We get asked this one every once in a while… is it better to get tattooed at a convention? And after this many years behind the machine, my honest answer is: sometimes yes, sometimes no. It really depends on what you’re getting and how you’re going about it.

If you’re heading to a convention with a pre-planned piece and an actual appointment with your artist, you’re probably gonna walk away with something pretty great. If you’re going in without an appointment, just walking up to tables looking for whoever has availability, you can still end up with a great tattoo. You can also end up with something a little rushed. That’s just the truth of it.

Why Conventions Are a Different Animal

You gotta keep in mind, the atmosphere at a convention is chaotic. It’s loud. People are walking up interrupting artists mid-tattoo asking questions about what’s on their table, or they want to buy a shirt, or they want twenty other things. There’s distractions everywhere. As an artist, you’re a little out of your element too. You’ve taken the booth you built perfect in your studio, crammed it into some portable setup, hauled it across the state, and now you’re tattooing out of a version of your workspace that isn’t really optimal.

Compare that to a studio, where everything is set up exactly how you like it. The lighting, the music, how close people can get to you while you’re working, all of that is controlled. So if you’ve got something really special planned, like a portrait of a loved one or a pet you lost, something with real weight to it, that’s probably a piece you want to save for a studio setting where your artist can actually focus.

What Conventions Are Actually Great For

Now I don’t want you thinking conventions are bad, because there’s some incredible work being done at these shows. I’d just reserve the convention scene for the fun stuff. Something memorable, a dragon, a piece commemorating an event, that kind of energy. Those are perfect for a convention setting.

The big involved pieces that end up winning awards are usually done at conventions too, but here’s the thing, most of the time those are pre-planned. The artist already has that appointment locked in with that specific person, and a lot of times the whole reason is so they can enter it into the contest at the end of the day. If you’re planning on competing, you want to bring your own person with you so you have control over what’s getting tattooed and what’s going into that contest. If you’re just sitting there with an availability sign taking walk-ups, you honestly never know what you’re gonna get. It’s a bit of a gamble, but plenty of shops make it work great. They crank out a ton of cool tattoos over a weekend and everybody walks away happy.

Back in my day doing conventions, I did it different. I’d bring three people total for the whole weekend, one for Friday, one for Saturday, one for Sunday, and each one would be an eight or ten hour tattoo that I was building specifically to enter into that contest. That was my whole goal every time I went. Other artists work the walk-up hustle and do just fine too. There’s no one right way to do it.

Use Your Own Judgment

You can get a genuinely good tattoo either place, convention or studio. Just use your head about it, and maybe save the pieces that really matter to you for a setting where your artist can slow down and give it their full attention.

If you’re weighing your options, whether it’s a big meaningful piece, something fun for a convention someday, or you just want to talk through ideas with someone who’s seen just about everything after 32 years of this, stop by the shop or reach out through the website and we’ll get you set up with a free consultation.

Chad