When you are trying to come up with a budget for your tattoo, it might get really pricey. This is especially the case for larger designs with more intricate lines. Tattoos for tribal designs or portraits will be more expensive than other types of tattoos. Tattoo artists have specific rates that can range from 150$ to 500$ an hour. A way to go around that is to book a tapout tattoo session with your artist.
But how much is a tapout tattoo session? As tattoo artists have their own rates, tapout sessions have discounted hourly rates. They are also special hours that a tattoo shop will give out regarding a tapout session. So when you are coming up with a budget for larger tattoos, it is important to get to know what a tapout tattoo session really is and how much it might cost you.
Key Takeaways
- Tapout tattoo sessions are sessions that have discounted rates because they are long sessions.
- There are many benefits to tapout sessions because you are booking your artist for the whole day!
- It is important to take the necessary preparation. The 10 tips included will help you be prepared for your tapout session.
Tapout Tattoo Sessions and Its Cost
Tapout tattoo sessions are when you book an artist for the whole day to get your tattoo done. Some tattoo shops will limit this to anywhere between 6 to 12 hours of sessions. For example, if a tattoo artist’s usual rate is 150$, a tapout session could possibly be around only 100$ per hour! It is a great way to get a tattoo at good rates.
As most tapout sessions are for very long periods of time, you have to first consult with the tattoo shop if they do tapout sessions. You will have to also book in advance because you are taking up an artist’s time for the whole day!
Half tapout sessions
As I have mentioned that tapout sessions are long sessions. There are ways to make sure that you get a half tapout session. This will cost around 125$ instead of the usual tattoo session of 150$. This is great if you want to get a tattoo which would usually take around 4 hours of time, which is what some shops limit a half tapout session to. This is the time that you would need for a half-sleeve tattoo or most medium-sized tattoos. It will depend on the artist and the design so be sure to ask the shop about their rates on tapouts and half tapout sessions.
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Benefits of Tapout Tattoo Sessions
There are many benefits of getting a tapout tattoo session with your preferred artist. So let’s see what these benefits look like.
Booked for the day
The great thing about it is you can book an artist for the whole day without having to worry about your artist being distracted or pressured to rush your piece so that they can attend to other tattoo artists. The tattoo artist will only work on your tattoo piece and make sure to accommodate their time only for you!
Discounted rates
As mentioned before, the discounted rates are why someone wants to get a tapout session for large tattoos. Think of it like this, instead of paying your tattoo artist 1200$ for an 8-hour session at normal rates of 150$ per hour, you get to pay only 800$ at 100$ hour rate for the same tattoo.
No extra charges
Another great benefit of tapouts is that your tattoo artist will not charge extra if the work is finished beforehand! You will have to pay a deposit of about 100$ at the beginning but that will be returned to you when you are done with the tattoo. Let’s say you booked for 8 hours but are done within 6 hours. You will only have to pay for the 6-hour session and not the full 8 hours! That gives an advantage for getting the tattoo done at a lower price.
Multiple tattoos
Finally, if you want to work on multiple tattoos during your tapout session, you are more than welcome to do so! These are usually reserved for large pieces, but if you want several small to medium tattoos done you can definitely get them at the discounted tapout session prices! You will have to consult the shop and artist if they are willing to do this and most shops will be happy to accommodate such requests!
Preparing for a Tapout Session: 10 Tips
These are long sessions so definitely you will need to make some preparation for a tapout session.
- Clear schedule: Clear out the whole day for the tapout session, you will be there for a while!
- Arrive early: Come early so that your tattoo artist can get everything ready for you.
- Consult design in advance: Be sure to give them the design of your tattoo beforehand so they can prepare the stencil before you arrive.
- Snacks and water: Bring snacks and water. You will be needing them to keep yourself energized during the long sessions.
- Necessary breaks: Take breaks after every hour for 5 minutes to stretch out your legs and give your artist a bit of time to recover.
- Refund policy: Make sure to know about the refund policy for the session. Sometimes you might not be up for a whole day and need to reschedule due to other appointments you need to take care of.
- Shaving or waxing: Shave in advance so that your artist can immediately start working on your tattoo. Ask how you should shave or if you can wax over where you want to be tattooed.
- Good meal and sleep: Eat a healthy meal before the session and get a good night’s sleep before the session.
- Avoid blood thinners: Avoid any alcohol and blood-thinning medications. These can make the tattooing difficult as you will bleed a lot more when you are getting tattooed.
- Numbing cream and moisturizer: Ask your tattoo artist about numbing cream and moisturizers before the tattoo session. It is important that they know if you used any product on the area they are about to tattoo.
FAQs
How much should you tip your tattoo artist?
For tipping, you should give about 20 to 25 percent of the total cost. So if you paid 300$ for a 2-hour session, you can give about 60$ to 90$ as a tip to the artist.
Can I drink water during my tattoo session?
You are more than welcome to drink water during your session. Make sure to ask your tattoo artist so they can stop tattooing and allow you to drink water.
How much are the hourly rates of tattoo artists?
The hourly rates of tattoo artists will depend on their experience and work. This can range from 150$ to 700$ per hour for premium and famous tattoo artists.
Final Thoughts
Overall, you will want to get a tapout session for large tattoos. A tattoo shop will not give out tapout sessions for small tattoos that would take 2 hours to finish. But if you want to get multiple small tattoos that need about 4 to 6 hours to completely finish, a half tapout session might be just what you can do to get discounted rates. Make appropriate preparation for a tapout session because they are very long sessions. Be respectful of your tattoo artist as they will need to work the whole day for such sessions!
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