Flash or custom tattoo: what changes when you book

A flash is a design the artist already drew, on their own, hoping somebody would want it. A custom tattoo is drawn after talking to you. It sounds like a difference of origin, but it changes everything that follows: how long it takes to get an appointment, how much can be altered, what information the studio needs from you, and which questions are worth asking.

What changes, point by point

Neither is better. They are two different routes to the same place, and the choice depends mostly on whether you have a specific idea in your head or you have fallen for a drawing that already exists.

If you pick a flash

What you need to ask is not the price, which is usually already published. It is this:

• Can the size be changed? It is the most common request and it is not always possible: a design with fine detail loses legibility when shrunk, and sometimes has to be redrawn entirely to be enlarged.
• Does it work on the area I want? A drawing made for a straight forearm may not sit well on a calf or on ribs.
• Can it be tattooed more than once? Some artists repeat their flashes happily; others do each one only once. If it matters to you, ask in advance.
• Can details or the colour be changed? Sometimes yes, and sometimes that is precisely what the artist does not want touched.

When the answer to several of these is "yes, but it would have to be redrawn", what you are looking at is no longer a flash. It is a custom commission with a different price and different timings, and it is worth saying so out loud so nobody is surprised.

If you commission a custom design

There is a process here, and it helps to know where you are in it:

1. Consultation. You describe the idea with references, placement and size. The studio tells you whether it is viable and who would take it on.
2. Quote. With scope, expected sessions and conditions. This is still not an appointment.
3. Sketch. Normally after you accept the quote and, in many studios, after paying a deposit.
4. Revisions. There is usually an agreed number. Ask how many are included and until when.
5. Session.

The three questions that will serve you best along that path are: when you will see the sketch, how many changes are included, and what happens to what you have paid if the sketch does not convince you. That last one is awkward to ask, which is exactly why it should be asked, before you pay anything.

If the flash you like belongs to another artist

This happens constantly: you find a flash on the account of somebody in another city or with no open books, and you take it to a studio near you. Ask about it openly, because the answer varies a lot. Some artists will not copy another design, some will take it as a reference and draw something of their own, and some will tell you to write to the original author and ask permission.

None of those three answers is bad news. What is a bad idea is presenting it as a drawing with no author and discovering the problem on the day of the session.

Timings: the real difference

With a flash, the bottleneck is the artist calendar. With a custom commission there is also design time that you never see: the sketch gets drawn outside session hours, so it depends on how many commissions that person has ahead of yours.

So if you have a deadline, a trip or an event, say it in the first message. A studio may tell you that in that time frame a flash is all they can manage, and that is a useful answer that saves you three weeks of waiting.

Price: why there is no rule

You will read that flash is always cheaper. It usually is, because the design time was already spent and because many flashes are small pieces. But it is not a rule: a large flash with heavy fill can cost more than a small line-work custom piece.

What decides the price is mostly session time and design work, not the label. So compare actual quotes, not categories.

A simple way to decide

If your eye goes straight to one design on the flash sheet and you want it exactly as it is, take it. If you look at the sheet and think "I like it, but I would change three things", what you want is a custom design, and you will be happier asking for it that way from the start.

Related: how to choose an artist beyond a single photo, what to send when you ask for a quote, what to ask before you pay a deposit, and how to read the quote before you accept it.