Tattooist Girin creates dark Japanese tattoos at at 3layer studio in Seoul, South Korea. We chatted to Girin about how he got into the industry and what inspires his work…
How long have you been tattooing and how did you get started in the industry? I’ve been tattooing in Korea for five years. Years ago my cousin opened a tattoo shop and it was there that I first experienced tattooing and tattoos. It was that day that I decided I wanted to become a tattoo artist.
Making my first tattoo was a special experience. My cousin trusted my drawing skills straight away and let me tattoo them.
What inspired you to become an artist? Comic books inspired me to become an artist. I’ve read a lot of comic books and ever since I was young it’s been my dream to become a cartoonist. When I was younger I started painting and I studied cartoons and animation at college.
How did your dark tattoos come about? I learnt how to tattoo on my own and when it came to learning colour tattoos I found them really hard. This style was too much for me to study by myself so I decided to work in black ink and create only black tattoos.
Can you tell us about the process behind your tattoos? I start by thinking about the overall idea then I draw a rough sketch. If I like the rough sketch I make a neater one. After that, I finish the design by drawing the light and shaded parts.
What inspires your designs? I study different designs by watching martial arts comic books and illustrations. In my tattoos I make sure that the details on the armour and helmet, that I’m tattooing, aren’t the same. I always keep trying to design new things.
I get a lot of inspiration from seeing monsters in the martial arts movies and games that I watch.
How would you describe your style? My work looks like Irezumi (Japanese tattoos) but I want to create my own unique style – Girin style.
How do you see your tattoos evolving in the future? I usually get to create big tattoos which I like. In the future I want to continue to engrave really nice tattoos on people’s skin so they can wear them like luxury clothes.
What was your first tattoo? My first tattoo was lettering by my cousin, I didn’t like it so I’ve since covered it. I kept finding problems with the designs and tattoos I chose, I just wasn’t satisfied – I keep thinking about getting better tattoos. Maybe one day I will.
Do you have any more travels or guestspots planned? I’m planning to go to Australia for a guest spot this winter.
What do you do when you’re not tattooing/drawing? I like to spend time watching games, animations, movies and dramas.
What moment in your career are you most proud of? Of course, I feel the most proud and excited when my customers are satisfied with a tattoo I’ve given them.
Follow Girin for more blackwork tattoos and travel updates.
We chat to Jade Chanel, tattoo artist and owner of Vaporwave Tattoo, in East London, about her passion for tattooing and journey to authenticity…
What inspired you to become a tattoo artist and how did you become one? I’ve always loved creating. From when I can remember, I was making things, crafting, painting and drawing. Being a visual and kinesthetic learner, I’m very expressive and I love using my hands as a tool.
When I was 18 years old, I started getting tattooed because I loved the way they looked, then it all just snowballed from there. I continued getting more and more tattoos and I then fell in love with the craft. I started apprenticing at Lowrider Tattoo in Bethnal green when they first opened in 2015.
Can you tell us about your experiences in the tattoo industry? It’s been challenging at times, especially being a woman of colour. I started tattooing when I was 24 and I was lucky, growing up in the heart of East London where culture is diverse.
I had this idea that I needed to “fit in” to feel safe and to do well in the industry, but I learnt very quickly that the best thing to do was to just be myself.
How would you describe your work? I’d describe my style as fineline, black and grey. I love precision and detail I can focus in on. I also love that my work has a delicate feminine feel and I’m always striving for fluidity.
Have you always tattooed like you do now? When I started tattooing in 2015, I used bigger needle groupings, so my linework was a lot bolder. I also did a lot of dotwork and mandalas.
After using a single needle, I never really looked back. It just felt right for me and what I was trying to achieve.
Can you tell us about the process behind your tattoos? A client contacts me via my website using a form which has all the details needed to spark an idea for a custom design. If it’s an idea I’m happy to work with, I will send over more details and a booking link.
I make tattoos I feel would look best in the space on the body. Aesthetics are everything. Yeah, so I draft my ideas using key words and references, then I start drawing. It seems quite simple but it’s not!
What inspires you? Most of my work is custom based on ideas given to me by my clients. We bounce of each other. Also, being an artist in this social media era, we’re constantly over exposed to stimuli that influences our “styles” as such.
I’m constantly asking myself what inspires me, it’s so hard to say. Too many things.
You’ve done flash designs inspired by music, are songs a big part of your tattooing? Music is a huge love of mine. I literally have a soundtrack for so many moments in my life. Being that it’s another form of expression, they coincide perfectly! I’m always listening to music when creating so that’s how that idea came about.
What do you like to tattoo and what would you like to do more of? I really enjoy tattooing, and this is a question often asked by clients. One of my favourite things about being a tattoo artist is that no day is the same. New design, new client, new energy. New challenges keep my work exciting! I’d love to do a lot more larger scale projects that cover entire limbs.
