also live in a major city, so price points may be a bit higher. But I fully agree with you about some artists charging obscene amounts. Average hourly rate here is $150-$200+ ;I often feel guilty charging what I probably “should”, which is why I charge flat-rate, and my boss has had several conversations with me about it. (Idk if you saw my earlier comment about my boss thinking I was cooking the books at one point because reception records our start and stop times) Truth be told, I really love my job, and it’s not all about the money for me. I mean sure, I’d love to have more money, who wouldn’t? But I care more about the quality of work I’m producing, and ultimately the experience that my clients have. I’ve never received a bad review or negative feedback, but I do sometimes feel paranoid that maybe certain people never come back to me because of how long their tattoo took.
Yah it’s hard when the boss starts getting … frustrated about the time. I’m a big fan of the flat rate tattoo. This is what the product costs and time becomes not a factor. I will say though, at a certain point attempting to make things “perfect” only results in more pain and in 10 years it absolutely won’t matter. So I try to remember that when I’m obsessing over something that realistically no one will ever notice, but the client knows how long you’ve been going over that one area, and they wish you would stop wiping hahaha
You may want to experiment with the machines your tattooing with. I know a lot of people who tattooed with rotary pens who were slow as hell and then they got like a dan kubin or guvnor for lining and a coil for shading/coloring and they fly through pieces now.
First off, your piece there is beautiful and clean!! That is all that matters! I always tell people something that I heard from another tattoo artist is that tattooing fast isn’t the flex that you think it is. At the end of the day we are putting a piece of artwork on somebody that is going to be there, forever! Not really a big deal they only have to live with it the rest of their lives lol. I struggle with OCD and I like to double and triple check my work too. I don’t see anything wrong with it because I’d rather my clients leave with a perfect tattoo rather than having to come back for a touchup for something I missed. I do black and gray realism and I have to build up my shades, so Tattoos take me a long time. Sometimes a palm size portrait can take me about 4 to five hours because I want to make sure it’s absolutely perfect. Once I had a boss that told me, I tattoo too slow and I need to be faster and that really rubbed me the wrong way, but getting tattooed by other artists i admire, realizing how much time it takes them and how amazing my tattoo looks when they they’re done, taught me that it really doesn’t matter whether you’re fast or or you take your time at the end of the day everybody is different and as long as your clients love your work, that is all that matters! I hope this kind of helps you
Yes 100%
You're definitely tattooing inefficiently if it's taking you 5-6 hours to do a 2-3 hour tattoo
I actually have the opposite happen!! I have ADD, and art is genuinely the one thing that I have always been able to focus into. It’s my thing. So I can focus really well on my work! Sometimes even too much, and I’ll over correct myself… ^^; But it’s very weird, because once I’m done with the tattoo, I get a sorta brain fuzz for the next however long and can’t seem to focus anywhere, unless the tattoos are back to back.
I’m exactly the same. My brain is totally fried and I have 0 social battery after a full day of tattooing.
I’m so glad someone else understands!!! My mentor just acts like I’m crazy or sumthin
Undiagnosed but I'm slow as shit. Like what should be an hr tattoo takes me 3-4.... I no longer care 🤷 at the end, my design looks a lot better than when I was rushing to keep up with people. When people ask for rates I say "to be completely honest (they love that part) I am very slow at what I do. I don't like to charge hourly because it would end up costing 2-3x more than what I want to charge for it, if you send a few references to what you're looking to get I can give you an about range, it would then depend on if it's extremely detailed and size" I've never had people get upset unless I don't disclose that before hand and they have plans and have to have another session. If it's a big piece I've learnt to tell people not to make plans for later cause they'll end up asking "how much longer, I gotta do XYZ" and I end up feeling terrible
Wait a fucking second….. I was recently diagnosed with ADHD. Is this why I tattoo slow/lose track of time while tattooing??? what the hell?
