How To Pick A Tattoo Artist

Ivo Angelov turns work away regularly, and sends people to other artists more often than that. We asked the black and grey realism artist at Cherno Ink in Huntsville how someone should actually choose who tattoos them.

Someone's ready for a tattoo. How do they pick who does it?

You look for the artist whose work already meshes with the idea you have — or at minimum, with the style you want. That's the whole answer, and almost nobody does it. Most people pick by proximity or by who's available soonest.

Does it matter for every tattoo?

No, and I want to be fair here. If you want lettering, someone's name, something simple and small — any competent artist should be able to execute that well. You don't need to research for six months to get a script tattoo.

But if you want a big piece, a sleeve, something specific — you need to find the artist who does that style. Not an artist who's willing to try it. One who does it.

How do you explain that distinction to people?

You can't ask Salvador Dalí to paint like Claude Monet. You go to Dalí for the crazy drawing. You go to Monet for impressionism. You go to Picasso if you want a portrait with four eyes and three noses. Every one of them is a master. None of them is interchangeable.

Or, less romantically: you don't take your Ram truck to a Toyota dealership for an oil change. Right job, right place.

You turn work down. What makes you say no?

If a tattoo isn't for me and I do it anyway, it's not going to look good — and it's still going to have my name on it. That's the whole calculation. My name is on that tattoo for the rest of your life and mine.

So if something isn't for me, I don't want to do it. I'll tell you honestly and directly. I will not attempt something I'm not confident executing. What I do is black and grey realism — that's where I shine, and I'm clear about it.

Is there a middle ground? Can you work outside your style at all?

There are ways to bring another style into a tattoo without doing the entire piece in it — little finesses of the job. But that's different from taking a job that belongs to someone else. When the whole piece is outside what I do, the right answer is to hand you to the right person.

When you send someone to another artist, how do you decide who?

By the same logic, just applied for them. What's the style, what's the scale, who at the studio genuinely shines at it. Sending you to the right chair is better business than taking the job — you get a tattoo you love, the studio gets a happy client, and nobody has my name on work I shouldn't have done.

What's the mistake you see people make most?

Not doing the research. And I understand why — it feels like a lot of homework for something you're excited about.

But this is the one thing you own, and the one thing nobody can take away from you. It's literally the skin on your back. You should know who is going to touch you and who is going to do that tattoo for you. Spend a week looking at portfolios. It's a week against a lifetime.

And what should someone actually look at in a portfolio?

Healed work, not fresh work. Fresh photos are taken minutes after the machine stops and everything looks perfect. What you want to see is what the artist's tattoos look like months and years later — that's the product. If an artist only shows day-one photos, ask why. Mine are in the portfolio.

Then look for your idea inside their body of work. Not the exact image — the same kind of thinking. If you want a big realistic piece and everything they show is small and delicate, that's information, even if the small work is beautiful.

How does someone get to that conversation with you?

Walk in. Consultations at Cherno Ink are free and walk-in, Thursday through Sunday, 12:00 to 5:30. Bring your idea, look through the portfolio in person, and I'll tell you straight whether I'm your artist. If I'm not, I'll tell you who is.

Book a consultation — Cherno Ink, Huntsville, Thursday–Sunday, 12:00–5:30.