Frequently Asked Questions

Is booking open?

Booking is currently: CLOSED. Reopens in JUNE. Exact date TBA!

QUICK INFO

My name Lea is pronounced like “lay-uh” (like Star Wars)

I tattoo anime, video games, and other pop culture subject matter. My style is in the categories of feminine kawaii (cute), neotraditional, and illustrative.

Email is LIGOT.LEA@GMAIL.COM.

Schedule:
I work only Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.
I usually take two appointments a day, one at 12:30 and one at 4:30/5:30 depending on how long the first one takes.

Where do you work?

Currently, my studio is inside of:

Pussykat Tattoo
4972 S Maryland Pkwy # 12
Las Vegas NV 89119

My studio is along YOUR RIGHT side of the shop when you walk in, the second room along the right wall, the one with the small window with a banner with my name on the door. I moved to this room in September 2023 so if you hadn’t visited me since this point, please note that my room is in this new spot.

How do you schedule? What’s your booking process like?

Broadly speaking, I schedule in batches (3-4 month bursts) where I open books for about a week whether people can send their inquiries for me to read and review. Once I can review and sort through everyone, we try to schedule all of the approved inquiries until there are no available spots left.

Are you looking for an apprentice? If not, do you know of anyone taking an apprentice?

I’m currently not interested in taking on an apprentice and I don’t know of any artists or shops that are looking to take on apprentices either.

However, some advice for those looking for an apprenticeship: build a relationship with an artist before you ask them about an apprenticeship i.e. get tattooed by them and do so often. If you get to know them first you’ll already be familiar enough with the way they work to know if this is someone you’d want to learn under as well as knowing if they’re even in a position to teach you as well just from naturally interacting with them.

This also works both ways. As an artist, teaching someone is a decent undertaking that would require a lot of work in addition to their own individual workload. Balancing the managing of your own career while teaching someone else that same career should really only be for artists that are up to the task and taking responsibility for their apprentice. It’s a lot to ask of someone to devote a part of their life to share their knowledge… for a virtual stranger.

Knowing this, I would advise not to take a declined apprenticeship proposal personally. Responsible artists will know their limits and are really just trying to make sure they don’t make promises they can’t keep.

I also would just advise getting into another field entirely. Tattooing is only getting more and more saturated so it’s harder to find your footing if you aren’t willing to devote yourself wholly to this career. It’s a lot more work than social media may lead you to believe, as with many other careers that are glamorized online. If you really want it, you’ll find a way. If not, reassess and move on.

DEPOSIT POLICY/ RESCHEDULES/ PRICING

Deposits:

I require a $200 deposit per appointment scheduled. This payment is due immediately as appointments are not considered booked without a deposit. During scheduling we will provide links/QR codes on where to send the deposit either via Paypal, Zelle, or Venmo.

The deposit is completely non-refundable and non-transferable although it does go toward the final cost of the tattoo session, with $200 being counted to each session if multiple have been scheduled. In turn, this means that booking multiple appointments compounds the total deposit amount due to book the appointments (i.e. 2 appts = $400 total, 3 appts = $600 total, etc).

Reschedules:

If a reschedule is necessary, please notify us at least 48 hours in advance. There may not be available time slots for several months, but if you decide to reschedule you will need to send a new $200 deposit.

Cancellations:

Outright cancellations are straightforward: I keep your deposit and if you want to schedule a new appointment, you’ll need to wait for the next booking cycle. You will need to send a new deposit as well.

“No-call, No-shows” will result in becoming ineligible to inquire in the future.

Late policy:

I have a 15-minute grace period where you must let me know of your tardiness. If you are not in my studio by the 30th minute past your scheduled appointment time, then your appointment is considered cancelled and you must wait until the next booking cycle to reschedule and you must set a new deposit. Make sure you plan your transit accommodations to account for traffic beforehand!

Waitlist:

I currently do not have an official waitlist for cancellations, although we may ask local clients to fill the spot if they are able. (This is why we ask if you’re local or traveling when inquiring)

Pricing:

I work hourly, currently my rate is $225/hr.

I have a session minimum of $450 (2 hours).

While it is difficult to predict exactly the cost of each tattoo during the inquiry phase, I do provide a basic range in hours based on factors like whether the tattoo is in color or black and grey (color takes longer), the level of detail, the overall final size, and placement on the body.

During the inquiry phase I’ll indicate whether your idea is suitable for a half-day or full day.

Half-day: 2-4 hours.

This is the most common designation for pieces that are hand-sized or smaller. Sometimes if the design is bigger or more detailed then we may distinguish a “long half-day” where we estimate the time will be closer to 4-5 hours in total.

Full-day: 6 hours minimum. (Requires a $400 deposit)

If you are looking to cover at least a half section of the body (a whole forearm, upper arm/bicep/shoulder, lower leg/calf/shin, thigh, etc) in one sitting then a full day is more suitable for your project. This designation is only for those willing to take the responsibility for a full day’s worth of work, both financially and physically.

There will also be time set aside at  the beginning of the appointment to make edits if necessary since the project is anticipated to be much larger and may require fitting adjustments.

PAYMENT

In order of preference: Cash, Zelle, Venmo, and Paypal.

Will you do my tattoo?

Maybe—as long as I feel it’s within my ability/interest. Please look through my profile and see if the way I tattoo is a good fit for the style you’re looking for. If you’re unsure if I’d be interested, then there’s no harm in just asking me! Please inquire to see if I’m able to do your tattoo.

Will you tattoo under 18?

Nope, only 18 and over please.

