The Next Steps
Now that you have decided that Ancient Marks Tattoo is the shop for you, it's time for a Consultation.
Many people have questions about the process of it all. It is best to call, text, with questions. Take the time to explore this website, and read The Process to get a general outline of the way we operate.
Tattoos have come a long way in the past decade. Methods have changed, pigments have changed, even the equipment has changed. Don't just assume that you know how it all works. At Ancient Marks and by extension, Aloha Tattoos, we do things differently. We have steped into the modern age and allow online scheduling, planning, and development time to keep things easy for you. We all have the same goal; and that is to get you a tattoo that you love! something that you want to show to everyone and will look amazing for decades to come.
You can read about Our Process here.
It all begins with the Inquiry Form.
It starts with you filling out and submitting the Tattoo Inquiry Form - Tell us what you want to get tattooed, where you want it, and show us your ideas and the canvas.
On the Inquiry Form, we ask some basic questions:
Your name, Contact Information, Where you are coming in from.
We ask for 5-10 KeyWords to describe what you want;
Words of inspiration, key concepts, element descriptions, etc… Describe the tattoo you would like, whats behind it, and what you want to include.
We have found that less is more. if you try to cram everything into a piece, it can get over complicated. This ends up increasing cost and time it takes to actually tattoo. Stick to the main concepts. Avoid Lengthy AI generated Concept responses. you can use AI to help guide your thoughts, give you research points and the like, but let’s not let AI dictate this tattoo for you. Give it to us in your own words please.
We ask for Photos of the area you want tattooed. Taken by someone else, not selfie style.
Clearly showing all angles of the “canvas”. Detail shots of any existing tattoos that will disrupt the flow. And information about that tattoo - Do you want to cover something? Do you want to keep it as-is, Include it as a piece of the new work you are requesting? Just leave it as is as a stand-alone tattoo?
We ask for 5-10 images for Inspiration.
What inspired you, what do you want to include in this project, or images that you would like to use as inspiration.
Show us what you fond while researching this tattoo. Pictures that convey a style you like, even style you want to copy, elements you want included: a specific logo or specific BindRune (we will create your custom BindRunes together as part of the process). Please do not use AI generated art for this. I would rather hear the prompt you used than see what it spat out.
We may reach out to you with additional questions
to help us determine the scope and timeframe of your tattoo and timeframes. We can’t tattoo every piece that gets requested, so we ensure the ones we take on are the best fit.
Flexability helps, creative freedom on the piece is another great way to get your project moved to the top of the list. - We have the same goal here. An amazing tattoo that will look great for years to come.
After we get the inquiry form is approved, we will review it to ensure it’s a good fit for Jon and send you a link to book a Pre-Consultaion with Jade; Jon’s Daughter, and Assistant. Jade has spent over a decade assisting Jon and his clients by answering initial questions, gathering all of the artwork necessary and asking questions that Jon needs answered to proceed.
Project Planning
Once you have met with Jade, she will send it over to Jon for review.
The next step is an in-person consultation with Jon at the shop (or via Google Meets/Zoom). You will discuss and solidify your design, talk about logistics of the project and plan some days to get started. We plan Days for your appointments, including the initial Tattoo days and times and then figure the Drawing/Design dates a few weeks before your appointment. It is hard to determine the exact number of sessions needed ahead of time. You can read about timeframes and Pricing here. After each Session, or Session Block, we assess progress and plan additional Sessions, or Session Blocks as necessary to complete the project, or the next phase of the project.
Har will reach out to confirm the dates, send you a link to the Service Retainer, which will be used as deposits to secure the tattoo dates you agreed upon, and cover the initial drawing/design time. On smaller projects, we require a Half Retainer; Like it sounds, it is half the price of a full retainer. We do have the option for AfterPay on these retainers; so you can opt to apply to pay over time, splitting it up into 4 equal payments. - that option is a payment option on the retainer. On smaller pieces, we may just charge by the time for the appointment, allowing you to chose the days you would like to schedule manually, giving you access to our calendar, you will leave a deposit for that session. - again, so many variables, we figure this out at the consultation.
