As the global tattoo culture continues to grow, so does the number of skilled artists who are eager to join the industry. From this growth, not only comes a need for more skilled artists, but also the structure of the entire industry. This includes giving structural support in various aspects of this sector such as the education system, standard hygiene protocol, standards for equipment quality and availability, legal frameworks - including pricing models, and so on. In the past five years, most of the transformation in the tattoo industry has been led by a handful of people who are on a mission to transform it for future generations. One such entity is Aliens Tattoo School. It aims to improve both opportunities and careers for its students as well as give them an insight into every aspect of this rapidly changing industry.
Sunny Bhanushali, the founder of Aliens Tattoo School, globally recognized for his breath-taking work on realism tattoos, had a hard time breaking through the tattoo industry. He says 'This industry was run by few gatekeepers, it was a closed community and no one was easily allowed to become a tattoo artist, there was no help, no one ready to teach, no structure at all, the industry was fragmented to its core when I started'. He had to self-learn tattoo art and work against the industry people to make a mark in the industry. There are numerous artists like him, who have faced similar challenges on their journey into the industry, and this situation is partially still true to this day. A few of the challenges are as follows
- No structured tattoo education system
- Unethical Tattoo Apprenticeships
- No standard hygiene system
- The negative stereotype of tattoo artists and the industry
- Increased Demand for tattoos & a shortage of qualified tattoo artists
No structured tattoo education system
Tattooing was not a widely accepted form of art. Tattooing was not considered to be a legitimate career, and the methods of learning about tattooing were unregulated. There weren't any standardized ways for people to learn tattoo art. This led to unethical apprenticeships which are commonplace in this field today.
Unethical Tattoo Apprenticeships
Unfortunately, the industry is currently plagued by an epidemic of unethical tattoo apprenticeships. Many tattoo apprenticeships are not set up to protect the apprentice, instead, they are set up to exploit the apprentices by forcing them to work long hours for low pay, clean floors, and toilets serve unprofessional tattoo artists and studio owners, forking over most of their earnings to the tattoo shop owner.
No standard hygiene system
No matter where you are, there is a notable lack of hygiene standards. Tattoo artists and studio owners in most countries manage the issue with their own makeshift methods which are not ideal for sanitary reasons. There is no global standard for tattoo hygiene
The negative stereotype of tattoo artists and the industry
Stigma against tattoos is due to the negative stereotype of tattoo artists. Many people believe that tattoo artists are drug addicts or are of questionable moral character. In the typical mind of a person, tattoo artists are typically described as having dreadlocks, drug addictions, criminals, gangs, piercings, and tattoos. A career in tattoo art is looked down upon
Demand for tattoos increased exponentially, which caused a shortage of qualified tattoo artists across the world.
The Tattoo industry is expected to reach $66 billion by 2024. This exponential increase in the number of people getting inked comes with a higher demand for skilled tattoo artists. The market is expanding faster than skilled artists are being produced. There is a huge imbalance in the industry, to know more about it please read 'Why there's a huge demand for good tattoo artists across the globe'
Aliens Tattoo School
Aliens tattoo school is the first tattoo school in the world to develop a structured tattoo education system to help aspiring artists become Pro tattoo Artists. It is led by a solid mission to become the most trusted and genuine tattoo learning platform across the globe and to produce world-class tattoo artists to serve the entire world. Aliens Tattoo School is a 220-seater, state-of-the-art facility integrated with high-end technology and infrastructure to enable experiential learning.
A team of award-winning mentors from various art domains, business experts, and certified trainers have come together to build a curriculum and a training system that makes learning simple and easy to understand. Our training methods are grounded in ancient principles and backed by science, making them more effective and enabling fast learning. Art and creativity are at the core while we
focus on skill development with the same intensity.
Our hard work didn't go unnoticed by the authorities, we got recognized by the Govt. of India as the first start-up in its genre. Soon after that, the industry's leading companies like Cheyenne
Equipment (Germany), Eternal Ink (The USA), Dermalize Pro (Italy), and a few more supported the cause.
