Tattoo session time is the total time the artist spends putting the design on your skin. It ranges from a few dozen minutes for a small, simple motif to several hours, or even more than ten, for a large and detailed piece. Bigger projects are split across several sessions.
What affects how long a session takes?
Size, the amount of detail, the type of shading and colour have the biggest impact. Placement matters too. Work on joints, ribs or hands is often slower than on the upper arm or thigh. On top of tattooing time, there is setting up the station, agreeing the final design and transferring the stencil to the skin.
Why are large projects split into sessions?
The skin needs time to heal, and you need time to rest. Splitting the work also helps with quality control: the artist can see how the previous part has healed before starting the next.
Your artist will give you an estimate after the consultation. We cover tiredness and breaks in Does a tattoo hurt? Places and comfort, and the whole journey from consultation to aftercare on our process page.