The consultation is where we meet and start working together. You'll tell me what you're thinking, show me what you've been looking at, and I'll start sketching ideas while we talk. By the end of the hour, we'll both know if this project makes sense.

I work best with people who have something they want to say but need help figuring out how to say it on their body. If you already have the design locked in and just need someone to trace it, I'm probably not the right fit. But if you want a collaborator who will think through the problem with you, that's what I do.

Consultations are free and last about an hour. We usually meet over Zoom, though in person works when I'm in town.

Free. One hour. Usually Zoom.

A good fit means you trust me to make decisions. You have an idea you care about, and you want someone who will think it through with you and make it work on your body. You're not looking for a human photocopier.

A bad fit is someone who has the design already finished in their head and just needs hands to execute it. That's not how I work. If you want exact replication of an existing image, I'm not your tattooer.

I'm also filtering for readiness. Some people aren't ready to get tattooed. They're still figuring out what they want, or they're not sure they want it at all. That's fine. But I don't take deposits from people who aren't sure. The consultation helps us both figure out where you are.

Send me something to look at.

Good references show me what you're thinking about. They don't have to be tattoos. Art, photographs, film stills, illustrations, textures, patterns. Anything that captures something about what you want.

Don't worry about finding the perfect reference. Send me a range. I'm looking for patterns in what draws you. If you send me five images and they all have strong black contrast and organic shapes, that tells me something. If they're all over the place stylistically, that tells me something too.

When I ask about my portfolio, I'm asking which of my pieces make you want to work with me. Not which ones you want copied. I want to know what you respond to so I can aim at that.

Tattoos live on bodies, not paper.

Natural light is best. Stand near a window. Avoid direct flash.

Show me the full area, not a close crop. If you want a forearm piece, I need to see the whole forearm, including the elbow and wrist, so I understand the shape and how much space we're working with.

Multiple angles help. Front, side, and any angle that shows the contour of the body part. Bodies are three dimensional. A single flat photo doesn't capture how the surface curves.

If you have existing tattoos nearby, include them in the frame. I need to see what I'm designing around.

I'm looking at skin tone, existing marks, muscle definition, and the natural lines of your body. All of this affects how a design will sit.

I sketch while we talk.

I'm thinking out loud with a pencil. You'll see me draw something, cross it out, try a different approach, rotate the composition, scale things up or down. This is how I work through ideas.

I might ask you questions while I draw. What if we wrapped this around here? Does the subject need to be recognizable from a distance? How do you feel about negative space? Your answers steer what I try next.

What you see on screen during the consultation is not the design. It's me exploring the problem. Some thumbnails will be dead ends. That's the point. By the end of the call, I'll have a direction that works. The finished design comes later.

Book on the call or take 24 hours.

Ready means you trust the direction we landed on. You don't need to see a finished design to know you want to move forward. You're confident I understand what you're after, and you're willing to let me develop it.

If you book on the call, I'll send you a payment link. Once the deposit clears, you're on my calendar and I get to work.

The 24-hour draft is your last decision point.

The 24 hour draft is a developed sketch, not a final design. It shows composition, proportions, and general approach. It's more refined than the consultation thumbnails but not as polished as what you'll see before your appointment.

This is your last window to decide. If the draft confirms we're headed in the right direction, you pay the deposit and we move forward. If it doesn't, we stop here. No hard feelings.

Parting ways means the project ends. I don't do second drafts before a deposit. I don't negotiate or try to talk you into it. Either the work speaks for itself or it doesn't.

$200. Non-refundable.

After you book, I develop the design fully. Before your appointment, you'll see a comprehensive mockup. If something needs to shift at that point, we adjust. That's your one round.

One round means you look at the mockup, you tell me what isn't working, I address it. It doesn't mean unlimited revisions or starting over from scratch.

Rescheduling: Life happens. If you need to reschedule, contact me as soon as you know. I'll work with you to find a new date. Repeated rescheduling or last minute cancellations may forfeit your deposit.

If I decide we shouldn't work together: Occasionally, something comes up during the design process that makes me think the project isn't going to work. If that happens, I'll tell you directly and we'll part ways. The deposit is still non-refundable. This is rare, but I reserve the right to do it.