Addressing the Challenges
With the launch of the Aliens Tattoo School, aspiring artists who were struggling for years to get into the tattoo industry, got the platform to grow and become who they wanted to be. Through our structured courses, we were able to bring change in every aspect of the industry. We just don't teach tattoo art, we make careers, we transform lives, and we are building a new culture where tattoos/art is a freedom of expression and not some closed community activity guarded by some gatekeepers. The culture to help each other, to raise the standard, make the information about tattoo art available and accessible to everyone, to raise the bar of the global tattoo industry.
We not only built the world's first tattoo education system, but we are also in the process of building a medical-grade hygiene system that will be a standard hygiene protocol across all the countries and which will help the legal bodies to regulate it. Through our training programs, no one would ever be required to go through any unethical apprenticeship programs ever. This new generation of artists will set a new standard for the tattoo industry.
We envision that tomorrow's families will encourage their children to make a career in tattoo art. It has started already, soon it will become one of the most reputed and respected art careers of all time.
Initiatives to uplift the artists
At the core, Aliens tattoo school is made by the artists for the artists. Everything revolves around the upliftment and development of aspiring artists. One of our missions is to produce highly skilled world-class tattoo artists and to make that happen we had to go beyond just creating a tattoo school. We launched special programs to support artists. They are as follows.
1. Aliens Outreach program
This program is dedicated to finding the hidden talents of the people from the lower class of the economy. We have built a network of NGOs and Communities who support us to find artists in their respective locales. These artists are the diamonds in the coal mine, rare but precious. Our program aims to find the right talent and support them for the next 3 to 5 years. We train them through our diploma course in tattoo art, we start their paid internship after the course, and following that we offer a high-paying job as a tattoo artist. Through aliens, he/she gets to participate in numerous conventions and events, build a strong portfolio, know the trade and get ready for the next phase of life as a professional tattoo artist.
2. Convention Sponsorship Program
The Convention Sponsorship program aims to encourage students to participate in industry events to get greater exposure to the Industry. We also prepare them to participate in competitions to win awards. The expense to participate in these conventions is sponsored by us. This gives a head start to the students in the industry, it also helps them with networking and lets them become a part of the community. Many of our students have won awards at these conventions, they have competed with artists with 10+ years of tattoo experience and still won the awards.
3. Paid Internship Program
We wanted to create something that would help artists with the transition from school into a professional career. Our Internship program is designed for both skill development and success in your real-world tattooing experience, unlike unethical apprenticeships which simply provide an opportunity to earn money while focusing on learning the next phase of tattoo art. Learn more about our Paid Internship Program here
4. Tattoo Workshops
The tattoo workshop is a unique training format designed to deliver single-topic training in 1 day or 2 days. This was started by Sunny Bhanushali a few years ago to help experienced artists to elevate their skills to the next level. This format was so
effective that the entire industry is following this format to this day. These workshops are mainly focused on advanced tattoo art where experienced artists want to learn a new style or up-skill themselves. Aliens Tattoo School has trained more than 1000+ artists through various workshops in the last few years. To
know more about the upcoming workshops please visit this link.
5. Learn It Like Aliens - LILA
Learn it like aliens is an online tattoo learning platform that lets world-class creative experts share their expertise and skills with aspiring learners across the globe through professionally produced online courses, live webinars, and learning paths. This is a tool for self-learners and those who want to keep up with the industry in regard to art and technology. LILA has more than 500+ subscribers from across the globe and it is a much-loved platform in the industry. You can check out LILA here
Conclusion
The vision behind the school is not to just make money. It is to educate people and to create a better industry for the future. It is about empowering the new generation of artists to lead the industry into the future. It is not something that is easily done. It is not easy to break the status quo. But it is possible when you have the right people in place. When you have people working with the right vision, you can make changes like this happen. Aliens Tattoo School challenged the status quo and went against the tide to bring the change.