You’ve got half an idea, a rough spot on your arm where you think it might go, and a quiet worry that someone’s about to make you feel dumb for not knowing more than that. Music’s playing. Somebody looks up and says hey. Your stomach does the thing.
That’s where a consultation starts. At Enigma Tattoos in St. Louis, they’re free, there’s no obligation, and half-formed ideas are the normal starting point rather than the exception.
A consultation is a conversation, not a commitment. You sit down with an artist, show them what’s in your head, and find out what it would actually take to put it on your body. At Enigma it’s free.
Do You Have to Pay for a Tattoo Consultation?
No. Talking to us costs nothing, and you’re not on the hook for anything afterward. If you decide to book a date, your artist will walk you through what holding that date takes. It only comes up if and when you say yes.
Before Your Consultation: What to Bring
You don’t need much, and you don’t need it all figured out. A few things make the conversation more useful:
- Reference images, two to five is plenty. Screenshots, tattoos you like, a photo of your grandmother’s handwriting, a bird you saw once. These are inspiration, not something to copy line for line.
- A rough placement idea. Forearm, ribs, ankle, somewhere you can cover for work. “Somewhere on my arm” counts.
- A size range, even a vague one. Hold your fingers apart. That works.
- A budget ballpark, so nobody wastes your time designing something outside what you want to spend.
- Your ID. Standard for anyone getting tattooed, and easy to forget.
If this is your first tattoo and you want the wider picture, eating beforehand, what to wear, what the day itself feels like, our guide to your first tattoo in St. Louis covers all of that. No need to repeat it here.
During the Consultation: What Actually Happens
Here’s how it goes.
Talking Through Your Idea
You walk in the door and tell whoever greets you what you’re thinking about. No appointment required, though you can book ahead if you’d rather. Then it’s “let me grab an artist,” and somebody comes out to actually talk with you.
They’ll ask questions. What’s the idea? What does it mean to you, if it means something? Anything you definitely don’t want? If you brought references, you’ll go through them together and the artist will explain what they’d pull from each one. Say you want a bird on your chest. They want to know which bird, which direction it’s facing, and whether you’re picturing it bold and heavy or fine and quiet.
Placement, Size, and Style
Placement changes a design more than most people expect. A piece that reads clean on a forearm has to be rethought for ribs, where the body curves and the skin moves. Size follows the same logic: fine detail needs room to breathe, or it blurs together as it ages.
Style comes up here too. Traditional, black and gray, fine line, color realism, lettering. If you’re not sure which one your idea wants to be, the artist will suggest directions and you’ll go back and forth until it clicks. Browsing our tattoo work beforehand gives you vocabulary for that conversation, though it’s not required.
Meeting the Right Artist
You’re not just meeting “a tattooer.” You’re meeting a specific person whose strengths fit your idea, because most artists have styles they’re genuinely great at and styles they’d rather hand to somebody else in the room. That’s why the consultation matters. We’ll match your idea to the artist whose strengths actually fit it. See who works here on our artists page.
Pricing and Scheduling
Bracing yourself for the money part? Everybody does. So let’s just say it out loud.
Price comes down to four things: how big the piece is, how much detail is in it, where it goes on your body, and how long it takes to do. That’s it. There’s no secret formula and nobody’s sizing up your shoes. Your artist gives you a real figure before anything gets booked, so you’re never guessing and never getting surprised on the day.
If the number doesn’t work for you, say so. Maybe the piece gets simpler, maybe it gets smaller, maybe you come back in three months. And if you’d rather just leave and think about it, do that. No hard feelings, none at all.
Seeing the Design
Small, simple pieces can sometimes go straight to a stencil the same day. Custom or larger work usually needs drawing time, so the artist will sketch it up and get it to you before your appointment. Either way, the promise doesn’t change: before a needle touches your skin, you see the stencil on your body, in a mirror, in the actual spot.
Then you get to be picky. Move it up, move it down, bigger, smaller, rotate it. If there’s lettering, we read the spelling back with you and you confirm it. A stencil is just a thermal transfer sitting on your skin. It isn’t permanent, and changing it costs nothing but a minute.
How Long Does a Tattoo Consultation Take?
As long as it needs to. Simple pieces are quick. Big custom projects and cover-ups run longer, and that’s fine. Nobody’s watching a clock.
Can You Say No and Walk Away?
Yes. Every time.
Consultations here aren’t a sales appointment. If the price isn’t right this month, if you want to sit with the idea, if the artist’s take on it doesn’t feel like yours, you can say “I’m going to think about it” and walk out. Nobody’s forcing you, and nobody’s going to guilt you on the way to the door.
After the Consultation: Booking Your Appointment
Say you’re in. You’ll pick a date and go home with a plan instead of a maybe. Between now and then, the artist finishes the design. On the day, you’ll show ID, sign a release form, approve the stencil, and get tattooed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a consultation for a small tattoo? Not always. Walk-ins are welcome, and simple pieces can often be handled the same day. A consult makes more sense for custom work, cover-ups, or anything you’ve got detailed questions about.
Am I committing to anything at the consultation? No. The meeting is free, and you only talk scheduling if you want a date.
What if I don’t know what I want yet? Come anyway. Wanting a tattoo without knowing what it is describes a lot of the people who walk in here, and figuring it out together is the job.
That should give you an idea of what you’re walking into. If you’ve got something in mind, or something halfway in mind, come see us at the shop in the Delmar Loop. Free consultation. Come in when you want to.