Can you tell us about your own tattoos? Are you a tattoo collector? I love collecting tattoos! I never imagined I’d ever have this many, but the saying about it being addictive is true.
It’s a transformational journey. I’ve been tattooed by incredible artists, some of which are my friends. It’s special that I get to wear their work on me forever.
You have your own tattoo studio, what’s this side of the tattoo business like? When I decided to open my studio, Vaporwave Tattoo, it was important for me to not run it like a business as such and create a hub for artists to feel free to flourish.
It’s exactly what I needed and what I felt the industry needed. It’s really challenging because I really love my job as a tattooer and that’s what I wish to give all my time to. I’ve always found admin difficult, and it hit me like a ton of bricks when I started this venture.
I’m always having to find balance between being an artist and being a studio owner.
What’s Vaporwave Tattoo like? It’s full of life and colour. It’s a peaceful but vibrant, safe, welcoming and inspiring space. I’m not even being biased, it really is something special.
The choices of colour and the running theme is basically a portal to my soul, my youth, growing up in the 90s! I’ve crowned myself the DIY Queen after this project. All the décor, fixtures, fittings etc. were chosen and installed with my bare hands. It really is a labour of love!
What moment in your career are you most proud of? All of it. There’s not particular moment I can think of as it’s just been an exciting, challenging journey and each part holds such great significance.
It’s a beautiful feeling, knowing that I’ve been trusted by loads people, to decorate their bodies and create ever lasting memories.
Tattooist SOP works in Yeonhui-dong, Seoul where he creates beautifully delicate linework and handwritten tattoos. We chat to the artist about his style and life as a tattooer in South Korea…
How long have you been a tattoo artist? It’s already been six years since I started working as a tattoo artist. Without taking a break, I started this job right after I completed my mandatory military service.
Why did you want to become a tattoo artist? Do you have a background in art? I have studied art since middle school. I majored in sculpture, after I studied art in high school and chose to do the same major in college.
I knew about tattooing before I did fine art, but I never considered it for a career. During high school we had a career counselling day, especially for fine art students, run by the vice principal. He told me that tattooing existed as a job and after that I became interested in tattoo artists. I’m still grateful to the vice principal for giving me that advice.
How would you describe your work? I hope my tattoos look like an accessory rather than a typical tattoo. They’re not noticeable because they’re thin and small, but that makes them more precious and special.
As we wear our favourite accessories all over our bodies, my tattoos are the one and only accessory that’s for the rest of our life.
This is my attitude towards tattooing and I will continue to work with this belief. In addition I think my delicate work is so attractive, so much so that it can have a positive effect on people even if they think tattoos are scary.
You create a lot of script tattoos, what can you tell us about these? The lettering tattoo designs that I make are with my own handwriting, which my clients choose to get tattooed with. I have loved handwriting since I was a kid, so when I started as a tattoo artist, I began making designs using my handwriting.
There are a lot of tattoo artists that work with existing typefaces or ones that aren’t their own, so I feel especially proud of my handwritten tattoos.
What drew you to linework rather than colour? Has your background influenced your style at all? I think black is the most basic and simple colour, and it can be seen for a long time without anyone getting tired of it. That’s why I was fascinated by black in the first place, and started to use only black ink.
As I mentioned earlier, I studied sculpture in art high school. However, during my school life, I enjoyed drawing small pictures, scribbling and handwriting rather than making sculptures. I have always liked the neatness of a black line drawing rather than drawings with colour.
I started tattooing by taking advantage of my strengths, and now I am very happy to be able to work with the things I have enjoyed since I was young.
Your tattoos are super delicate, what’s the process behind these? I think delicate tattoo designs are related to my personality – I enjoy organising and cleaning. People often think I’m a woman because of my work style, but I’m actually a man!
I’ve always admired works like dioramas and miniatures and I’m attracted to small and detailed things – I like to find the details when I look at things.
My tattoos are very thin which makes them special, unlike other tattooists I always use single needles so my work looks delicate and smooth.
It cheers me when my client gets one of my tattoos and says: “I’ve never seen such a thin tattoo before and I love it because it’s so thin.”
What inspires your tattoos and what do you like to create? My work is inspired by the details of things and is a result of me reinterpreting what I see. For example; paintings on signs, small designs on candy wrappers and patterns on clothes. I’m inspired by all of this and connect this with my tattoo designs.
As I like small and delicate things, I also like to make small sculptures or objects out of clay or assemble Lego. I also like to practise my handwriting by writing my favourite phrases. This helps me to evolve my handwriting into something new, especially if I’m tattooing the same words a lot – I think it’s very special.
What’s the tattoo culture like in South Korea? In Korea, older generations perceive tattoos in a negative way – they’re recognised as a part of the gangster culture. These perceptions are changing over time, and I think my cute little delicate work can have a positive impact. In fact, people from older generations have seen my tattoos and now have a better awareness and experience of tattoos. This opportunity makes me feel proud.
