Where do you tattoo at?

I tattoo at Unkindness Art, in Richmond, Virginia. You can find the shop’s frequently asked questions on our website regarding parking, shop rates, payment, etc., and will be required to fill out a waiver with general tattoo information before I am able to tattoo you.

I also travel to conventions and guest spots for tattoos, mostly within the US, though I will be booking the majority of my tattoos in Richmond. As a result of my travel schedule, I generally do not work weekends.

How much does it cost to get a tattoo?

Currently I book at a half day or full day rate— for tattoos up to 4 hours it is a half day flat rate of $650 and for tattoos up to 8 hours it is a flat full day rate of $1200. You will also put down a non-refundable deposit that will go towards the final session of your tattoo, generally $150 to $300.

For travel dates at conventions and guest spots I will be charging generally $200/hr to account for the cost of flights, gas, hotels, etc., as travel can be expensive.

Touch ups are free within the first year; after 1 year there will be a nominal setup fee of $50-$100 (depending on the time spent on the touch up) to account for the cost of supplies

How can I get tattooed by you?

I operate on a block schedule, where I open my books about once a quarter. When my books are open, I have a tattoo consultation form you can fill out that is sent out to newsletter subscribers first, and then posted on my social media links. You can find my newsletter sign up form on my home page or contact page.

What is a pre-drawn piece? What is a custom piece?

My pre-drawn pieces are what many artists may refer to as flash designs; they’re pieces I have already drawn that are ready to be tattooed! Most of my pre-drawn pieces are one-and-done, so you will end up with a unique piece still; any that are repeatable are labeled as such on my website. Generally pre-drawns are a little cheaper than a custom, and are usually a small or medium sized one-shot appointment, but have a few restrictions, like not being able to make a ton of changes and not being suited to all locations or applications.

Custom pieces are drawn for you; you provide me with an idea and I draw it for you to be tattooed! These can be pieces that have a special meaning to you, or something special like a cover up, gap filler, etc. that requires something custom-fit to your body. Backpieces, sleeves, etc. are all custom, even if you choose something off of my idea list… the human body changes so much I can’t reasonably pre-draw a piece of that scale!

What is a touch up?

A touch-up is generally a smaller session (generally less than an hour) to fix small problems with the tattoo; not every tattoo will need a touch up, and some locations (like joints that move a lot, or areas that see a lot of sun) are more likely to need a touch up than others. Here are examples of when a touch up may be necessary:

• You fell off your bike and scraped your healing tattoo, so there is a small spot with no ink in your tattoo

• You noticed that a spot near your elbow healed lighter than anticipated

• An area of on your tattoo is patchy or doesn’t seem fully saturated

For larger pieces and continuing projects, I generally do small touch ups as needed throughout the duration of the project, and have a final “tightening up” session for all large scale work where I go in and touch up things as needed for the longevity and cohesion of the piece.

I am always willing to touch up work that healed a bit awkwardly; you will know if the work needs a touch up within the first 2-3 weeks of the tattoo healing, and I ask that you reach out to me directly via e-mail (alekivztattoo@gmail.com) within 9 months of the appointment for a complimentary touch up.

Tattoos do fade and change over time; that’s okay! Your body will also change over time and your tattoos reflect this. If you’d like to refresh an older tattoo that I’ve done, or you didn’t request a touch up within the first 9 months of the piece, you’re welcome to still book a touch up appointment, you will just have to pay a nominal fee to cover the rising cost of equipment maintenance, supplies, etc.

What is your rescheduling/cancellation policy?

You are able to reschedule an existing appointment through Acuity at any point up to 4 days (or 96 hours) before your appointment; it will automatically show you the soonest available appointment to move to, and you can freely choose a date that works for your schedule.

If you need to reschedule within 4 days of the appointment, your deposit will be forfeit and you will need to place a new deposit to book a new appointment. You may also lose your deposit if you have rescheduled the same appointment multiple times with no prior communication. A total cancellation typically involves a forfeiture of your deposit.

If you are a no call no show appointment— as in, you do not communicate that you will not be able to make it to the appointment, and do not show up— you will be required to pay another, higher deposit to be tattooed again.

