FAQ

+ Where are you located?

Prophecy is located at 1801 Route 37 E, Suite 4 Toms River, NJ 08753 Phone #: 732.606.5545

I generally work Tuesdays through Saturdays. I am generally tattooing all day. It's usually best to call the shop during business hours if you have questions.

+ How do I get an appointment?

Currently, my books only open once or twice a year through my mailing list. For information about why and what that means you can check out my fancy blog here.

When I open my books I take select clients based on their ideas and the amount of projects I can take on at a given time. To be informed of when my books open again sign up for the mailinglist on my Booking Information Page. If you are looking to get something in the 3-8 hour tattoo range you can apply to my cancellation list on the same page. There's no guarantee, but it's the only opportunity to cut the line :-)

+ How do I take care of my tattoo?

No sun, saltwater, chlorinated water, or soaking your tattoo during the healing process.

Yes, you may shower like normal. If your tattoo was bandaged with Derm Shield, about 24 hours after the tattoo and when you are home, remove the bandage under warm running water and work the corners of the plastic peeling it down along your skin until it releases as the adhesive heats up. Wash the tattoo thoroughly with, preferably, basic unscented soap or antibacterial soap by building up a lather in your clean hands and washing any bodily fluids or ink that may be stuck on the surface of the tattoo. Do not scrub the tattoo with a washcloth or anything abrasive. Pat the tattoo dry with a clean towel.

If you have additional Derm Shield bandages, bought on your own or from me, you may rebandage your tattoo with it being certain to apply it with clean hands. That second bandage may remain on for another 24-48 hours depending on how your tattoo is feeling.

If you decide not to rebandage the tattoo, for the next 24 hours do not apply any ointment or lotion, but wash your tattoo very often 4-6 times a day. After that you may begin using a light hand lotion, applied super thin, 3-4 times a day. It's my belief that ointments that are heavy in petroleum such as A&D, Vaseline, and Aquaphor can result in more color being drawn out from the tattoo and due to the body's inability to absorb petroleum can result in clogged pores and rashes. Basic white hand lotion such as Curel or Vasaline Intensive Care lotion several times a day with CLEAN hands, is all most people need. Do not over-apply the lotion. You should rub it into the skin like you would if you used it anywhere else on your body. After a few days your tattoo will begin peeling and developing light scabs. Do not pick at your tattoo. Total healing time is different for every person, but usually ranges from 2-3 weeks.

If you have any questions regarding your tattoo please contact me and ask. After it has healed feel free to stop by the shop and show me. I always enjoy seeing healed work and getting healed photos of larger tattoos. In addition, if I see anything that needs to be touched up due to a healing issue I offer free touch-ups (unless otherwise indicated) as long as you come back within two months of the tattoos application.

+ How much will my tattoo cost/how long will it take?

Rates are:

Half-Day sitting (aprox. 3 hours of tattooing): $600
Full-Day sitting (aprox. 6 hours of tattooing): $1100

It is very difficult to estimate the time required for larger work as there are many factors involved. There is often layering over healed work, I may add more black or color or thicken up line-work after an area has healed in order to increase the saturation, longevity of a tattoo, or add more depth as the piece progresses. Any estimates on the amount of sessions given during the consultation will be super ballpark.

Multiple session tattoos will usually be set about 2-3 weeks apart. I understand it is a difficult thing to not know the end cost of your sleeve, but it really is the best and most fair way of charging for both parties. I consider a large-scale tattoo as a project the client and I are undergoing together and will most likely require multiple sittings where we will be making progress each time towards the end result.

That being said I've come up with a few general hourly numbers based on projects that I've done in the past. Keep in mind that these have a pretty large ballpark due to differences in subject matter, style, and more client specific factors like the size of their arm or quality of their skin. Sometimes if the style is less detailed or the clients body dictates a smaller tattoo, it comes in under these numbers.