Do you do coverups? Can you rework a tattoo I already have?

I prefer not to work with coverups unless I can guarantee a good outcome. These are subject to approval.

Do you have premade/flash designs available? What are wannados?

I do have some wannado designs available on my IG! They’re kept in the “WANNADO” highlight in my bio. I only post them in the lead-up to the next booking cycle then I take everything down when booking is over.

Designs can only be claimed for their current booking cycle and cannot be held for a future booking cycle. I’ve had people hold designs for actual years and never got them so sorry but other people fucked up the layaway system for everyone.

A note about types of designs:

Repeatable: These types can be tattooed multiple times on multiple people both in color and black and grey. There’s no limit. You can also customize these to an extent. If you wanted to customize it in such a way that it would take more than 3 hours to complete then we will defer to my hourly rate instead of the listed price.

Once-only: Like the type describes, these can only be tattooed one time only. These types are meant to be tattooed as-is and cannot be altered. Feel free to ask for “sister designs” if these types get claimed, and in doing so you can ask for any alterations you might want!

What if the design I wanted gets claimed before I can do the claiming? What is a “Sister Design”?

You have two options: cut your losses and try again with another design, or if you really liked the concept then ask me if I’d be comfortable designing something similar and custom for you. Most of the time I am fine with a redraw/making a sister design. 

What is a sister design?

A sister design refers to me creating a similar yet different interpretation of a design I’ve already tattooed, or if the design itself has already been claimed during the booking process.

It goes without saying, but the original drawing must be of my own creation in order for me to consider making a sister design. It’s essentially a more specific way of asking, “I liked what you did here, can I get something similar but not the same exact thing?” The idea is to change elements of the original design to your preference, or to just give me an opportunity to revisit the design in order to make it distinct from the original, yet keep the overall essence and themes/styles within the same family. Same genes, different expression, like a sibling–a sister.

How do I set up an appointment?

Instructions are available through the “Book an Appointment” page. Please be prepared to set a deposit for any appointment.

**Please be sure to check your spelling in the entire inquiry!

What if I’m from out of town?

I would love to tattoo you! When you make your inquiry, please make it clear that you are from out of town, or at the very least a non-local, somewhere in either the subject line or the beginning of your inquiry so that I know that you would have specific time constraints. Please also be sure to let me know what dates you’d want to book for. I cannot promise that I will definitely get you booked, but you will get a fair shot like everyone else!

Why do you require only email correspondence? Why can’t I text or direct message you on instagram?

Consistency!

My booking assistant will email info packets that require your review in order to proceed so that everyone is on the same page with what is expected from both parties.

Where is my design? Can I see what you’ve drawn up? Can you send me the sketches?

Nope! Everyone will receive their designs on the day of and only sketches with watermarks are sent in the morning of the appointment! I draw on a tablet, so if there are any adjustments that need to be made, they can be made at the time of your appointment. However, if you require an overall redesign, we will need to reschedule and your deposit for that appointment is forfeit.

More than likely, if you have seen my work and like what I do, and if you’ve been very clear in communicating what you want, then major redesigns should not be necessary. It’s only when ideas have been completely miscommunicated that there ever has been any issue, but for the most part I try to be very thorough during the inquiry process to avoid these issues.

Do I get to keep the art you did for me anyway?

Not at all. The art belongs to me and only for me to tattoo. Please understand that it would be really shitty if someone blew me off on an appointment and then got it done by someone else.

The deposit pays for the time I work on the art for your tattoo, but does not entitle you to ownership of that artwork. All artwork that I produce belongs to me. Obviously a tattoo will belong to its wearer, but the artwork belongs to the artist. That’s why ripping off someone else’s tattoo is a big offense as you’re stealing someone else’s work.

I live so far away and can’t come to you! Can I have my local artist tattoo one of your designs?

I’m unavailable for commission work and strongly prefer tattooing my own work myself. If you’re asking for permission for someone else to tattoo my work, then you won’t and don’t have it.

Do you plan on traveling and doing guest spots/conventions?

Yes, I’ll update on my IG whenever traveling becomes relevant!

Any tips for newbies?

Getting tattooed is only as hard as you want to make it. Here are my top tips for getting through your first tattoo:

  1. Sleep: get a full night’s rest at least the night before your tattoo.
  2. Eat: make sure you have eaten something substantial yet gentle on the stomach before getting tattooed. There’s nothing more stress-inducing than having an upset tummy while getting tattooed.
  3. Hydrate: this a weeklong prep where you should both be drinking plenty of water in the days leading up to your tattoo. It’s good for you and puts your body in a good place to endure pain. Also if you can, lotion up the area daily for a week or longer so ensure the skin’s elasticity. It’s so much harder to tattoo dry or cracked skin, and if you are sunburnt then reschedule because you’ve essentially ruined your skin and can’t get tattooed until you’re healed.
  4. Bring headphones: If you’re okay with conversation then I am as well, but if you need to tune out the world with music or a show then feel free to bring your headphones. I also have charging ports readily available so bring your cables!
  5. Don’t overdo it on caffeine: Too much caffeine makes you anxious, irritable, and squirmy which are all three sensations not conducive to a good tattoo. Avoid overdoing it!
  6. Bring supportive people if necessary: Don’t bring people who will distract you in a bad way. If they can handle sitting and keeping themselves entertained for periods of time then bring them! If they make you feel rushed or anxious, then reconsider inviting them to your tattoo.
  7. Try not to use numbing agents without your artist’s consent as there are numbing products that can mess up your skin texture in a way that hinders our ability to tattoo.