There are obviously exceptions for illness, family emergencies, etc.; please just reach out to me as soon as you know you cannot make the appointment and we can work out an appropriate reschedule and I can send you the appropriate calendar link!

Do you do cover ups or reworks of older tattoos? What about tattooing over scars?

There are many factors involved with cover ups, so the best answer is to reach out to me via my consultation form with a few images of the piece you were looking to cover or rework. In some cases I may ask you to come in person to the shop so I can assess the situation better. I do not specialise in cover ups but feel moderately comfortable in my ability of covering up tattoos.

I do, however, have a pretty good understanding of tattooing over scars in both colour and black and grey. It is something I am very passionate about! I do ask that surgical scars be at least 1-2 years healed and that more surface-level scars be healed fully (typically 6 months to a year) before tattooing over them, as it can be more painful and lead to a poor result if there is still healing on the lower levels of skin.

How can I improve my chances of getting tattooed?

The biggest reasons I will not tattoo someone are usually down to expectations on either end; if I do not feel like I am a good fit for the project I will let you know! I typically do larger work and prefer to work with naturalistic subject matter. You can always check out my portfolio for an idea of the work I do best in, or my list of wanna-do/predrawn designs for designs ready to go and work with!

Here are examples of a prompt I have a high chance of selecting:

• A blue jay with a magnolia blossom

• A sleeve/back piece based on an existing ecosystem/centered around a primary subject, like “Gulf of Mexico leg sleeve” or “a backpiece of an opossum with blackberries”

• Anything from my pre-drawn/wanna-do list!

Here are examples where I am not likely to pick your project:

• You request fineline, script, realism, geometric, or anime style tattooing— I am not particularly great at these styles, but I will generally try to suggest someone I know who can best fit your needs!

• A direct copy of an existing piece of media (anime screenshots, video game insignia, etc.)— I may make exceptions for last minute cancellations, while you already have another piece booked, etc., but generally I do not select projects I can’t draw for because it’s a little less fun for me!

It goes without saying but if you ask me for anything related to right wing movements it is a hard no.

I filled out the form, but haven’t heard a response yet. When can I expect to hear from you?

I generally try to respond to all booking inquiries within a week or two of my forms closing. If it has been longer than that, please check your spam filter and get in touch with me via direct email (alekivztattoo@gmail.com) if you cannot find a response. Note that my emails may take a week or more to respond to during busy times of my schedule.

Will I get to see a drawing before the appointment? What if I don’t like it?

I do not send out drawings ahead of time. If you have specific parameters you’d like in your tattoo (for example, “I want a red fox tattoo“ vs. “I want a fox tattoo,” or “I like the style you did in this piece,”) please let me know during the initial consultation, booking form or emails. There is enough time to allow for changes to things like colour or background elements in most appointment time slots!

I do my absolute best with every design, and I never want anyone to feel like their concerns or ideas have been dismissed. However, I do not want you to get a tattoo you don’t vibe with, so please feel free to let me know if it is not matching up with your concepts/ideas when you do see it! We can instead treat the session as an in-person consultation and nail the concept together if needed if there is something that isn’t meshing with your vision. Depending on the appointment type and time slot, you may need to reschedule and/or place another deposit, but this is a pretty rare occurrence.

I cannot travel to Richmond currently. Can I have someone else tattoo your art on me?

The short answer to this is no! If you would like my art tattooed on you, please either make your way to Richmond or keep an eye out for guest spots/conventions that I may be at near you. You can sign up for my newsletter for the best information on my travel schedule, including when/where I will be tattooing next!

What mediums do you use to draw with?

I use a variety of media for drawing, and am constantly exploring new options. I have a document I update on occasion listing my most commonly used supplies and paper. I am like, addicted to trying out new sketchbooks and seeing if they’re better for pencil sketching or if they can handle the beating of using markers/pens frequently.

Do you take commissions?

Unfortunately I just do not have time to take commissions at this time; doing tattoos full time as well as running an online shop full time makes my work-life balance difficult as-is. It took me two years to have enough spare time to make a website!