REACH OUT

Please feel free to email with any questions you may have. I book only through the form linked under BOOKING, and answers to many common questions are listed at Lillin-Karin.com/faq

I do my best to respond to emails ASAP, but as I am just one person responses can sometimes take some time depending on my current workload. Your patience is deeply appreciated and I look forward to helping!

         

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pricing estimates

Every tattoo client and session is different, so the time it takes to complete your tattoo will vary greatly depending on your project. However to give folks a rough sense of how long my tattoos take to complete, I’ve compiled this list of a few examples. These are extremely rough estimates, but I hope they’ll be helpful in planning for your tattoos!

+++ RATES +++

  • Half Day Rates :

    • $250/hour

      • Maximum of ~3 1/2 hours of tattoo work per hourly half-day session.

      • Custom work has an ~hour and a half / $350 minimum.

  • Full Day Rate : One-Shot Tattoos

    • $1,200 flat rate

      • Covers a full work day - my start time is 11am, and my end time is 7pm at the latest.

      • Time includes stenciling, a lunch break, stretch breaks, and up to 6 hours of tattooing.

      • Any following half-day sessions needed to finish a project will be charged hourly.

REDUCED RATES FOR LARGE-SCALE WORK

This includes tattoo projects that span a full limb or are expected to take more than 3 sessions to complete - sleeves, backpieces, full-color work larger than 8x10”, etc.

  • Half Day Rate: Large-Scale Tattoos

    • $200/hour

      • Maximum of ~3 1/2 hours of tattoo work per hourly half-day session.

  • Full Day Rate : Large-Scale Tattoos

    To make large-scale work more accessible, I offer sliding scale for full day sessions on ongoing work. By offering a range of rates, it works out to anywhere from a 10-40% discount on large scale work, depending on how long you get tattooed for and the rate you agree to pay.

    Please note that this sliding scale is not available while on guest spots - this only applies at my home studio, Estuary, in NYC. Tattoos while guesting will be charges at my usual hourly and daily rates.

    • $750-1,200 sliding scale, tip inclusive.

      • For people who want to sit for up to 4-6 hours of tattoo time per session

      • Covers a full work day - start time is 11am, end time is 7pm at the latest.

        • time includes stenciling / drawing, a lunch break, stretch breaks, and up to 6 hours of tattooing.

      • Any following half-day sessions needed to finish a project will be charged hourly.

      • Tip is included in the day rate you decide on, so please gauge what is comfortable/possible for you to pay for the day, and what you’d like to compensate me with. No questions asked, but please refer to this guide for a basic sliding scale framework.

      • Your day rate can be different for different sessions, as your circumstances change.

      • Where do these numbers come from? Some financial transparency:

        • $750 is my baseline - that is the minimum I need to earn per work day in order to meet my needs - home and studio rent, bills, tattoo supplies, NYC sales tax, and paying income tax (at minimum 35% of my income goes to paying self-employment taxes). This baseline figure does not account for any savings, discretionary spending, or unexpected personal expenses. This is the baseline I can charge without going negative for the day.

        • $1,200 is the amount someone would pay for 4 hours of custom tattooing, with a 20% tip. The high end of this scale is meant to match my normal hourly rate, with room for up to two hours of free time per session (if we tattoo for a full 6 hours).

      • Why do I do this?

        Tattoos are a total luxury expense, and (understandably) often the first thing to get cut when budgets are tight. Watching costs for everything rise since 2020, I worry that fewer and fewer people will be able to access their dream tattoos. I never want to cultivate a situation where my labor and art are only available to the most privileged people - that goes against my core value system. Instead, I want to do my best to create access when possible, and keep my calendar full of diverse projects, scales, and clients. This is the current best system I have to ensure that my own needs are met, and that I’m extending myself as much as possible to clients who may want large-scale work but can’t comfortably budget for it. As with everything I offer, this system is an evolving work in progress and open to feedback. Please email me directly with any questions or feedback. LillinKarinTattoo @ gmail.com For full details on sliding scale for large work, please check my FAQ or email me directly.

