art Archives - Matt Hodel Tattoo

Tipping Your Tattoo Artist

Tipping Your Tattoo Artist Lets talk tips. Like a server, bartender, hairdresser, etc tips are apart of the service industry. They are not expected but very much appreciated. The article “Tipping your Tattoo Artist” by Hamptons Ink perfectly outlines tipping in the tattoo industry. Not by percentages yet based on your overall experiance with the…

Tonk The Tattooist!

Bringing Back Tonk! If you have followed this sight over the past year, you have already met! Back in Febuary 2022 we released the Zine, “Tonk the Tattooist”, ‘the first asshole of skin scribing”. As I noticed Tonks popularity rising again I figured I’d reintroduce him to everyone. I’ve Linked our original article in the…

Tattoo Artists Share 10 Mistakes People Make When Getting Small Tattoos

Small Tattoos! The more I look around the more I see people getting tons of small tattoos rather than large pieces. Im not here to tell you the right or wrong way to get tattooed but with the use of the article “Tattoo Artists Share 10 Mistakes People Make When Getting Small Tattoos” the author…

Your Taste is on Display

Your Taste is on Display Have you ever looked at a dude and said, “What in the hell did you do to your arm? Sometimes it baffles me what people choose to openly display on their bodies. Who Am I too judge? Well here is the deal, I tattoo for a living. I study peoples…

Study the EYE!

Sketching is the Artist Workout. I wanted to be a Scientific Illustrator. This was my original goal when I was in my teens. I still want to be an illustrator and any chance I get to freelance, I take it. Tattooing is cool but it demands a set of rules to follow that hinder the…

Van Life

Get out. Love more.

Professors View on Tattooist

Behind the Needle: Professor Explores the World of Tattoo Artists This week we look at Kara Snyder and Dr. David Lane’s take on the world of tattoo artists! Dr. David Lane Dr. David Lane is an assistant professor of criminal science that grew up in the world of tattooing. Many of his peers pushed for…

Reboot My Career

Rebooting My Career I Am Not Done Yet I’m rebooting my career. I have survived 27 years in an industry that has shaken off a lot of dead weight in the last few years. Tattooists from back in the day are succumbing to age, lack of drive and feeling irrelevant. I have friends in the…

Horimono: Traditional Japanese Tattooing

Look what Gaël wrote! Engraving of Kyumonryu Shishin (九紋龍史進) by Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川国芳) | Image from Kuniyoshiproject.com Gaël wrote an impressive article titled: “Horimono: The History of Traditional Japanese Tattoos”. This writing takes the reader through Japanese tattoo culture dating back to 1603, up into more recent days. The author does a comprehensive dive…

Saturday Morning Cartoons

Cartoons Inspire Creativity I was born in 1975. The 1980’s world of Saturday Morning Cartoons was a small window of time from 7:30 am until noon. I cannot express enough what an escape those few hours were for me. The fantasy worlds of Smurfs and Dungeon and Dragons and He-Man were a stark contrast to…

Codye.

I did Codye’s first tattoo less than a year ago. As I remember he was quite the handful. He was rather nervous and really persistent at communicating the importance of the getting his first tattoo perfect. I don’t mind. I was told a while back that the energy like this just means the client is…

Let’s Draw a Dragon

I tattooed a Phoenix on the back of Nick’s calf so of course I tattooed a Dragon on the front. I drew it on because it just makes more sense than stenciling. I also forgot to draw the night before, so drawing the dragon directly onto the leg seemed smart. Smearing a sharpie with my…

Get Weird

A Good Kinda Crazy Team Mullet Louie’s leg is ripe with humor. I guess you could describe him as silly but he looks a serious as a heart attack. Currently he’s shaved bald and looks scary as hell but if he showed you his hidden tattoos it would throw you off. We already did the…

Tonk the Tattooist

My new Zine “Tonk” I guess I could have printed this sooner. I kept circling back around and tweaking this and redrawing that. It is just a zine! What is a zine? A zine is short for fanzine. In my youth they were the life line of the underground music and punk scene. Zines are…

You called The Wolf!? Hell yes.

The Wolf Is Here The Wolf is the second print in my animal illustration series. The first was the The Scary Red Bear which was inspired by my first run in with a black bear. The Wolf is a follow up to my experience with being isolated in the woods with a pack of wolves…

Arm Studies in. Adobe Fresco

I was pretty happy with this study of arms. It is no secret that the human anatomy is difficult for me. I tend to shy away from the muscle structure and only show a simple shape of the arm. Recently I revisited Andrew Loomis’ book “Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth. There is a great…

I drew the Circle Jerks poster!

I Drew the Circle Jerks Poster!!! I drew the flyer for the upcoming Circle Jerks show in St. Louis. I am beyond stoked!! The Red Flag The Red Flag is THE venue for shows. I mean it is just perfect. It is big enough to get a bunch of concert goers comfortably in the venue…

Welcome Back

Lady and I are coming back.

5 Traits that Hold You Back

The traditions of tattooing have been deeply rooted in the echoes of time. If you meet anyone who has been tattooing for more than 15 years, they will tell you how things used to be. Truly, tattooing has changed and evolved from the sponge and bucket days. With many progressive features being most noticeable on…

Tattooing has Changed, Have You?

In 1995 there were 14 tattoo shops from O’fallon, Illinois to O’fallon, Missouri. In 1998 there were 40. With each shop averaging 3 artists working in house, that would equal 78 new jobs for tattoo artists in three years. That is almost a 300% increase in the industry. As impressive as those numbers are, where…

Advice for the New Tattooist.

Tips for the Freshman Tattooist. Its has been said that you haven’t been tattooing until your fifth year is complete. This is when you get to see your old tattoos healed. It takes that long for your tattoos to settle. Until then, your first 5 years are very important. Here is some advice. Take it…

Emotionally Driven Tattoos

Emotionally driven tattoos When a loved one passes away, the feelings of helplessness washes over us. The desire to “do something” gnaws at our heartstrings. Tattooing has always been the ultimate act. The one thing you can do that truly lasts a lifetime. Just getting a tattoo is a statement within itself so it is…

Worked to Death.

Measuring success. What is your barometer for success? What are your benchmarks to get there? Have you been making progress? As self employed practitioners of the tattoo arts, we enjoy a rebellious reaction to those outside our craft. We boast of travel and freedom while we enjoy a walk of life that few will understand.…

Want More Money? Then Stop Worrying about the Money

Your reward is a byproduct. The fastest route is a straight line: unless you’re so focused on the destination that you fall off the path. This happens when you are trying so dang hard to succeed. Sometimes we get so obsessed that we micro manage the entire journey. Have you ever counted calories or tracked…

Become the PRODUCT!

“I just love my tattoo! It was fast and efficient!” -nobody ever Why. Why do I want to rally the troops? Why do I want to reach out to artists? Because times have changed. The product is no longer the institutional names of big shops but the future solely relies on the individual tattoo artist…