Artwork Creation
Every great tattoo begins with artwork creation. Each piece is drawn to fit you.
It is drawn specifically to flow with your particular anatomy using decades of experience and knowledge of how tattoos work. From a tiny bindrune on a finger or wrist to a Sleeve, Backpiece, or even a full body-suit. It's designd to fit you, using iconography, and imagery drawn by Jon. (or occasionally your artwork)
Many people have an unrealistic sense of what can be designed by your tattoo artist in a short an amount of time. The reality is drawings and designs often take 2x-5x as long as the tattoo itself, even with vast experience in the subject matter. The more detailed, the longer it takes to make it flow. A lot goes into a finished design in order to prepare it for a tattoo. Even the smallest changes to some designs take us hours to complete, especally if it disrupts the flow. And the more complex the design and/or the changes, the longer it will take to complete those changes.
While we are gifted, talented artists, we are trying to create something for someone unique: YOU.
And that is different than drawing something for ourselves out of our imaginations. You have your own unique wants and needs and tastes that cant easily be expressed in a single meeting. Therefore, we do need you to do the research to show us what images you like, which specific images convey what you want the tattoo to be, specifically what you want designed, etc... Even if you have given us full creative freedom. - Do some research and find an image or 10 that you like, so we can talk about what you like about each to find some commonality.
We will do our best to create what you are wanting, but that is often easier said than done if you micro-manage the design. Many people envision one of the Tattoo Television (TV) Programs where the clients walk-in and something that has very deep meaning is drawn for them while they wait. While this can be done in some cases. you need to realize that This is Television. Most of those drawings have been given 100% attention for weeks or sometimes months prior to them walking in. That's not real world. We have up to 30 drawings each at any given time, each begging for attention, each pulling us in a completely different mental state to design. In other words, it takes time. As with any other business, our artists need to be compensated for their time, not just the final product but the hours put into researching each design, the dozens of rough sketches it takes to get placement perfect (so that it flows over your particular 3 dimensional body properly) and every other tiny detail that helps make-up a final design.
That being said… Jon draws nordic designs every single day; for fun.
So he has a lot of past experience that he can call upon to make your idea come to life. We generally start the design process once we receive the retainer in the form of searching references, and imagining conceptually how the piece may look. We schedule the first design appointment a few weeks before your tattoo appointments, usually on a Wednesday. This first appointment is so the two of you can talk about what was discussed at the consultation, make sure any homework given to you (in the form of finding imagery, or concepts for runes/bindrunes) has not changed the design dramatically, and will work with the original concept. Then we take a tracing if you hare here in person, and review the photos you send of the area. Then Jon starts by putting pencil to paper; very large pieces of tracing paper. We sketch the flow first, roughing in shapes, forms, and general flow. Then we start making the major elements including heads, body, and where knot work will go. Sometimes this goes pretty quick, other times it is a bit of a struggle… either way, the prices is worth it.
You can take off after we get some time to make sure it’s going well so that Jon can put on headphones and let the creativity flow. - Occasionally we get a nearly complete concept from this session, but often its more of an idea generation day to let it all “Simmer in the imagination” for a week. - Depending on where we get to that appointment, Jon may send over a concept sketch, or 3D model with the sketch on top so you can see the flow the way it was intended. The next design appointment are Jon solo working on your project the weeks leading up to the tattoo appointment. - Sending concept sketches and they are developed (provided they look ok). Sometimes these sketches are a mess of tangled lines and you wouldn’t know what you are looking at, or wouldn’t understand whats being developed. But eventually out of this ADHD fueled madness, and often Divine intervention, comes your design. - Be sure ask your chosen god for guidance, you may not want Loki dictating your sleeve; but then again, maybe you do.
We generally do not produce final artwork with every detail filled in and backgrounds finalized.
We create this piece on you. So we come up with the concept and we generally draw this directly on you. Sometimes we do stencil, depending on how far the drawing concept got developed ahead of time. - But that is what the first day of the first session block is for. Drawing it all on you.
Once we like it, we tattoo it. If you haven’t taken the time to read about the whole process, take some time to at least skim the page. It gives you a rough outline of how we do things, and explains options..
Please reach-out if. you have questions.