Do You Really Need to Be an Artist to Tattoo? | Tattoo Artists React

Do you need to be an artist to be a tattooer? It's a question many of us have often wondered. Back in the day, many tattooers would consider themselves craftsmen, not artists. This makes sense when you consider so much of the job was simply applying the tattoo into the skin after somebody picked out a design form the wall. These days, it seems like more and more tattooers are starting out in art school and are already well versed in skills like advanced color theory before ever picking up a machine. We asked our panel of tattoo artists if you really need to be an "artist" to be a tattooer and were surprised by the varied answers they gave. What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

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Aidan White: https://www.instagram.com/aidantattoos/
Brian Brill: https://www.instagram.com/beerye_tattoos/
JP: https://www.instagram.com/jptronwalker/
Cavan Infante: https://www.instagram.com/itsjustcavan/
Tiny: https://www.instagram.com/fckthetinytattooer/
Adrian Sagastume: https://www.instagram.com/ghost.art__/
Soul Markings: https://www.instagram.com/soul_markings/
Pon: https://www.instagram.com/ponnyc/
Pony Lawson: https://www.instagram.com/ponylawson/
Elvia Guadian: https://www.instagram.com/elvia_guadian/
Janice Danger: https://www.instagram.com/janicedanger/
Lalo Yunda: https://www.instagram.com/lalotattoos/
Matthew Adams: https://www.instagram.com/mattytat/
Yomico Moreno: https://www.instagram.com/yomicoart/
Stefano Alcantara: https://www.instagram.com/stefanoalcantara/
Coco Sparkle: https://www.instagram.com/cocosparkleink/
Evan Olin: https://www.instagram.com/evanolintattoo/
Andy Large: https://www.instagram.com/andylargetattoo/
Linh Hoang: https://www.instagram.com/tattoosbylynn_sdt/
Christina Choi: https://www.instagram.com/christinachoi_sdt/
Sara Fabel: https://www.instagram.com/sarafabel/
Deanna James: https://www.instagram.com/deanna_art/
Megan Massacre: https://www.instagram.com/megan_massacre/
The Petunia Twins: https://www.instagram.com/petunia.twins/
Daria Pirojenko: https://www.instagram.com/pirojenko_tattoo/
Lud Bradley: https://www.instagram.com/ludbradleytattoo/
Fabiola: https://www.instagram.com/fa_finol/
Karl Van Der Linden: https://www.instagram.com/kvltattooer/
Nemo: https://www.instagram.com/anotheryearofdisaster/
Daniela Cárdenas: https://www.instagram.com/delarge.tatts/
Rocky: https://www.instagram.com/babyrockstattoos/
Kayla Vogt: https://www.instagram.com/kaylavtattoos/
Victor Modafferi: https://www.instagram.com/victormodafferi/
Matt Fibikar: https://www.instagram.com/mattfibikar/