Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Tyranicorn. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Tyranicorn, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I learned how to tattoo through my friend and mentor, Brandon Blackwood. I had been getting tattoos from artists at A Dead Anchor for a few years. I had built good relationships with the artists at the shop and asked questions related to tattooing during my sessions. From those conversations, I was able to secure an apprenticeship. I had graphic design and a digital marketing background, but no former art history. The biggest hurdle in the learning process for me was being able to have a high volume creative output. During my apprenticeship, I was working a full time marketing job, and then after work I would need to continue to keep my creative juices flowing and draw a sheet of flash before the weekend. Finding the balance between work, cooking, cleaning, exercise, maintaining a social life, and commuting to and from my apprenticeship was the biggest challenge. I knew I wanted to learn from Brandon, and not just any other tattoo artist, however I was living on one side of the state, while the shop was on the other. I had to give up a lot of nights and weekends of my personal time to take phone calls, FaceTimes, commute to and from the shop, and ultimately focus on learning how to tattoo. There were a lot of times where I felt overwhelmed and burnt out and that I would never see the light at the end of the tunnel, especially when friends and family members were doubting me, or telling me to reconsider. Pushing through that negative thinking was challenging, especially right when I was nearing the part of my apprenticeship where I was able to start working on people. In a tattoo apprenticeship, your job is to first learn how to draw, how to compose the art, learning the needles and machines, creating stencils, tattooing fake skin, and then working with real people. However, right as I was about to work with people, our country shut down for COVID. In our state, we were locked down, and were unable to tattoo. Glove prices skyrocketed, and it was really challenging to navigate. That put a significant delay on me becoming an artist, because now I had to backtrack for the several months I couldn’t be in the shop, or get supplies. In total, my apprenticeship took me nearly 3 years to complete, because of the distance and the global-wide pandemic. However, I don’t think I would have changed any part of the timing process. I had a great professional marketing background that still serves me well in finding clients, and I learned from someone who I trusted as an artist and a mentor. For people who are interested in getting a tattoo apprenticeship, and want to know what it takes to do so, I wrote a blog about how to get a tattoo apprenticeship (https://www.tyranicorntattoo.com/apprenticeship.html) that they may find useful. It offers a lot more information than what I can cover here.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m a corporate girlie turned tattoo artist and business owner of Tyranicorn Tattoo (https://www.tyranicorntattoo.com). As most tattoo artists do, I operate under an alias rather than my “real name.” My “nickname” is Tyranicorn. It’s a hybrid between a Tyrannosaurus Rex and a unicorn. I got the name idea from one of my friends, who explicitly told me that my personality is “like if a T-Rex and a unicorn had babies with rainbow zebra stripes, and a crazy mohawk,” that would be me. A lot of people assume my name is Tyra, but my legal name is actually Brittany. However, I usually go by Ty for short, because it’s short for Tyranicorn. My style of tattooing is a mixture of neo traditional, cartoon, watercolor, and color realism… but most people find me because of my bright, vibrant color work. My signature design is black linework with rainbow watercolor backgrounds. I don’t take on many black and grey projects, as I feel we already have enough artists doing that well in our industry. My preference is to do color because that’s the type of tattoo work that I like and that I get on my own body. I have an unwritten rule where I tend not to take on a tattoo project unless it is something that I feel passionate about, and is something that I would also tattoo on my body. If I think a tattoo isn’t the right fit, I’d rather pass it on to an artist who will slam it out of the park. Tattoos can tell stories, they can be healing for losses, they can bring back fond memories, or they can be absolutely silly and unmeaningful at the same time. Each individual adds an emotional meaning behind the tattoos that they get. It is my job to make sure that my client’s vision comes to life and brings them happiness in that moment. Outside of tattooing, I enjoy building my Tyranicorn brand through t-shirts, stickers, hats, enamel pins, and other miscellaneous merchandise. I love doing art regardless if it’s for custom tattoos, predrawn designs, tattoo flash, or other side projects.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

I’ve said it, read it, seen it, heard it time and time again – Like, share, comment, post. Every single day it gets more challenging for us to reach our audiences, because of algorithm changes, people avoiding social media (or leaving it completely), it costs more to advertise on social platforms, and viral videos are just hit or miss. While I agree that it’s awesome to get several likes from the same crowd of people, this tactic isn’t enough. Artists heavily rely on referrals and a significant portion of my business is old school word of mouth advertising, and repeat customers. If you really truly believe in someone’s work as an artist – no matter the medium – you’re talking about them to your friends, your family, your coworkers, your neighbors… People nowadays can easily scroll past and tune out advertising online, billboards, TV, radio, etc. But, if you’re having a face to face conversation, and the topic of your tattoo is brought up, that’s a great plug to tell that person where you got it and who from. It’s no different than having friends over who see an art print hung up on your wall, plug that individual’s shop, give your friend the link. Social media isn’t enough. Video isn’t enough. Real conversations significantly make a difference.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

Before I began my tattoo career, I was referred a book called Emotional Intelligence 2.0. This book helped me realize I didn’t like where I was at in my job at the time, and helped me land a successful marketing career at a corporate financial institution. I recommend it to anyone who needs an exercise on checking themselves and learning how to conduct themselves in a room full of others. When working in the corporate finance world, I was extremely fortunate to have access to an abundance of conferences, webinars, and trainings to help me grow as a leader and manager. Our team was actively encouraged to attend Fred Pryor classes in the area, and I took a lot away from the coaches and sessions. When I was apprenticing, I drove long commutes to the shop and listened to a lot of podcasts and audiobooks. Specifically related to the tattoo industry, Andrew Stortz’s “Books Closed” podcast always left me fueled and inspired. Indirectly related, but also kinda related, Chris Burkett and Peaches’ podcast, “2 Be Better,” helped check me in my personal life, relationships, and professional goals. Chris is/was a tattoo artist who turned a fun project with his wife into an extremely successful podcast and brand. It goes without saying that with hard work and perseverance, you can do anything you set your mind to, and that’s been a huge pillar in my growth mindset. While driving my 32 hour round trip to my Denver guest spot at Bailie Waters studio, Slanted Hand Tattoo, I had a lot of time to listen to audiobooks, and cycled back through Jen Sincero’s book, “You Are a Badass at Making Money.” This is the third time I’ve listened to it, and I’ve read the hard copy through twice as well. If you need to put yourself in the abundance mindset, this book works wonders.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.tyranicorntattoo.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tyranicorntat/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/tyranicorn/