How to do a tattoo consultation: the order of questions

Ask the idea first, then what they don't want, where it goes and how big, then references. Say the price and the terms, and send the deposit link with your open dates. One artist says 15 to 20 minutes, another about 30 with references.

A client wants a back piece. You talk for fifteen minutes about the theme and scroll through their Pinterest board, then you draw it up. Day of, the first thing they say is "I didn't want flowers."

No artist in the threads we read gave a numbered script, so this order is ours, built from what they each say they do:

1. The idea, in the client's words. Ask until you can see it.

2. What they don't want to see.

3. Where it goes and how big.

4. The references, one by one.

5. The price, and the plan in sessions.

6. The terms: changes, the deposit, moving the date.

7. The deposit link, with your open dates.

8. A short recap in writing.

Start before the call. If your first reply or a request form already got the spot, the size and the references, the consult can skip the basics and open with the idea. How to answer tattoo inquiries in your DMs has the reply that asks for those. Who needs a consult at all, video for clients from out of town, and whether to charge for it are in should you charge for a tattoo consultation.

Timing splits. One artist books the consult one to two weeks before the session so it's fresh. Another is booked two to three months out, so the consult can sit that far ahead, and takes as many notes as possible. For the client with a kitchen-sink idea and no direction, one artist books the consult thirty minutes before another session, so the talk has an end.

Length varies. One artist says a consult never ran past 10 minutes, another spends 30 to 60. In the thread about consults for sleeves, backs and other big pieces, one artist says 15 to 20 minutes, another about 30 when going through references. The artist who started that thread said their consults ran about 15 minutes and they sometimes still missed the mark.

Ask until you can see the piece. One artist, 14 upvotes, says each unanswered question is a guess at what the client wants, and a guess raises the odds of a redraw.

After the deposit lands, a day or so before the session. The rule I booked by: no deposit, no date, no drawing. Show the design day of and change it on the spot.

One artist tells the client the price and a time estimate at the consult and shows no designs until the session. Some artists add a second look for clients who want to see it first, with no copy handed over: an "art check" visit in the week before, a second consult, or a video walk-through. Artists split on sending the design early, and should you send the tattoo design before the session has both sides.

The rule I booked by: say the price once. Custom work that isn't drawn yet gets a range and a rough number of sessions. If it's over what they hoped to spend, offer a smaller version or more sessions and stop explaining (how to quote a tattoo; when the budget is too low). No discounts.

Then the terms, out loud. In a thread on revisions, one answer got 27 upvotes: tell the client the terms at the consult. That artist does small fixes of up to ten minutes day of and moves the session for anything bigger. Mine is close: small changes are free day of, and a big change means rebooking and a new deposit. Some artists roll the same deposit to the new date instead, and a few charge a drawing fee when the edits pile up. Pick one and say it.

Wording to adapt:

Then put it in writing. The policy goes out before the deposit, and paying the deposit means they agreed to it. One shop has the client sign the policy page of its consult form, and the client, the artist and the shop each keep a copy.

Send the deposit link and your open dates in one message. A date isn't held for someone who only asked. One artist's line: "I do not hold dates. Be deposit ready at time of inquiry."

Our advice: don't end the call until the deposit and the date are both set. No artist in the threads said that. They were firm only that the deposit comes before the finished drawing.

If the idea doesn't make sense to you, say so here. One artist passes it to the next artist. The wording is in how to turn down a tattoo client, and how to drop one.

If the client hesitates, the line I'd give an artist for the indecisive one: "Let's wait until you're 100% sure." No hold and no drawing until then.

Send a short recap: the idea, the spot, the size, the price range and the terms. The artist who does every consult by email says that way both of them can look back at what was asked and agreed, deposit and policy included. Another keeps a template note of the questions they forget.

It varies: 5 to 10 minutes for a small job, 15 to 20 or about 30 on a big piece, and 30 to 60 from one artist.

The idea, what the client doesn't want, where it goes, how big, and what they like about each reference. Ask until you can see the piece.

After the deposit lands, a day or so before the session, and show it day of. No deposit, no date, no drawing. Artists split on sending it earlier.

With the price, the terms and your open dates, then the deposit link. The date is held when the deposit lands.

Checked October 2026. Details come from artist threads on r/TattooArtists and r/TattooApprentice (2024 to 2026). The advice to close the deposit on the call is ours. The order of steps is ours, since no artist gave a numbered script. Most details rest on one to three artists. It's not a survey.

Gal, founder of Collabo.ink, the booking app for tattoo artists. For 15 years I booked sessions for dozens of artists, some of them among the best known in the world. Collabo.ink takes your bookings and deposits, so you can focus on what matters: tattooing.