How it works
A large custom tattoo is a collaboration that unfolds over months, not an afternoon. Here is exactly what happens between sending me a message and walking out with a finished piece — so there are no surprises, and you know what to expect at every stage.
It starts with the contact form on this site. Tell me what you have in mind — the subject, roughly where on the body it would go, and anything you already know you want or definitely do not want. Reference images are welcome and genuinely useful, whether they are tattoos, paintings, photographs, or a screenshot of something you cannot stop thinking about.
You do not need to have it figured out. A clear description of the feeling you are after is often more useful than a photo of a tattoo someone else already has.
I will personally read what you sent and write back. From there we go back and forth by email: what will work on that part of the body, how big it needs to be to hold the detail you want, roughly how many sessions it is likely to take, and what it will cost.
This is the stage where the idea gets specific. It is also the stage where I will tell you honestly if what you are picturing is not going to work as a tattoo, and what I would do instead.
Once we agree on the direction, I work up the design. You see it before anything happens on skin, and we adjust until it is right — that is what the approval step is for. Changes are easy at this stage and expensive later, so this is the moment to speak up.
For pieces that flow with the body, the design often stays deliberately loose until I can see it on you in person.
On the day, we place the design on your body — as a stencil, drawn freehand directly on the skin, or a mix of the two, depending on what the piece needs. Nothing is permanent until you have seen it in the mirror and we both agree it sits right.
Then we get it committed to skin. The first session establishes the structure of the piece: the linework and the foundation everything else is built on.
Larger work is built in layers across multiple visits. Each session deepens the colour, strengthens the contrast, and refines the detail — the piece gets richer every time, and the last session is usually the one that makes people gasp.
Between visits your skin heals and I can see how it settled, which informs what the next layer needs. There is no rushing this part, and the finished piece is better for it.
Step one is a message. Tell me what you are thinking about — I read every one personally.