Sara :
Dmytro, thank you for taking the time. I would like to start with the most common question from beginners: why can the prices for an original project exceed the cost of, say, a typical tattoo from a catalog many times?
Dmitriy :
Thank you for the question. I will answer with a metaphor: you do not compare the cost of a unique suit sewn for you in a workshop with the price of a mass-produced item? The same is true here. An original project is not a service, it is co-creation. The client does not come with a picture, but with an idea, an emotion, a story. My task is to become a guide between this idea and its ideal embodiment on the skin. This path is much more difficult than technical copying.
Sara :
So where does this journey begin?
Dmitriy :
With a deep, sometimes hour-long conversation. It is critically important for me to understand not what a person wants to see, but why exactly this is, what meaning the symbol carries, what feeling the work should evoke. Sometimes the client brings only a vague image. My job as an artist is to help him formulate, find the best form, composition, style. This is the job of a designer-psychologist.
Sara :
And then — flash. Can its creation take as much time as the actual application?
Dmitriy :
Easy! And often even more. One sketch can have several iterations. We improve it together until we both feel: yes, this is it. This is already an independent work of art. A person pays not only for my hands during the session, but also for these hours of reflection, searching, sketches. For a unique product that does not exist anywhere else in the world. An author's project is not just applying a picture from the Internet. This is a full cycle of creating a unique art: from the idea and development of an individual sketch to technically flawless execution.
Sara :
But many masters also make sketches. What is the difference?
Dmitriy :
In experience and artistic vision. A master with over 20 years of experience offers not only the technique, but also an understanding of how the idea will "heal" on the skin in years. People write to me: "I wanted a tattoo that will look relevant in 10, 20 years." I show a portfolio of works of different ages so that the client can see that it is an investment for life, not a temporary decoration. This is knowledge acquired over the years, and it is priceless.
Sara :
Technical performing skills - isn't it the most important part?
Dmitriy :
Undoubtedly, but this is a mandatory minimum, a foundation. 20 years of experience gives not just a "steady hand". It gives foresight. I understand how this or that line, small detail, filling density will behave in 5, 10, 20 years. Like work on a certain part of the body. Young masters often work for the "wow effect" here and now. I work for decades. It's an engineering calculation along with an artistic gesture.
Sara :
Safety and hygiene - is that what the client also pays for?
Dmitriy :
This is something that there are no compromises on. The author's price includes absolute confidence in safety. A closed private studio, sterile conditions, the best world pigments, disposable materials - this is not an expense item, it is our philosophy. Respect for the client begins with respect for his health. When a person is relaxed and confident in safety, it is felt even in the muscles - and the healing process goes much better.
Sara :
Does the master's reputation affect the price?
Dmitriy :
Yes. When people travel from other cities or countries specifically, like one of the clients who "traveled from another city specifically... wanted his original work," they pay not only for the procedure. They invest in access to a master with unique experience and recognition. This is trust built over the years, and the responsibility that I take on, working with each skin.
Sara :
Your work is often called an investment. What do you mean?
Dmitriy :
An investment in yourself, in your identity. A cheap tattoo may later require expensive overlays or corrections. High-quality original work only gains depth over time, becomes part of your biography, like good vinyl or a watch. Clients who had work done by me many years ago come back not for corrections, but for a new project - and this is the best assessment.
Sara :
Is it true that people often come to you from other cities and countries?
Dmitriy :
Yes, and this imposes a special responsibility. A person pays not only for the tattoo, but also for the trip, accommodation. This is a level of trust that cannot be broken. Such clients usually clearly understand what they are going for: my original style, the opportunity to create something iconic. There is no room for experiments or doubts here, only a 100% result is needed.
Sara :
What would you advise a person who is hesitating between a regular and an original tattoo?
Dmitriy :
Ask yourself: do you want just a picture or a work of art with a story? If a tattoo is an important, personal story for you that you are ready to invest in, then an original project is your choice. This is a job for life. I will recall the words of the client: "This is not just a tattoo, this is a real work of art on my skin."
Sara :
What is your last argument in defense of the value of original work?
Dmitriy :
The best argument is my clients and their skin after years. They write to me: "Thank you for your work... your model." This is the highest assessment. An author's tattoo is a long-term relationship between the artist and the client, built on trust. You get not just a service, you get a masterpiece that will remain with you forever, and a master who is responsible for this masterpiece with all his name and reputation.
Sara :
What is your answer to the remark "you can pay that much money for a painting that you can hang on the wall"?
Dmitriy :
(Laughs) This is most often said by those who have never had a quality approach to tattooing. A painting on the wall is a separate object. A tattoo is art that comes to life with you. It moves, changes with the body, becomes part of your body language.
Your body is not a stand for a mass product. It is the only canvas in life. And only the original is worthy.
Choosing an individual tattoo, you choose not a service, but the fate of the drawing on your body. You need to invest in a unique story created for you and only for you.
