Pawsome Texas Portrait Tattoo Artists
- Tiffany Ditto
- Jun 6, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 6
Across Texas, pet owners are showing their devotion to their fur babies by getting portraits of their beloved pets tattooed on their bodies forever. From North Texas to Central Texas, these two portrait artists are sure to blow you away with a tattoo of your pet.
----------------------------------------------
Mani Negarestan
Tattoo rate: $175 hourly
Mani Negarestan is a North Texas tattoo artist at Dark Age Tattoo Studio in Denton. His tattoos have an aura of fine art about them. Whether he is tackling a lifelike pet portrait, a floral piece, or recreating famous works of art on skin, his tattoos are striking as each detail resembles the photograph or painting they were based on.
“My approach to drawing a realistic dog portrait is very similar to drawing any other realistic object,” Negarestan said. “I start by breaking the image into simple geometric forms so I can get the proportions right. Then keep adding details and texture and contrast. Making a good stencil is an important part of the process and it is essential because you don’t have room to make mistakes and also you’re working on a surface that’s not flat.”
Negarestan has been tattooing at Dark Age for three years. He got his start at the studio as an apprentice and is now a full-time artist. Growing up, Negarstan loved creating art across different mediums and continues to practice different forms of art such as painting, drawing and sculpting. After obtaining a degree in fine art from Denton’s University of North Texas, he began looking for a way to monetize his passion — in that search he found tattooing.
“I didn’t know much about tattooing until five or six years ago,” Negarestan said. “All I knew about tattooing until that point was the traditional type of tattoos. So, seeing the possibilities that this form of art was offering got me interested in learning more about it.”
Negarestan prefers to tattoo canine portraits in black and white because there is less interference from the pet owner’s skin pigmentation, making it even easier to nail the proper contrast of the pet’s fur. He said one of the secrets to his realistic fur technique is he uses as small of a tattoo needle as possible, that way he has the ability to add even the smallest of details. Negarestan loves tattooing and creating a personalized piece of art that people will treasure for years. His favorite part of tattooing dog portraits is hearing about the pets behind them and the unique story and meaning behind each owner’s desire to commemorate their pet forever.
“I love meeting new people and creating something that’s so meaningful to them,” he says. What makes tattooing dogs different from other animals is that it’s a really personal subject for the clients so the tattoo must completely resemble how their pet looks in real life. It’s almost like tattooing a portrait of someone’s family member.
-----------------------------------------------------
Secret Kunkle
Tattoo rate: $180 hourly (2-hour min)
Secret Kunkle is a Central Texas tattoo artist at Moon Tattoo Studio in Austin. Her pet portrait tattoos are striking and would make any pet owner proud to show them off. Her attention to detail makes each drawing look like a photograph of the owner’s beloved furry friend.
When she’s not behind the needle herself, Kunkle is busy creating tattoo designs for others. She says that tattooing has consumed her life for the last few years. After obtaining a degree in art, and trying out a career as an actress, Kunkle was drawn to tattooing as a way to make money while staying true to her passion — art.
“I love drawing for others and making something beautiful that people can not only take with them but have forever,” Kunkle says of creating portrait tattoos of beloved dogs. “I am just honored to immortalize people’s best friends in such sweet ways.”
Kunkle has been tattooing for almost four years and strives to make sure every dog portrait she tattoos captures the essence of the pet for their owner. Her attention to capturing the pet’s individual personality shows through in the tattoos she creates. She says one of the most important parts of her portrait process is looking at as many photos as pet parents are willing to send.
“Reference photos, reference photos, reference photos,” she says. “I love when clients send me several pictures of their dog at different angles. I get to see their soul and the features that define them.”
When beginning to tattoo a client, Kunkle begins by examining the photos submitted by the pet owner, examining where they want the tattoo, and taking into consideration the composition as a whole if the owner wants additional elements like lettering or flowers. She prefers to do portrait tattoos in black and white but thinks it’s fun to add pops of color like a red collar, or one blue eye if that’s a distinguishing feature of the pet.
Kunkle says there is more pressure when tattooing a dog portrait over other tattoos because of the pressure to ensure the portrait looks like the pet.
“Their face and features have filled so many memories, capturing their true selves is so important,” Kunkle says.
Comments