Do you have a tattoo experience that sticks out in your mind? I had a client who was a big fan of the legendary guitarist and austronomer Brian May, and at an astronomy lecture in Switzerland he autographed her arm. She wanted to get it tattooed, so she perfectly preserved it as she travelled back to Korea. I was able to tattoo his signature on her arm which was a very special and precious experience.
What’s been your proudest and happiest moment in your career so far? I studied art from middle school to high school and entered college as a sculpture major. But I dropped out of school after a year because I wanted to be a tattoo artist.
When I dropped out of college and told my parents that I would become a tattoo artist, they worried a lot. But now, my parents are more proud of me than anyone else and they show off my Instagram to their friends.
I’m very happy that I turned my parents’ worries into pride.
What do you do when you’re not tattooing/drawing? I like to go camping as I get a lot of inspiration from nature. While I’m quietly meditating complicated things get organised inside my head. Absorbing the sound of nature helps me get myself together especially while I’m working on tattoo designs.
Follow SOP for more incredibly delicate tattoo accessories.
Maret aka @lordenstein_art, creates incredible tattoos at Capsule.3, a private studio in Berlin, Germany. Here she tells us about making tattoos that tell a story, her most memorable tattoo experience and her fun tattoo collection…
How long have you been a tattoo artist? I slowly started tattooing friends and people I knew in 2014 and I became a full time tattoo artist in 2016. I tried to get an apprenticeship in 2005, when I was 15 years old, but at that time it was quite impossible.
How have you seen the industry evolve since you began? I was interested in tattooing as a child, but even then I had the impression that the scene was very male dominated. Women were mostly just cover girls on magazines and the tattoo shops were full of male tattoo artists – the environment seemed hard and rough. But that didn’t bother me and I really wanted to be a part of it.
I’m glad that the scene has opened up a lot more. There are more styles and different ways into tattooing as a career is possible. More variation exists and everyone inside a tattoo studio can feel like they’re in good hands.
How would you describe your work? Has your style changed since you started? I would describe my work as mostly driven by linework with some shading to set the contrast. I love dreamy, beautiful or cute designs and a “clean“ image instead of chaotic or abstract designs. Saying that, when I started out I would sometimes work in a more abstract way, I also would use bigger lines and apply dots instead of light shading – I wouldn’t do this anymore.
What drew you to linework rather than colour? As well as aspiring to become a tattoo artist I wanted to become a manga artist. I found the implementation of shadows and structures with black ink especially exciting. I have always liked to work with fineliners instead of pencils.
What appeals to me is that you can’t correct what you’ve drawn, but instead you have to accept it.
I think I felt more comfortable with black lines and with a few exceptions, no one has ever asked me for a colour tattoo. So, from the beginning I have stayed with the technique I felt most comfortable with.
What inspires your tattoos and what do you like to create? I like to create cute and joyful designs, but sometimes they also include a hint of melancholy.
I love it when they tell a story or when I can hide Easter eggs in there which you don’t notice immediately.
I get inspired pretty easily by all kinds of stuff that’s around me, sometimes it’s just the light falling through the leaves of a tree or a butterfly sitting on a flower on my balcony. I also have a good collection of artbooks, including Studio Ghibli animes and others, which display a great collection of landscape designs.
In the end I want to create something that makes my customer happy and gives them a positive feeling.
What’s the tattoo culture like in Berlin? I feel the tattoo culture is very diverse and modern. From the classic old school walk-in shops to the private studios and safe spaces, everything is there – stylistically as well. Nevertheless, I sometimes feel that the scene could benefit from more networking and communication between the styles of tattooing.
But, then again there are events like joint art exhibitions that break down these discrepancies by inviting everyone to join in and contribute a design in their style. In my opinion, there should be more of these.
Also tattooing should finally be officially recognised as an art form, which unfortunately has not been the case in Germany so far.
Do you have a tattoo experience that sticks out in your mind? Almost all of my experiences so far have been very good, whether I have created the tattoo or been tattooed.
Getting tattooed in South Korea was a particularly special experience. I was quite nervous at first as I had to transfer the full amount for the tattoo months in advance. When I arrived in Korea, I was given the address which I was not allowed to share. I was also asked not to post anything on social media.
The shop looked like an apartment building from the outside and the inside was like a small office. Little by little the equipment was taken out of different closets and corners and a tattoo shop emerged. Tattooing is still illegal in South Korea, so everything is done in secrecy.
In addition, the tattoo artist took a long break every hour and had two assistants on site. Rarely have I seen a tattooist allow themselves so much selfcare, although it would do us all so much good! Who doesn’t know the constant back pain and eating unhealthy snacks quickly between appointments?
Everything there felt peaceful and mindful.
