10 Most Expensive Tattoo Artists In The World, Ranked (By Their Cost)
Tattoos are done for many reasons. Some for attention and rebellion, most for artistic expression and identity. Some tattoos are reminders of culture, tradition, and experiences. Whatever reason we may have, one thing is for sure, getting a tattoo is dang expensive!
Artists depend on the intricacy of their designs, some on their popularity and some on their years of experience. Sometimes, a person may have to wait for a year or two to get inked by those in-demand tattoo artists. The waiting list they have is not a joke at all. Here is a list of the most expensive tattoo artists in the world.
Bob Tyrrell ($155 Per Hour)
Bob is a tattoo artist who currently lives in Michigan. He started his career in his thirties and got famous for inking Kid Rock’s back. He has been featured on the TV shows LA Ink and London Ink. In 2012 he participated as a jurist in the first Chaudesaigues Grant, an award that acknowledges the profession and craftsmanship of tattoo experts.
Tyrrell likewise participated in the 2012 WorldWide Tattoo Conference. In late 2012, he appeared in a scene of Ink Master as an exceptional guest judge. It frequently turns out to be photorealistic, but unmistakably legit. Bob has transformed himself into a legend with his style and capacity to take darkness and transform it into a perfect work of art on skin.
Keith Underwood ($200 Per Hour)
Keith co-owns Austin Tattoo Company and Taylor Street Tattoo. He was raised in the tattoo world as a conventional tattoo craftsman. Keith learned conventional methods for inking from being an apprentice of Mike "Rollo Banks" Malone who has also worked with the incredible customary tattoo artists Ed Hardy and "Sailor Jerry" Collins. He is also famous for his street style art. To get one of his tattoos inked on your skin, you should go to his new shop in Austin, Texas, with at least $200 in your pocket. His first shop was Taylor Street Tattoo and Body Piercing in Chicago, Illinois.
Katherine Von Drachenberg Or Kat Von D ($210 Per Hour)
Kat is a Mexican tattoo artist, model, creator, business visionary, and a celebrity. She is most popular for her work as a tattoo craftsman on the TLC reality show, LA Ink. She is likewise known for being the previous head of Kat Von D Beauty which is now known as KVD Vegan Beauty. She was also featured in the OG tattoo reality TV drama, Miami Ink, which standardized tattoos in the working environment, as indicated by an article in Huffington Post. From that point onward, tattoo acknowledgment in professional settings has been on the ascent, USA Today reports, as an ever-increasing number of individuals are turning out to be tattoo enthusiasts.
Jonathan Valena Or JonBoy ($300 Per Hour)
JonBoy, a previous youth minister, met Hailey Baldwin Beiber through the Christian megachurch Hillsong. When Hailey became 18, she got her first tattoo from JonBoy: her parent’s wedding date done in Roman numerals on her wrist. He is also known for inking Justin Bieber’s face. His client list, apart from Justin and Hailey, includes Kendall Jenner, Travis Scott, and Zayn Malik, who were completely drawn to the micro tattoos JonBoy has become known for. He has been a tattoo artist for years, and now, he is releasing his first signature garment products partnered with the Coachella Music and Arts Festival.
Paul Booth ($310 Per Hour)
Paul began his tattoo journey began as a child when he showed a passion for art even then. Totally self-trained, he found solace in painting art that is dark and horrifying. He developed his own technical style through personal growth and experimentation. Like that of the early Flemish painters, he uses a multi-layer approach that gives his art texture and depth that makes his paintings realistic and visually stunning.
He can be best depicted as a dark surrealist and has become famous both locally and globally. Paul opened up Last Rites Tattoo Theater in New York City in 1996. With the absolute best tattoo specialists on the planet, the shop immediately gained recognition as the best studio to get inked.
Keith Scott “Bang Bang” McCurdy ($400 Per Hour)
According to Keith, his best ability is his availability. He doesn’t complain about clients calling at 3 a.m. to get a tattoo at 6 or if he has to travel a lot to ink people. His famous clients are the likes of Kylie Jenner, Selena Gomez, Cara Delevingne, Katy Perry, Rihanna, LeBron James. In 2004, he ordered a tattoo ink online and started practicing on himself, his friends, and family. The following year, he started working at Rage of the Needle in Delaware. Before long he made a full commitment to being a tattoo artist by having guns inked on either side of his neck, alongside the lettering perusing "Bang Bang," which earned him his famous moniker.
Anil Gupta ($450 Per Hour)
Anil went to New York in 1991 right after the Gulf War and the US was in a downturn. No one was hiring artists. It was also a time when inking was illicit in New York so tattoo artists worked underground. Anil was a tattoo artist who didn’t have a single ink on his skin until he was finally persuaded to get small tattoos from Paul Booth and Guy Atchison. He is famous for his realistic portraits and tribal-inspired tattoos. He even tattooed a replica of Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting once. His tattoo parlor, Inkline Studio, is in Manhattan, New York.
Ami James ($500 Per Hour)
Ami is an American-Israeli tattoo artist, celebrity, and entrepreneur. He is a traditional tattoo artist having done apprenticeships under the artist Lou of Tattoos by Lou. He got his first tattoo when he was 15-years- old and was determined to become a tattoo artist. He first started mastering a variety of tattoo genres and specializing in the Japanese style of tattoo art, opening several studios including Love Hate, Wooster Street Club and Five Points NYC. He opened more shops in Asheville, North Carolina, and Notting Hill, London. He is also giving apprenticeships to other artists. He is famous as the face of NY Ink and Miami Ink.
Scott Campbell ($1000 For The First Hour, $200 For The Next)
Scott experienced a conservative childhood in New Orleans, Louisiana, with a Southern Baptist family. It started his quest for something different. He graduated in 1995 from Kingwood High School. He studied biochemistry in the University of Texas and eventually dropped out. After years of training from the Picture Machine, Scott now owns Saved Tattoo in Brooklyn, New York with Stephanie Tamez. He is famous for his skills in typography, and antique ornamentation tattoos. He has also made some paintings that have been curated. His famous clients include Marc Jacobs, Orlando Bloom, Sting, Robert Downy Jr, and the late Heath Ledger.
Don Ed Hardy ($1,500 per hour)
Don Ed is not only the highest compensated tattoo artist but also the richest with a net worth of $250 million. That is not even close to the worth of other existing tattoo artists on the planet. He is undoubtedly a legend. Ed is a serious artist. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute. He studied under Horihide, a Japanese tattoo master, which makes his style heavily influenced by Japanese aesthetics. He was appointed to Oakland’s Cultural Arts Commission by Mayor Jerry Brown. He is now retired as a tattoo artist for he is already 75-years-old. He is now mentoring the artists at his studio, Tattoo City in San Francisco.