Thanks for your interest in booking with me! Please read through the FAQs below, then view the booking page for additional information before filling out the form at the bottom of that page to start the booking process.

For touch-ups on my work, you do not need to fill out a booking request form. Please send me an email directly.
Earliest available touch-up appointments are usually 2 - 4 weeks out (3 - 5 weeks out for weekend appointment dates).

I work in my own private studio at ActivSpace, a warehouse community of fellow small business owners, located at 3150 18th Street. ActivSpace is in the Mission, closer to the Potrero Hill (eastern) side. The building is secure and accessible, about 5 blocks from BART, and very close to several Muni bus line stops.
The main entrance of the building is on Treat Avenue, between unit numbers 102 and 103. If you have an appointment scheduled, you will be provided with a phone number to text when you arrive (please do not use the call box).

I can provide off-street bicycle parking in the ActivSpace garage. If you are parking a bicycle, please have your own lock and bring your bicycle with you to the entrance door. Unfortunately, I am not able to offer onsite garage parking for motor vehicles. Most of the neighborhood has free street parking (without residential limits), but it can be busy, especially on weekdays, so please allow extra time to find a spot and be mindful of posted signs for any restrictions. Paid parking is available at California Parking (El Capitan) or the 16th & Hoff garage. I do not recommend parking in a metered spot.

My current rate is $400/hour and I have a $300 minimum per person per session for all custom tattoos. If you are working with budget restrictions, please include this information on the form and I will let you know if we can execute your idea at or under your budget.

I specialize in detailed fineline and single-needle black ink tattoos, with a focus on the mysterious and mystical side of nature. I work in a minimal realism style, using concise organic linework and light shading to capture the essence of my subject matter in a unique hand-drawn style.

Your tattoo request will be more likely to be approved if it fits my style and my preferred subject matter:
• Nature

• Handwriting
• Script (especially cursive and fineline)
• Characters or elements from video games/cartoons/anime/manga

Please, no requests for:
• Human figures (other than existing characters from cartoons/anime/manga)
• Perfect/clean geometry with a computer-printed look
• Full color pieces – I very rarely work with color and will only use it as a slight accent
• Color outlines or color script
• Tattoo cover-ups or revamps
• Copies of another tattoo artist’s work or copies of a custom tattoo I created

I focus on custom tattoos, meaning I draw each piece to be unique to each client. The process will depend on how collaborative you would like to be.
• If you prefer to be a little more hands-off, I appreciate your trust! I will ask you a few questions to determine some basic design features but will source my own references.
• Or you may provide design direction by:

I am also happy to work with finished drawings that match my style and abilities, as long as you are the original artist or have proof of permission from the original artist to get their work tattooed.

I will send a draft of your drawing or font options to you 1-2 days prior to your appointment so that we can work on finalizing the design/font.
The final design will be shown to you in person at your tattoo appointment. I set aside extra time for each appointment in case additional updates are needed.

I do not offer in-person consultations. I am only doing consultations via email at this time.

I may be able to accommodate a maximum of two designs per tattoo session, depending on requested size and complexity of designs.

Please refer to this page for details on my protocol.

On the day of the tattoo appointment, I prefer to work one-on-one so that we can focus the experience on you. If you would like to bring a guest for moral support and input, please limit yourself to one guest only. Your guest may participate in the sizing and placement decision with your consent. Once we start tattooing, however, we will ask for your guest to wait in the separated seating area or visit our neighboring businesses.

Please review my Prep/Aftercare page here.

For deposits, I accept Venmo, PayPal, Google Pay, or credit card (via Square).
On the day of the tattoo, cash is preferred but I also accept Venmo, PayPal, credit card, or tap payments (Google/Apple/Samsung Pay).

NOTE: this is my personal policy only and does not necessarily apply to any other artists -
Tips are greatly appreciated but not expected! I understand that getting a tattoo can be a big investment and that not everyone feels comfortable factoring a tip into their budget.
As an alternate way of showing your appreciation, please consider leaving a positive review on Google or Yelp and/or paying with cash (to save me the digital payment fees).

When working with other artists, please note that general etiquette is to tip 20% of the total tattoo cost including deposit. For touch-ups, estimate what the cost would be based on the artist's hourly rate (prorated), then tip 20% of that amount.

I offer lifetime free touch-ups on all of my work except on fingers/hands, feet, and ears (cartilage or lobe).
Work must be healed for at least 4 weeks before assessing if a touch-up is needed.

Custom tattoos are unique designs created specifically for each client based on the client's requested parameters. Most of my work falls in this category. Please refer to the design process question (above) for more details.
Handwriting, text, and tattoos for which you provide the design (with proof of permission from the original artist) are also considered custom tattoos for pricing purposes, regardless of whether or not you need me to make edits to the design. This is because a high level of precision is required to faithfully translate handwriting, text, or other artist's work to skin.

Flash tattoos are pieces that I have already designed. They are simply images that I would like to tattoo, created with no one specific in mind. I have two different types of flash: repeatable and non-repeatable designs. Both are a slightly discounted option, since the design process is already done for these pieces.
Repeatable flash may be tattooed more than once and can be claimed by multiple people. I am able to offer a discounted flat rate on these designs since they may be repeated.
Non-repeatable flash are unique designs that I would like to tattoo only once; when a non-repeatable design is claimed and tattooed, it will not be tattooed again. Since the design is already completed, these are offered at a discounted hourly rate.

Thanks for your interest in my work! I am not comfortable with having my designs tattooed by another artist. Each tattoo artist has their own unique style, and the way I draw my pieces is honed to match my tattooing techniques.

If you're not quite ready to submit a booking request but have a question that isn't answered above, please email me directly at info@anitadarkling.com. Please do not submit booking requests to this email.