Do I need to know exactly what I want?
No. You need enough for us to start a conversation · a subject, a rough placement, or even just a picture you keep coming back to. Turning that into a design is the work you are paying an artist for.
What is actually enough
Any one of these is a starting point, and none of them need to be tidy.
A subject · a bird, a portrait, lettering, something from a story that matters to you.
A folder of screenshots you have never shown anyone.
A rough placement. Even "somewhere on the arm" narrows it a long way.
A feeling with no image attached. "I want it to look old" is a brief.
The booking form has an answer for not knowing
When it asks about style, one of the options is that you are not sure yet. Choosing it is not a failure to prepare · it tells your artist to start further back and spend longer on the drawing, which is useful information.
You will not be asked to describe a finished tattoo before anyone has spoken to you.
What the consultation is for
It is free, and nothing is committed at it. We talk about the idea, what will and will not work on that part of the body at that size, how many sessions it needs and what it will cost.
People often arrive expecting to be sold something and leave having been talked out of the version they walked in with. That is the consultation working.
Related frequently asked questions
We do not quote before we have seen the idea · size, placement and detail move the figure too much to guess at. The consultation is free, the deposit amounts are published, and the final price is agreed with your artist in person before any work starts.
Read the full answer › How long does a sleeve tattoo take?
Several full-day sittings spread over months, not one long appointment. A half sleeve is commonly two to four days of work, a full sleeve four to eight, with three to four weeks between sittings so each section heals before the next begins.
Read the full answer › Do you take walk-ins?
Yes. We can usually fit someone in, though it is never a promise · it depends on the day. You can walk in with your own idea too, not just something off the flash board. What decides it is whether the piece fits the time an artist has left.
Read the full answer › How should I prepare for a tattoo?
Turn up rested, fed and hydrated, and do not drink alcohol beforehand. Good preparation genuinely reduces how much it hurts, cuts down bleeding and helps the skin take the ink cleanly.
Read the full answer › What does a semicolon tattoo mean?
In writing, a semicolon is where a sentence could have ended and the author chose to carry on. As a tattoo it stands for continuing through mental illness, self-harm or suicidal thoughts · sometimes the wearer’s own, sometimes for somebody they lost.
Read the full answer › How do you choose the right tattoo artist?
By looking at healed work in the style you actually want, rather than at fresh photographs of anything. Every tattoo looks good on the day. What matters is what it looks like a year later, and an artist who is proud of their healed work will show it to you.
Read the full answer › What if I do not like the design?
You say so, and it changes. Nothing starts until the stencil is on your skin, you have looked at it in a mirror and you have said yes. Changing your mind at that point is normal and it costs you nothing.
Still want to ask somebody? That is what the first conversation is for.
- Written and checked by
THRONE , a tattoo studio in Northampton.
Last checked 22 August 2026 .