how much do you tip a tattoo artist?

Question

i know people hate answering stupid questions but im not sure how much you should tip a tattoo artist. my husband and i are both getting 1 done and we are going to do them back to back. they are going to cost us about 300 a piece. so 600 total for the 2 of us. is there a general rule of thumb depending on like time or size or price. or is it like when you go out to eat and you tip like 10-15 %. how much would you tip if you were getting 1 for that price. thanks

Answer 1

Ugh! To me, not tipping your tattoo artist is akin to not tipping a waitress or a bartender, only much worse...you tip 10-20% for a great meal and you tip money for drinks for one night...because you're having a good time...but you don't wanna tip the talented person who has given you a piece of art displayed on your body for the rest of your life?! That just doesn't make any sense to me at all!
I have 5 works of ink art on my body...and all but the first one have been done by the same artist. I tip him well for his time and talent ...which, btw, isn't a bad move on your part if you ever plan on going back to same artist again. ;)
For $300 a piece, based on pricing by my artist, I'm assuming they are good size pieces or have alot of detail. And with both of you going back to back the artist has had to set aside a bigger chunk of time for the both of you. If you're putting out that kind of money for ink, is it gonna kill you to give him an extra hundred or so? You've got this forever!
For the record, I am aware that different areas have different prices and artists charge different amounts. I can only base my opinion on my experience where I live. And I would never stiff my artist of a tip nor would I ever short-change him by giving him a $30 tip for a $300 tattoo...bare minimum would be $60 per piece (20%)...and often it would be more than that, but that's me. The way I see it, my artist deserves every penny of it

Answer 2

It's an interesting idea brought up by some folks that if you're paying as much as talked about for a tattoo, you shouldn't tip. Does this imply that if I got a cheap tattoo I should tip? I wonder how that would go over with eating out. Fancy Italian - no tip. McD's - ...

I put tattoo artists in the same category as other service artists (photogs & related); it may not assumed, but it's highly appreciated. My thoughts are if I can afford the tat, then I can afford an extra 10-20% if it's good - and I don't do cheap on something like this. I mean, really... if I can manage $600, is $60 more going to break my bank?

I also found that if you're coming back for further work & it isn't just a one-shot, that even trivial generosity comes back to you. They didn't have time in their schedule to fit me in January, but when someone cancelled I was the first person they called to see if I wanted the spot.

In the end it's your call. If it's a simple bit of work, maybe not, especially if it's just some flash from their walls. If it takes a lot of pre-work like my Five Koi up Dragon falls back piece, I'd feel like a total wanker if I didn't tip. I put my artist through a lot of design stress that she was *not* on the clock for.

Caveat: I'm a computer engineer. Although working in education, I'm somewhat well paid. Most artists are not, and tattoo artists don't even have the societal thumbs up that a 'normal' artist does. These are folks who are also often work in other mediums, showing in galleries (if lucky, and it doesn't pay that well either), and often pursue MFA's.

Additional caveat: If you really can't afford a tip, I can see being up front with the artist. Let them know you think they're great but you just can't swing anything. If nothing else, at least they can see you are thinking about it. Tips can also be in the form of "I'm going to tell all my friends that So-and-So from WayCoolTats did this great art!". Personal recommendations are always loved; it's how I found out about the artist who did/does my work.

Answer 3

It is great you had the foresight to ask this. Unless it is the studio owner (and I have many clients who still insist on tipping me) the artist certainly deserves a tip just like any other service provider.

They are independent contractors in most situations and pay a fee to the shop owner or a percentage. Many have to provide ALL their own supplies and business needs and SAFE artists have a lot of supplies.While some of you answering this thinks they charge a lot, think again. In all, that $100-125/hr breaks way down, so don't even go there about how much money they are pulling in.

These artists rely on tips as a hairdresser does just to make a living. Give what you can afford - 10-15% for satisfactory work and 20% is a generous tip for really loving it. Thank you so much for asking.

Answer 4

Wow a lot of you are ridiculous. Tattoo artists don't make their money on that tattoo. The shop makes most of that many they simply earn a percentage. You would tip your waiter, your hair dresser, your nail salon, the person parking your car. A tattoo artist is the same thing. Tipping a tattoo artist 10 percent is a good minimum. Anything more than 15-20 percent would be considered over tipping. I am getting the outline of my tattoo tomorrow and that is going to be about 200 dollars. I am going to tip 20 bucks. When I go back for my second sitting about 300 dollars I am going to tip 30 bucks. It really depends on the time, the size, and how good the outcome is. But you should always tip!

Answer 5

I would give the artist a $60.00 tip each. Like someone else said on my post about wondering about tiping, I've been reading around on the internet and because of the cost of the supplies that they use on people, I would tip 20% of however much the tattoos cost.

I didn't know I was supposed to tip until about 3 days ago! AH!

Answer 6

Cookies. Tip as much as you think they deserve *there's no set amount, and $20 total won't offend. not everyone knows to tip* and bring in some other object of appreciation. Tip the money, then bring cookies or rice crispy treats or something when you go in for touchups. Lots of artists I've spoken to say they'd love that, and it's what I plan to do when I get my tat in July.

"Hey, tattoo dude. Pump some ink into my skin to make a pretty design and I'll give you a cookie. Sound good? Good."

Answer 7

about 10-15 bucks and hour if it's not the owner of the shop. If it's 2 hours work $20- $25. I usually don't tip the shop owner because he gets all the cost of the work. The the other artists usually work on a 60-40 split

Answer 8

I had no idea you were supposed to tip tattoo artists... If you're paying that much I don't think tipping is strictly necessary. They should be glad for that much business. But if you were to tip I'd say at least $20, because that's a decent amount of extra money for anyone to have in their pocket. Less than that would seem stingy compared to the amount of your total payment so if you're going to tip less than $20 it's probably best not to tip at all.

Answer 9

i generaly tip pretty good, i have worked in a job where i made all my money from tips...when i got them... but when i didnt i was in the red constantly..... and i like my tattoo artist and im happy with the quality and caliber of work i get each time i go in. and especially with my last tattoo with the amount of **** she went through to make it turn out like it did. she got a tip. twice on the same tattoo, the second one was when she touched it up. so i guess its all personal choice.

Answer 10

10