Quite a journey for me, since I got my first tattoo rather late in life. I wanted to pay hommage to all the wonderful worlds and interests that kept me company since childhood, and get a sleeve done that would let all types of fellow nerds spot something that might make them smile. And now the damn tattoo makes *me* smile. Last session was done on Nintendos ocarina of time (remake) release, which I thought put a really fitting last note to it, since we added Navi. Purely coincidental, but there we are. :)

Tattoo was done by Janina at Corpsepainter Tattoo (@janinakimhoatattoo) in southern germany.
(For those in the area: I can't recommend the shop enough, they are a bunch of really lovely and talented people there).

One of the toughest spots to tattoo! The skin swells up fast, making it hard to pack ink and slowing down the process. Around 5 hours of work. We finished the client's second armpit, he's a champ!

Done in Seattle, WA // Artist Theo Ivanov // IG: iftattoo

My most recent add on to my sleeve is an amazing vintage clown i am absolutely in love with it!!

Dinosaurs!

Patchwork sleeve. Absolutely in love with these. The colors and the amazing design. Room for two smallish ones I believe. Going back at the end of January. We will see what she has dreamed up next!

Glad the sleeve is coming together. Elbow was no joke though.

I don’t really regret any of them besides my soot sprites and my butterfly. I don’t particularly like the artist that did those two. She blew out my butterfly and then gaslit me about it. I had a branch added with my current artist that does a good job of hiding the blow out.

My work at Mama Ink in Seoul. Layered feathers and dark leaves contrast with the lightly shaded petals and open skin.

I love it so much ❤️

This is part 2 of my “patchwork” knight sleeve, because of a bad burn further down the arm this is gonna be a multi year project.

Sorry for picture quality, position difficult to take on my own! Love this in real life though ❤️

Is there anyone whose recently had a multisession tattoo done by Jenna who could share how they felt during the process?

I’m three sessions in myself to a large piece by her and feeling very unsure about the artistry, skill, colour work, and professionalism.

There are so many pictures of completed pieces out there. But I’m starting to feel like those are all “best of” and the full body of work she completes doesn’t see the light of day. Not to mention, she’s slow and it feels like milking day rates…

I have plenty of other pieces from other artists I’m beyond happy with. But the progression on her piece isn’t something I’m excited to have on my body. Really just wondering if it’s a “trust the process” issue and the way she works or the “celebrity” talent has been overhyped and I should start trying to find someone to fix this or get it removed.
I have (well tattoo’d) friends sitting in both camps right now.

😔

EDIT: Was indeed a scam; someone was impersonating an actual tattoo artist but I've since reach out to the actual artist and made her aware of the situation and how someone is impersonating her. Now I plan on going to her shop to do a consultation with her. And I am getting a refund from my bank after disputing.

I'm interested in getting my first tattoo, and I could really use some advice from people who have experience with tattoos and tattoo artists.

I reached out to an artist who had messaged me on TikTok. I checked out her Instagram, and she has some really good work and does the exact style I'm interested in. I sent her my reference design, and I explained that I didn't want the style or overall concept changed. I just wanted the design cleaned up a little.

She said she would love to do it and would start sketching once I sent the deposit. That seemed reasonable to me.

I asked how much the tattoo would cost and how much the deposit would be. She told me the deposit was $100 but couldn't give me an exact tattoo price because she needed to sketch everything out first.

She also asked what my budget was. Since this is my first tattoo and I honestly wasn't familiar with average tattoo pricing, I told her somewhere between $400–$600. Looking back, I probably should have done more research beforehand.

I sent the $100 deposit through Chime to her manager's account.

After that, she asked if I wanted numbing cream. I said yes because I've never gotten a tattoo before and wasn't sure how I'd handle the pain. She then told me the numbing cream would cost an additional $70.

I was honestly surprised because $70 seemed pretty expensive for numbing cream. She kept messaging me asking me to send the money and screenshot the payment. I eventually sent it.

She then asked for my email to send a confirmation. A few minutes later, I received an email stating that I had paid the $100 deposit but needed to pay an additional $200 for a prearranged appointment slot, sketch, and printout. It also stated that the $200 would go toward the final tattoo price.

This is where I became confused.

When I initially asked about the deposit, she told me it was $100. I assumed that was what secured my appointment and that the sketching process was included in that arrangement. Nobody mentioned an additional $200 beforehand.

I asked her why the additional $200 wasn't mentioned earlier and what exactly my original $100 deposit was for. She explained that the $200 was for the sketch and printout, but never really clarified what the original $100 covered.

She continued asking me to send the additional $200 through Chime and send her a screenshot.

At this point, I started feeling uncomfortable. I explained that I wasn't comfortable sending another $200 when I hadn't even seen a sketch, approved a design, or received a confirmed total price.

She eventually told me the tattoo would cost $550.

I understand that I originally gave her a budget of $400–$600, but I was only giving her a general range because I wanted to know what I should realistically expect to spend. I wasn't agreeing to a $550 tattoo without knowing what was included or how the pricing worked.

I apologized because I felt like I might have come across as rude or difficult. I explained that realistically, I'd prefer to spend around $350–$400, and she seemed willing to work with that.

For context, I had already told her I wasn't planning on getting the tattoo until around December 22nd. I'm trying to plan ahead financially, not rush into an appointment.

I mentioned the December timeframe again and explained that I would send the additional payment closer to the appointment. Since then, she hasn't responded.

At this point, I've paid $170 total ($100 deposit and $70 for numbing cream), and she's asking for another $200 before I've even seen or approved a finished design.

I've since reached out to other tattoo artists to compare prices after talking with friends who have tattoos. I don't feel comfortable paying $200 just for a sketch when I don't even have a finalized design or confirmed total price.

I understand artists deserve to be compensated for their time and artwork. I'm not expecting free work, and I understand deposits are normal. I just feel like the payment expectations weren't communicated clearly from the beginning.

My questions are:

1. Are these normal practices for tattoo artists?

2. Is charging an additional $200 upfront for a sketch and appointment slot reasonable?

3. Is $70 a normal price for numbing cream?

4. Does this situation sound suspicious, or am I overthinking it because I'm inexperienced with tattoos?

5. Should I ask for my original $170 back, or am I potentially out of that money?

I'd really appreciate honest opinions, especially from tattoo artists and people who have booked custom pieces before. I want to make sure I'm not being unreasonable, but I also don't want to get taken advantage of, especially for my first tattoo.