Can you tell us about your own tattoo collection? My right leg is mainly a collection of tattoos from friends, acquaintances and people I’ve met during guest spots. Most of the tattoos on my leg have something in common – they all do show llamas or alpacas. I just love these animals and they are so funny! Many of them are doing things that reflect me, like eating ice cream. One sleeps on the back of a snail, because in life I generally need a little longer to tackle things or find my way. This leg is obviously also a bit more colourful.
Otherwise I like a lot of black and now and then a coloured accent. I also prefer dark and bold designs. For example, on my left leg I have a centipede which crawls into the open mouth of a woman’s face and on the side of my thigh I have a huge Hydra. I especially like the contrast between the dark colour and the free (open/not tattooed) skin.
Perhaps you can tell that I was a big fan of the classic tribal as a child and that it had a lasting aesthetic impact on me. However, only on myself.
What’s been your proudest and happiest moment in your career so far? I have a few and new ones are happening all the time. Mostly it’s when a tattoo artist I admire tells me that they like my stuff and follow me. Or when clients keep coming back to me for more tattoos after many years.
I have been doing this successfully for eight years now, that makes me very happy.
What do you do when you’re not tattooing or drawing? I spend most of my free time playing video games. I used to paint with oil but haven’t done that in a while, because I don’t have the space for it at home. Otherwise I like to go on long walks or ride my bicycle. I also went back to university in 2020, so there isn’t too much time left to do anything else really.
We’ve definitely missed going to tattoo conventions over the last couple of years. We love finding new artists, the buzz (excuse the pun) and of course getting a new tattoo or two. But do the tattoo artists working at conventions feel the same?
We spoke to some of the artists at this year’s Vancover Tattoo and Culture Show to find out if they love tattoo conventions as much as we do and they share some top tips for those who haven’t been to one yet…
Rachel Hofer @rach.tattoos, NEW EDGE INK COLLECTIVE™, Vancouver
I love tattoo conventions because I get to see all different kinds of artists and get inspired. Going to conventions really makes me feel part of the industry. It’s also a chance for me to promote my business to a diverse group of people.
Saying that working at conventions is quite chaotic! Not being in my normal work space or having limited equipment and supplies makes it difficult to stay organised.
I don’t mind the loud music and crowds of people though as it keeps it exciting.
When I work a convention I sometimes I book people in but generally I prefer walk-ups, as it’s hard to know how long something will take so I usually stick to doing flash.
If you’ve never been to a convention, expect lots of people and lots of art. There are usually shows on the stage and contests for various tattoo categories.
I’d also recomend that you:
Eat before you go unless you like $15 hotdogs!
Bring cash as most vendors don’t have debit/credit machines
Plan ahead if there is a specific artist you want to get tattooed by as they may be very busy.
Matt Chaos @mattchaos_ttt, Black Circle – Tattoo Coven, Montreal and Lyon
For me conventions are more about connecting with artists I like the work of. Tattooing there isn’t the best obviously, it’s far from my comfort zone! But it’s a great opportunity to meet friends and artists from all over the world who are at the same place for a few days.
Conventions also help me to promote my work in new cities that I have never been to before.
The biggest challenge is breaking away from old habits while you tattoo.
There are a lot of people to talk to; it’s all about communication, as you have to be everywhere at the same time. Artists need to be fast and ready to go.
I used to work in a private by-appointment-only studio in Montreal so, I prefer to book in advance for conventions. Knowing what I’m doing each day better fits my flow. But sometimes I keep half a day to fit people in who want a flash design.
I think conventions for tattoo collectors are a good way to meet and discover artists from all over the world. It’s the opportunity to book in with someone who lives on the other side of the planet.
For young artists it’s the best way to show your art to a lot of people in one place, it’s like social media but in real life.
Nathan Ross @discopotatoes , HandCrafted Tattoo & Fine Art, Edmonton
I love that the culture of tattooing becomes so alive at conventions. They showcase so much talent, including those that are outside the medium of our craft.
There are painters, musicians, entertainers and unique retailers – everywhere amazing things are being created in all forms to make an impact and inspire.
Over the years you learn to balance and juggle the challenges of working at conventions.
You overcome the struggles of working on a client while talking to potential clients, as well as applying a stencil or tattooing in front of multiple peers and people! There’s some adjustment needed to work the long hours, it’s important to eat properly throughout the show.
This piece titled “Night Owl” was done at the Vancouver Tattoo and Culture Show
Personally I love booking large scale pieces for multiple day sittings. But, I’m torn because having a custom flash board always means you can consistently tattoo your patterns and engage with the community.
For those who have never been to a convention consider this; “Instead of worrying about what you cannot control, shift your energy to what you can create.” These shows help you gain inspiration in multiple ways no matter who you are or what stage of life you’re in.
Do you love going to tattoo conventions? Let us know!
