MURKADO

When and how did you decide to become a tattoo artist? What did you do for work prior to becoming an artist?

• I actually knew at a pretty young age that I wanted to do tattoos. I’ve always been really into drawing, so I knew that whatever I decided to do, it would involve art. I guess I thought tattooing would be a cool job that would allow me to do art for a living.

• Tattooing is only the second job I’ve ever had. Before this, I was in ACAD and working at the cineplex as a staff member, scooping popcorn and ripping people’s tickets etc. haha.

How long have you been tattooing for?

• I’ve been tattooing as a full fledged artist since maybe 2012-2013, so around 8-9 years!

Were you an apprentice at the beginning of your career?

• I was an apprentice for about 2 years before tattooing full time. I did my apprenticeship at Flipside, the same shop I’m currently in.

Do you have any mentors that you’ve been learning from?

• Yes! The owner of Flipside tattoos, Larkin Jamias (@larkinjamias) is my mentor. I also try to learn from my coworkers, artists I get tattooed by and the ones I follow on Instagram.

How did you develop your style of tattooing? What do you know about its history?

• When I started my apprenticeship/was early into tattooing, I didn’t really have a style that I for sure knew I wanted to focus on, so I was doing a bit of everything.

• Through that process, I realized I really enjoy doing traditional tattoos, and it’s also the style of tattooing that I wanted to see on myself as well. From then on, I found out about turn of the century artists and designs from that time.

What shops have you worked at throughout your career?

• I’ve only ever worked at Flipside full time, but I did do a brief guest spot at Gastown Tattoo Parlour in Vancouver, on top of some conventions here and there.

What is something about being a tattoo artist that people may not know about?

• Work doesn’t stop after I leave the shop! When I’m not tattooing, I’m usually responding to messages, drawing for appointments, drawing for flash, thinking up ideas for flash, countless hours looking for references, and then more drawing. I try to make myself a schedule to try and balance my time but it’s tough sometimes!

What is your working process like when someone pitches you an idea for a tattoo? How do you go about creating the final design?

• The first thing I have to consider is if it’s something i’m gonna be excited to do, because I think that that will automatically translate into the final product.

• After that, it’s just a matter of making sure I have all the information I’m gonna need to make something my client will love.

• I usually try to visualize the design before I start drawing, and then I do a super rough layout just to give me an idea of what I’m going for and refine from there. It doesn’t always work out though, so I typically have to draw and redraw everything at least 3 times. And then on bad days, I have to scrap what I have and start over because it’s just not working haha.

Have you ever refused a design idea from someone and vice versa? Are there any types of tattoos that you would refuse to do?

• I have. It’s usually just when I’m not the right artist for the job. Realistic portraits are super intimidating for me, bio-mech is also another style that I probably could never pull off and super long paragraphs of script isn’t something I really enjoy doing. I can definitely appreciate and respect tattoo artists that do them though!

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your work?

• COVID-19 has forced me do more drawing at home, whereas pre-COVID, I would try to do most of my drawings before, after and in between appointments. Throughout the lockdowns, I was able to produce a ton of up-for-grabs flash and I was really fortunate to have a bunch of clients dropping deposits and waiting on us to reopen through the first lockdown.

Do you have any advice for someone just starting out or is thinking about becoming a tattoo artist?

• Get tattooed by artists whose work you like, and watch. It also wouldn’t hurt to ask your artist questions about tattooing and their process. Also draw a TON and then draw some more! Produce a good portfolio and get feedback from different artists!

What are some types of designs that you enjoy doing or would like to try doing more of in the future?

• I always love doing lady heads, snakes, cherubs etc. Any traditional imagery and an open mind is ideal.

• In the future, I would love to do bigger pieces, like a back or front or a pieced out sleeve or leg! I would also love to put my own touch on more one shot Japanese designs!

Are there any tattoo artists out there that inspire you?

• The dudes I work along side at Flipside (@larkinjamias, @dirtedustin, @alchutattoos) always inspire me of course!