Estimations for Black and Grey Projects

• 8.5x11 sheet of paper (smaller thigh pieces or one side of the forearm) - 6-12 hours
• Full Sleeve - 30-45 hours depending on size and complexity
• Full Leg - 45-60 hours depending on size and complexity
• Chest - Larger frame 16-20 hours, Smaller Frame 10-14 hours
• Back - 30-45 hours depending on size and complexity
• Portrait about 4x8 in size - 6-8 hours

Estimations for Color Projects

• 8.5x11 sheet of paper (smaller thigh pieces or a large limb tattoos like forearms or calves) - 8-20 hours
• Full Sleeve - 40-60 hours depending on size and complexity
• Full Leg - 60-85 hours depending on size and complexity
• Chest - Larger frame 24-32 hours, Smaller Frame 16-22 hours
• Back - 40-60 hours depending on size and complexity
• Portrait about 4x8 in size - 8-10 hours

+ I have an appointment with you, when will my drawing be ready?

Drawings are ready the day of the appointment to start your tattoo.

There is a lot of trust involved in custom work. Trust on your part that I'm going to give you the awesome tattoo you deserve, and trust on my part that you are ready for a custom tattoo and are going to be a good and dedicated client in getting your work done.

I have a pretty lengthly consult process where we talk over the design and look over your reference photos. After that, I take all that information and make an awesome tattoo out of it to the very best of my ability. If there are any changes you want to make after that consult you are free to email me additional reference or reach out to let me know what you want to alter about your tattoo as long as it's more than a month before your tattoo appointment. Likewise, in preparing your drawing, if I'm unsure about something or I feel like I need to veer away from something we talked about during the consultation, I will reach out as well.

I understand it can make people a little nervous not seeing their drawing ahead of time. However, if you wanted a tattoo from me, you waited because you like the way my tattoos look and feel, so when it comes to the actual design of the tattoo that's generally best left up to me. The drawing itself isn't a complete rendition of the way your tattoo will finally look, they are flat and look different on a body as opposed to paper, unrendered, sometimes there are dotted lines and dashes in places as placeholders for shading, and sometimes I'll be shifting elements around if I feel something isn't quite sitting right on your body. So, trust the process and I'm always happy to answer any questions.

+ How does the sun affect tattoos?

I recommend a high SPF suntan lotion regularly applied when your out in the sun to keep your tattoo looking great. The pigment applied during your tattoo process stays under your skin and just like any paint or dye has a lightfast rating and can bleach or tan due to exposure to the sun. People with more tan skin, who love being in the sun, and cannot commit to keeping their tattoos protected should stick to more simple color tattoos, avoiding an overuse of lighter opaque tones involving a lot of white, or black and grey tattoos which will be less affected by the sun; although, even a detailed black and grey tattoo can be faded a decent amount by just one summer of killing your skin in the sun. If you intend on tanning often or exposing your tattoo to a lot of sun, please let me know so I can factor that in to how we approach your tattoo.

+ Can you draw a tattoo for me?

Absolutely, all my work is custom; however, I do not do drawings without a deposit and appointment.

When my books are open, please have a good concept of the tattoo/imagery and feel free to bring any photo reference with you to give me a better idea of what you are looking for. If you like my work and want me to run with a concept I'm more than happy to do so as well.

Please, do not bring in pictures of other peoples tattoos expecting me to copy line-for-line anyone else's work (see the next questions for a detailed response why), and keep in mind, that you are asking for something custom and will need to keep an open mind to the design. I can use images you show me to get a good idea of the feeling you want out of your tattoo and to help describe the details you find appealing. I am an experienced artist and will make design decisions in order to enhance the flow of the tattoo on your body, help the longevity of your tattoo, and create a sense of depth, light and shadow. I will, however, always do my best to discuss any possible changes with you so you know what to expect.

If you like the tattoos in my portfolio and social networking sites you should have a good idea of the style I work in and a better idea of the end result.

+ What kind of tattoos do you want to do?

My specialty is in realistic and highly-rendered illustrative tattooing with a focus on larger work with depth and flow and even my illustrative and Japanese tattooing is far more detail oriented than is traditional.

Concepts that I’m interested in working on:

Large scale designs with depth and flow. Full backs, full legs, etc . . .

Witches, wizards or other fantasy related ideas

Gods and goddesses: from various cultures particularly non-Greek/Roman

Mythological Stories

A Plague Doctor theme

Fenrir

Dinosaurs

Mythological Creatures

Tarot-inspired work: Not copying cards

Video game related tattoos are always fun.

