Who it's for.
Tattoo artistsAspiring tattoo artistsIllustratorsPaintersIndependent visual artists
- You keep making work, but you're unsure what to develop next.
- You find it hard to judge what's working when you look at your own work.
- You want regular critique as your work develops, rather than occasional advice.
You already draw. This isn't a class that teaches it from scratch.
Your work, read closely.A way of seeing, learned together.
Your critique gives you changes to test. The other artists' critiques give you more ways to see your own work.
How it works.
One month. Four sessions, once a week.
- Week 1Review
- 3–5 pieces and one question, 48 hours before
- Twenty minutes on your work, one artist at a time
- The others listen
- Week 2Make
- Live drawing, in my style
- Everyone shares a screen and draws along
- One prompt to take home
- Week 3Review
- What you made since
- What changed, what to push
- Week 4Make
- Live drawing again
- Where next month goes
Then keep going if you want. Your seat stays, and the next month picks up where this one left off.
Here, I draw in my style. Want me to draw in yours, one to one, to get to your own direction sooner? That's Private Mentorship
Not for everyone.
This is for artists who keep making work and want to see it more clearly, not for anyone looking for a comfortable place to be told it's fine.
A round asks something of you:
- Work submitted on time, finished or not. Critique needs something to read.
- Showing up and listening when it isn't your turn. That's half the program.
- Bringing what you changed back to the next session.
I'll tell you what I see in your work, plainly. What you do with it between sessions is yours.
Saemi. Tattoo artist,
founder of Cavael.
- Drawing, comics and oil painting
- Webtoon industry: merchandising, content operations and marketing
- Music industry
- Independent tattoo artist, based in Korea, with international guest work
An artist's eye, out loud.
I notice patterns in work that artists often struggle to see themselves. Most of us are too close to our own work to recognize what repeats in it. In Style Lab, that's the whole job: reading each artist's work closely, saying what I find, and doing it in front of the group, so the way of looking is something everyone can take home.
Before you apply.
Do I need to be a tattoo artist?
No. Style Lab is for visual artists in general: illustrators, painters, tattoo artists and those preparing to tattoo, and independent artists. What matters is that you already make work and want to develop it.
Is it a lecture?
No. Review weeks are twenty-minute critiques, one artist at a time, of work submitted in advance. Make weeks are live drawing: I draw in my own style and talk through it while everyone draws along.
Is there video?
No cameras. Sessions are a Discord voice call. In review weeks I share my screen to show the work; in make weeks everyone shares theirs.
Do I get feedback between sessions?
No. Feedback happens in the session, once a week. If you want daily written feedback and a 1:1 format, that's Private Mentorship.
Who sees my work?
The other participants in your group, during sessions. Everyone agrees not to save, screenshot or share each other's work outside the group, and not to record sessions. Using your work in promotional material would need your separate written permission.
- Apply
- I reply by email within 24 hours
- Seat confirmed on payment
- We begin December 7
Tuition is due in full before the round begins and is non-refundable once paid. Applying on its own is not enrollment; your seat is confirmed once payment has been received. Continuing into the next round is a new enrollment.
Style Lab is a critique program, not a technical course, an apprenticeship or a licensing program. It doesn't teach drawing from scratch, and it doesn't assess or certify technical readiness in any medium.
Looking for private support with your portfolio and career?
Private Mentorship is four weeks of 1:1 support on direction, portfolio, positioning and business, for aspiring and emerging tattoo artists.
See Private Mentorship