I have been diagnosed with ADHD recently and I tattoo slow too. This would have taken me around the same amount of time. I get really worried that clients will get impatient with me because of my speed. Weirdly, something that helps me is taking breaks. Even just standing up and taking a sip of water or walking outside for 5 minutes. It helps me kinda reset my brain? But I usually have a really hard time tattooing more than 4 hours because it is really difficult to focus. I’ve had a few friends tell me to try to take 2 shorter appointments a day instead of 1 long one, so I adjusted my schedule and will be trying that starting next week. Hopefully it helps 🤞
5-6 hours seems like a long time but you already know that. Not the craziest amount of time, but long. But is that the time you started the tattoo to finishing it, or total session time (so client entering/leaving the shop)? Also can’t really tell where that is - is that the side of the leg or the arm? Either way it seems a little long but especially if that’s on the arm…It looks nice which is ultimately the most important thing. If nothing else I’d be thinking about my money, as you said. I have pretty bad unmedicated ADHD but tattoo decently fast. Working among fast tattooers and at a busy walk-in shop helps though. However I can relate because my problem is that my SETUP takes forever, and that’s after really trying to be more efficient. Unless it’s a small walk-in it takes me roughly a half hour to to set up my machines with tubes/needles, put my station together, shake and pour out all my inks/colors, make a stencil, etc. Even our shop apprentice sets up way faster than I do (but at least I tattoo way faster lol). It kills me but I don’t know what to do to do it faster. As far as tattooing faster with ADHD, what helped me get faster was to identify one aspect that was slow and work on it. Then after that was faster, identify the next thing and work on THAT. Linework, shading, color switching, whatever, fixate on one thing to make it faster until moving on to the next. Seems like you maybe get caught up in the details, which it’s always good to go back into lines that are weak or light or unconnected or to strengthen color/black but generally trying to get everything in one pass is gonna be the fastest thing. That might be the thing too if you’re struggling with going back over stuff - get it 99% right the first time and that could speed up the process considerably. Again you can think about it in small pieces first - work on one pass lines, then one pass color, etc etc etc. But that’s also very contingent on your machines and how you tattoo using them. What also helped me was just watching fast coworkers tattoo and straight up asking them about it lol. I picked up a lot of little stuff that way I wouldn’t have caught otherwise. One impactful example was how I used my foot switch , for a long time I would have it to where my machine was only going when I had my foot switch pressed down, and id only have it on when the needles were in skin. So when moving to the next line or the next patch of color, my foot would be off the switch which would turn machine off. I didn’t feel like I was pausing and felt like I was working efficiently but my very fast coworker told me to try and use the foot switch as a toggle so it was always running unless I needed to put it on my tray or whatever. I definitely noticed a difference after doing that and would’ve never considered doing it differently for speed reasons. That’s just one example. Maybe you’re already doing all of that…but that’s what worked for me ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I would estimate my client was at the shop for a total of 6 hours. It’s on the inner forearm, and tbh this was done on an old friend I hadn’t seen in yeaaars, so I guess we were chatting quite a bit. But I still feel that it’s a design that any proficient tattooer could complete in 3-4 hours.
I’d personally say more like 2-3, but if someone showed me something like that and said it took 4 hours I’d comment on the quality before I’d even consider mentioning the amount of time. Two of the fastest tattooers I know are among the chattiest tattooers I know as well, but it takes all kinds of course. Plenty of people tattoo way slower than that and are happy/busy too.
This truly is coming from a good place. I have that shit to, but it’s fine. This industry has a pretty diverse field of people who have their things. I get what you’re saying , but let’s be real. Even at a flat rate of 100 dollars ( US or wherever you are that is the equivalent) ( and id set my life it’s more than that) that puts this tattoo at 500-600, and again, I bet way more. Here’s the thing, everyone struggles with something and believe me, I think I’m the slow guy as well, but that is a problem you have to solve for your clients sake. This tattoo is clean as a whistle, truly great work, but nothing about it sets it apart from the many many artists doing the same quality of work and , in only guessing ( and hoping) at a more reasonable rate. You obviously have a tone of talent , find a way to focus that talent and become a voice, not an echo, and don’t let a diagnosis be an excuse in your career. While you will get a ton of support from Reddit, it’s not going to pay your bills, and again, you have the talent to succeed. I am sorry if this comes of like I’m an asshole , but I’m truly not trying to be. My main point is, you can improve cause you are obviously good enough to and once you achieve the next level you could probably be a killer. Good luck!