• I’m also constantly inspired by the work ethic Ryan Cooper Thompson and Joe Ellis, who are constantly pumping out hand-painted flash on top of producing top notch tattoos.

What motivated you to get tattooed in the first place?

• I think music was the motivation early on. I grew up listening to some emo, pop punk bands, so tattoos were always really cool to me and I knew I wanted to be tattooed.

Do you remember what your first tattoo was?

• My first tattoo was a weird little heart and lightning bolt symbol behind my ear. I’ve since covered it up with a spider haha.

How many tattoos do you currently have?

• I just counted and I have 33 tattoos, with the demon mask/face on my knee by Kevin Shuttleworth (@shuttleworthtattoos) being the newest one!

How do you decide on what type of tattoo design(s) to get prior to booking an appointment?

• I’m usually inspired by the artists themselves, so I typically get flash or leave it open to my artists’ interpretation. Whenever I decide to get tattooed, I pick artists whose work I love and know that whatever they tattoo on me I’ll be stoked!

What type of tattoo styles have you gotten done? What do you like about tattoos in general?

• I have mostly gotten traditional tattoos, but I do have a Japanese backpiece of “Raijin”, the Japanese god of thunder.

• I really like how timeless they are. There are a lot of new styles that come and go, but traditional and Japanese tattoos have always held up!

Do any of your tattoos hold any personal meaning to you that you’d like to share?

• The swallow on my right thigh will always hold a special meaning to me since it’s the first tattoo I’ve ever done on a living person EVER! It’s by no means a perfect tattoo, but I wouldn’t change anything about it.

• Another one would be the 3-eyed wolf on my right forearm. My uncle went blind from complications from his diabetes so I got the extra eyes for him!

What were some of the most painful spots to get tattooed for you?

• I think my ribs have hurt the most to this day, but there was also a spot in my lower back area that hurt a lot! The knee and back of the knees were no joke either!

Has having tattoos had any impact in your personal life?

• Coming from a traditional Filipino family, tattoos have always been for gangsters and criminals, so my family wasn’t really down for it initially. I think they’ve since realized I can still be a good person and have tattoos! I’ve even tattooed my parents and my godmother! My mom also loves to show off my tattoos when facetiming with family hahaha. They still tell me “no more after this” everytime though…

Do you have any favourite tattoos?

• It changes all the time but right now, I think it’s my hand by Joe Ellis (@joeellistattoo) and my chest by Alessandro Lemme (@alessandro_lemme)!

Who are some of the artists that you've been tattooed by?

• I’ve gotten tattooed by my mentor Larkin Jamias (@larkinjamias), my coworker Dustin Fleming (@dirtedustin), Jay Breen (@jaybreentattooer) and Kevin Shuttleworth (@shuttleworthtattoos) in the city!

• Spencer Evans (@spencerevanstattoos) at a convention once and then a bunch of travel tattoos too from Kiyo Tawara (@kiyoxmag), Ganji (@bangxganji), Jay Watkins (@jay_blkmgc), Antony Leven (@antonyleven), Bob Geerts (@bobeustattoos), Capilli Tupou (@capillitupou), Rafa DeCraneo (@rafadecraneo), Florian Santus (@floriansantus), Joe Ellis (@joeellistattoo) and Alessandro Lemme (@alessandro_lemme)!

What artist(s) would you like to get tattooed by in the future?

• I’ve been meaning to get tattooed by my coworker Al Chu (@alchutattoos) but we keep putting it off.

• Other than that, I think it’d be cool to get tattooed by Ivan Antonyshev (@ivanantonyshevtattoo), Ryan Cooper Thompson (@ryancooperthompson), Andrew Vidakovich (@andrewvidakovich), Nate Hudak (@nate_hudak), Prof York (@prof.york), Seba the Tattoo Guy (@sebathetattooguy) and Ichibay (@hide_ichibay)!

• I’m a small guy so I hope I have room for all of them!

Do you have an idea in mind for your next tattoo?

• The next one would probably be a Japanese hoju from Al or maybe let my girlfriend do a small tattoo on me finally haha! We’ve been talking about it for awhile.