Animals, flowers, magical things, crystals, skulls, and the human figure are always high on my list of favorite projects, especially if I can mash up a few of them together!

Things I don't really do anymore:

Small tattoos: I am not above them they just aren’t an efficient use of my schedule. If you want a small wrist or ankle tattoo, there are great artists in the area that can get you in quicker for those kind of tattoos than I can.

No Lettering: *I am not taking on any tattoos involving lettering at this time.

Line work heavy tattoos: If your tattoo idea involves minimal shading or rendering or is very traditional in nature.

No Logos or reproduction work: I don’t enjoy duplicating logos, other peoples art or tattoos. Please don’t ask. Portraits of people or animals are fine though.

Highly mechanical or architectural work: Auto parts, cars, guns, buildings etc . . . I’m not well versed enough to do those types of tattoos justice.

+ I found this really cool tattoo online that 'so-and-so' did, can you copy it?

Unless the tattoo design is being sold as flash (flash are designs sold specifically to be mass-marketed tattoos and usually line the walls and racks of most tattoo shops), chances are that the cool tattoo you found online was custom drawn for that person individually, and it is unethical for any person to take that photo and clearly copy the tattoo that the original owner payed good money to have specifically drawn for them in order to have a one-of-a-kind tattoo. Think of how frustrating it would be to pay good money for a custom tattoo that may have a lot of personal meaning for you and to then find out that a bunch of people essentially stole your tattoo and are walking around with semi-exact duplicates of it. Also, custom tattoo artists take pride in their work.

Tattooers that copy another tattoo artists work are looked down on and called out for their theft. Probably about 95% of my work is completely custom and I'd be happy to take a concept and design a great and custom tattoo designed to fit your body. I try to let my work speak for itself, so if you enjoy the work you see in my portfolio and my social networking sites then you should have no problem trusting me to put together something great, designed for you and you alone.

+ I want this really long quote on me or a persons full name, date of birth and death etc. . . on me along with this imagery can you do it?

I'm not currently doing quotes or more involved lettering tattoos outside of a name as a part of a larger sleeve or something along those lines. I advise all people to read this post by Seppuku Tattoo, which explains the problems inherent in doing large quotes on the body, before deciding on getting a large lettering tattoo. It says most of what I have to say and more on the issue.

I feel a lot of great tattoos could come out of taking the concept of a quote and finding great imagery to represent it, instead of needing to label it. As far as adding a lot of lettering to a design, keep in mind that adding a lot of lettering to an image limits the amount of space available for the image and due to the rules of written language can interrupt the flow and fit of a tattoo. Your tattoo should not need labels all over it to make it have meaning. It's like a seeing a girl in a pretty dress, and when she turns around seeing "Nike" straight across it. If you let the imagery of your tattoo stand for itself the result is usually a much more compelling tattoo. You shouldn't need a label on it to appreciate the tattoo for what it is.

+ Do you do cover-ups?

Absolutely, but the term "cover-up" is a misnomer. For a tattoo to effectively "cover" an existing tattoo, the new design needs to be a darker value or one that is equal in value and can overcome the old pigment. The pigment from your old tattoo is still in the layers of your skin and will mix with any new color applied over it; so, the new tattoo needs to be designed so it can effectively "absorb" the design of old tattoo with no or minimal show-through as the new tattoo settles in your skin.

With all my cover-ups, I try to design them in a way where the new tattoo is one you'd be proud to wear and applied in a way which looks like the tattoo was always intended to be there. Many times this will require a much larger tattoo than the original and I may suggest more than one session to increase the saturation of the new tattoo so it can overpower the old one.

Most cover-ups need to be in color; although, there are always some exceptions. It is best to come up with several different ideas of what you would like to cover the old tattoo with, so when I see it, I can let you know the possibilities for covering your old tattoo with a tattoo you can be proud of.

+ Can I commission you to paint me something?

At this time, I am not taking commissions due to not having enough time complete any commissioned painting in a timely manner. If I choose to do so at any point, it will be made public on the site and my social networks.