    Please note - I offer two “community rates” or “pay what you like” appointments per month for clients who hold identities outside of white/cis/able/neurotypical experience. This includes anyone who is BIPOC, POC, trans/two-spirit/intersex, neurodivergent, and disabled folks. Full details can be found on my FAQ, and clients can opt into the community rates waitlist when requesting an appointment.

*** Full details around budgets, pricing, quotes, & payments can be found here on my policies sheet. ***

+++ examples +++

PALM-SIZED BLACK & GREY : “Palm-sized” meaning something roughly 3x4”, give or take a little. Usually room for one single element & a little embellishment. Generally takes around 1-2 hours @ $250/hour, so $250-500 max. One session.

PALM-SIZED BLACK & GREY : “Palm-sized” meaning something roughly 3x4”, give or take a little. Usually room for one single element & a little embellishment. Generally takes around 1-2 hours. One short session.

PALM-SIZED COLOR : “Palm-sized” meaning something roughly 3x4”, give or take a little. Usually room for one single element & a little embellishment. Generally takes anywhere from 1 - 3 hours @ $250/hour, so roughly $250-750. One session.

PALM-SIZED COLOR : “Palm-sized” meaning something roughly 3x4”, give or take a little. Usually room for one single element & a little embellishment. Generally takes anywhere from 1 - 3 hours. One half-day session.

SPREAD-HAND SIZED BLACK & GREY : “Hand-sized” meaning something around 4x6” - 6x8”. A little more room for detail. Generally takes anywhere from 2-3 1/2 hours @ $250/hour, so roughly $500-875. One session.

SPREAD-HAND SIZED BLACK & GREY : “Hand-sized” meaning something around 4x6” - 6x8”. A little more room for detail. Generally takes anywhere from 2-3 1/2 hours. One half-day session.

SPREAD-HAND SIZED COLOR : “Hand-sized” meaning something around 4x6” - 6x8”. A little more room for detail. Generally takes anywhere from 3-5 hours, so roughly $750-1,000. 2 sessions.

SPREAD-HAND SIZED COLOR : “Hand-sized” meaning something around 4x6” - 6x8”. A little more room for detail. Generally takes anywhere from 3-5 hours. Approximately 2 half-day sessions or one full-day session.

LARGE-SCALE BLACK & GREY : “Large-scale” meaning anything roughly 7x10” and larger, not including full sleeves or backpieces. Anywhere from 4-6 hours, so roughly $1,000-1,200. One to two sessions.

TWO-SPREAD HANDS SIZED BLACK & GREY : Meaning anything roughly 7x10” and larger, not including full sleeves or backpieces. Anywhere from 4-6 hours. Approximately two half-day sessions or one full-day session.

LARGE-SCALE COLOR : “Large-scale” meaning anything roughly 7x10” and larger, not including full sleeves or backpieces. Anywhere from 5-10 hours, so roughly $1,000-2,000. One to three sessions.

TWO-SPREAD HANDS SIZED COLOR : Meaning anything roughly 7x10” and larger, not including full sleeves or backpieces. Anywhere from 5-10 hours. Anywhere from two+ half-day sessions / two+ full-day sessions.

FULL & HALF SLEEVES, BACKPIECES, ETC. : It’s incredibly difficult to give accurate time & price ranges for sleeves & backpieces, as each one varies so much depending on the subject, client, and experience. As a general rule of thumb, ass…

LARGE-SCALE - FULL & HALF SLEEVES, BACKPIECES, ETC. : It’s incredibly difficult to give accurate time & price ranges for sleeves & backpieces, as each one varies so much depending on the subject, client, and experience. Remember that for full-day large scale sessions, I offer sliding scale pricing to make large-scale projects more accessible.

+ B&G HALF SLEEVES - Anywhere from three to four half-day sessions. Or at least two full-day sessions.

+ B&G FULL SLEEVES - Anywhere from four to six half-day sessions. Or at least three full-day sessions.

+ COLOR HALF SLEEVES - At least four half-day sessions. Or at least three full-day sessions.

+ COLOR FULL SLEEVES - At least 6+ half day sessions. At least 4+ full-day sessions.

+ EVERYTHING ELSE - With a sense of your project, scale, skin-type, and how long you like to sit per day, I’m usually able to give more accurate time quotes tailored to your specific project and ideas.