Version six on the morning of the session
An artist sends a client a draft for a back piece a week before the session. The client asks for the flowers to be bigger. Then smaller. Then for a snake to be added. The artist redraws three times in her evenings. The night before, the client sends a Pinterest image and asks if it could be 'more like this'. On the morning of the session, they spend forty-five minutes at the light box agreeing the final version, and the session starts late and runs short.
Two weeks later, the client mentions the flowers were meant to be bigger. The artist is sure they agreed on that size, but the conversation is spread across dozens of messages and voice notes.
Designs are agreed in a chat, not a record
Design is the heart of custom tattooing, and some back and forth is part of it. The problem is the channel. DMs have no concept of a version, an approval or a limit.
- Drafts, comments and references are mixed with small talk in the same thread.
- There is no clear moment when the client says 'this is the one'.
- Your studio's revision policy, if any, is not shown to the client.
- Late changes arrive the night before, when the artist has no time.
- The agreed design is not attached to the session record.
Unpaid drawing time and disputed designs
Artists spend evenings on revisions that were never agreed as part of the price. Sessions start late because the design is not settled. If a client later disputes what was agreed, there is nothing clear to point to. And the artist's portfolio suffers when the final design was a rushed compromise at the light box.
How we build a design approval step
- When a design is ready, the artist uploads it to the client's session page rather than sending it in a DM.
- The client sees the draft with your studio's revision policy beside it, and can comment on the image directly or approve it.
- Each new version is numbered and kept, with the comments that led to it.
- Revisions are counted against your policy, and the client can see how many remain and what happens after, such as an extra drawing fee if your studio charges one.
- A cut-off date before the session is set, after which changes need the artist's agreement.
- The approved version is locked and attached to the session, so the artist and client both know what will be tattooed.
| Moment | In DMs | With design approval |
|---|---|---|
| Draft shared | Image in a chat thread | Version 1 on the session page |
| Feedback | Mixed with other messages | Comments on the design |
| Revision count | Nobody counts | Shown against your policy |
| Final design | Somewhere in the thread | Approved version locked to the session |
Your artists' creative judgement stays in charge. The approval step only records what was shared, asked and agreed.
Session mornings that start with tattooing
The client arrives having approved the design days before. The artist prints the stencil from the locked version. Changes on the day are rare and deliberate. If a question ever comes up about what was agreed, both sides can look at the approved image and the comments that led to it. Artists spend fewer evenings redrawing, because the revision policy is visible and clients choose their changes more carefully.
Do designs drag on at your studio?
- Designs are shared and revised in DMs.
- Clients ask for changes the night before.
- Nobody can say which version was agreed.
- Revisions are not counted.
- Sessions start late while the design is finalised.